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.
Indeed. There is one lab that I know of "in my area" that does consistently
good job, but it's 50 miles away. I haven't had enough experience with
another in the Media Gulch in San Francisco to say anything about it. Heard
good things about Marin Filmworks, but never had the guts to try them yet.
Processing a small batch of B/W film really only takes an hour or so.