Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2000/11/19
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Ken Iisaka <ken@iisaka.org> wrote:
> There was a phase in my life when I was shooting Ilford XP-2
> almost exclusively, then sending the film to various labs for
> processing.
>
> What I've noticed that processing is not at all consistent,
> and I am much more likely to get scratches, fingerprints and
> what-not from so-called "pro" labs than from my own bathroom.
Which is just to emphasize the importance of finding a lab that does good
work, if you're fortunate to have such a one in your area, and then sticking
with it. I've found this doesn't always mean a pro lab. For years I had my
color neg and Ilford chromogenic B/W (XP-1 at the time) film developed by a
little independent lab at a local mall. The owner was himself an photo
enthusiast and QC in his shop was very high. He eventually sold to one of
the chains and moved out-of-state, after which quality went downhill and I
stopped going there. Took me awhile to find another place ("pro" this time)
with the same quality standards.
> Since then, I've gone back to Ilford Delta 100 and XTOL.
Can't wait to get my darkroom reconstituted so I can resume using this
combo!
- -Dave-