Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2006/02/22
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]The trick with a commercial lab is to get comfy with their idiosyncrasies. What developer do they use, do they individually adjust the processing to your requests or are all the +1 done the same. How do they feel about HP5 at 800 or do they see better results at 650 or 1000. Will they do a clip test to find out how your metering works with their process? None of this is very hard, just stop by and have a pleasant conversation about what works best in their system. If you get a good feel and others recommend them as being clean and consistent then go for it. Don don.dory@gmail.com On 2/22/06, Scott McLoughlin <scott@adrenaline.com> wrote: > > BTW, tomorrow my dad is coming down to visit, and if I can > pry him away from figure skating on the tele, I'll drag him down > to the DADA exhibit at the national gallery. I love to shoot > inside the museum, and typically have used HP5+ at ISO 800 > in the past. > > XP2 just isn't going to cut it here, as you point out - under exposure > gives a really gritty look (nice in itself, but not what I'm looking for > shooting the museum's loverly architecture). > > I got to get on the phone to Chrome and B&W Labs here in town > and talk to them about processing pushed HP5+. I do it (or more > accurately at this point, "did it") in HC-110 (H) with very, very gentle > agitation and have been happy with the results, but I'm worried what > even a decent commercial lab might do to it. > > Maybe I'm too paranoid. Soup and a contact sheet isn't too pricey, > and if I could become comfy with a commercial lab, I'd be able to > catch up on a 7.5 month backlog of undeveloped film. > > Scott > > Don Dory wrote: > > >Scott, > >I don't think that C-41 will go away anytime soon, it just will not be as > >ubiquitous as it has been. I believe that probably the best E-6 lab in > town > >is doing as much C-41 work as E-6 work now so at least one outlet in > Atlanta > >for the long term. > > > >Seth will be smiling at me, but for C-41 B&W films, the current Kodak > >offering is very much superior to XP-2. XP-2 is just too tricky compared > to > >the Kodak offering. I think it is really a 200 ISO emulsion, it doesn't > >respond well to underexposure, grain can be an issue in thin parts of the > >negative, the base can scratch fairly easily, and other reasons not to > >appreciate this film. > > > >An alternative would be to shoot color negative film and have it > converted > >to B&W. Your local Ritz can do this very easily, if they have a Frontier > >they can also play with sharpness and contrast but will not want to. > > > >Don > >don.dory@gmail.com > > > > > >On 2/22/06, Scott McLoughlin <scott@adrenaline.com> wrote: > > > > > >>Interesting. This has recently become an "issue" that's important to > >>me. Up to this past summer, I shot color in digital, and B&W in > >>traditional films that I would soup myself. Now, I just don't have the > >>energy (due to illness) to soup my B&W film - I have an embarrasing > >>pile of the stuff yet to be developed :-( > >> > >>So I've started shooting XP2 and having it developed for me, using > >>4x6 prints for proofing. I have a bunch of it in the freezer, and so > far, > >>it seems to do the trick well enough. Ok not well enough, but I'll take > >>what I can get at this point :-) I've spoken to the guy at the local > Ritz > >>down the street about properly processing/printing XP2, and he seems > >>sensitive to the issue, and I don't get any weird blue or green prints > >>that > >>I've gotten in past years. > >> > >>I've also got some Fuji chrome film (Velvia 50 and Provia) and some > >>Fuji mailers, but I've had a *HELL* of a time scanning slides that > >>even *remotely* resemble what they look like through my Mamiya > >>loupe. Maybe I need more practice here - don't know. > >> > >>But my health is starting to look up, and maybe I'll get back to good > >>old traditional film grain soon enough! > >> > >>Since I got sick, I've learned that a big advantage of living in a big > >>city is access to a wide variety of medical specialists. Now I can add > >>access to C-41 processing :-) > >> > >>Scott > >> > >>Don Dory wrote: > >> > >> > >> > >>>Scott, > >>>Your question gets to the heart of my question. In small towns I think > >>> > >>> > >>that > >> > >> > >>>the closing of minilabs will happen sooner than later. You will still > be > >>>able to get your digital capture printed, but C-41 films will have to > be > >>>farmed out probably to Kodak. In a more urban environment, I believe > >>> > >>> > >>that > >> > >> > >>>the current density of labs will thin out quite a bit. Here in Atlanta > >>>where I live you probably could hit a C-41 machine every half mile on > >>>average; however, I don't see much film hanging. Plenty of digital > >>> > >>> > >>prints > >> > >> > >>>but not a lot of film. > >>> > >>>I suspect that in the rural and very suburban enviromments, those labs > >>> > >>> > >>that > >> > >> > >>>have figured out new strategies to survive such as wedding, portrait, > >>>retouching, restoration, novelties, scrapbooking, studio, custom > >>> > >>> > >>printing, > >> > >> > >>>digital printing will look at the time and expense of keeping the C-41 > up > >>>and running and at some point will decide to scrap the beast. > >>> > >>>I also suspect that the drug store lab will morph into your digital > print > >>>center and will lose the C-41 machine as well. For drug stores and > even > >>>Wal-Mart the print business is a lure to get people in the store. Once > a > >>>customer graces the front door, they are almost guarenteed a $50 basket > >>> > >>> > >>at > >> > >> > >>>the check out counter. > >>> > >>>Don > >>>don.dory@gmail.com > >>> > >>> > >>>On 2/22/06, Scott McLoughlin <scott@adrenaline.com> wrote: > >>> > >>> > >>> > >>> > >>>>Is this mostly an issue in small towns or suberbs? > >>>> > >>>>At least the various Ritz cameras around downtown DC I > >>>>sometimes use always have someone in the back working at the > >>>>machine and cranking out prints. I don't know about the Penn > >>>>Cameras downtown because the "guts of the operation" are not > >>>>visible. But Penn is still renting out MF film gear, selling film > >>>>including a reasonable selection of B&W films and 120 films, > >>>>and so forth. > >>>> > >>>>Is this some kind of "special case"? > >>>> > >>>>Scott > >>>> > >>>>Don Dory wrote: > >>>> > >>>> > >>>> > >>>> > >>>> > >>>>>Adam, > >>>>>The hassle of keeping your typical mini-lab C-41 up to snuff is no > >>>>> > >>>>> > >>light > >> > >> > >>>>>matter for the home enthusiast. Volumes start at about 10 litres and > >>>>> > >>>>> > >>you > >> > >> > >>>>>would have to run possibly 5 rolls a day to keep the chemistry fresh. > >>>>> > >>>>> > >>>>> > >>>>> > >>>>Then > >>>> > >>>> > >>>> > >>>> > >>>>>there is the rack maintenance to keep dried chemistry from scratching > >>>>> > >>>>> > >>>>> > >>>>> > >>>>your > >>>> > >>>> > >>>> > >>>> > >>>>>negatives. For the home, the Jobo system makes much more sense.. > >>>>> > >>>>>Don > >>>>>don.dory@gmail.com > >>>>> > >>>>> > >>>>>On 2/22/06, Adam Bridge <abridge@gmail.com> wrote: > >>>>> > >>>>> > >>>>> > >>>>> > >>>>> > >>>>> > >>>>>>If these minilabs start being sold maybe there's an opportunity > there > >>>>>>for a really wiz-bang home lab! > >>>>>> > >>>>>>On 2/22/06, Richard S. Taylor <r.s.taylor@comcast.net> wrote: > >>>>>> > >>>>>> > >>>>>> > >>>>>> > >>>>>> > >>>>>> > >>>>>>>(snip) > >>>>>>> > >>>>>>> > >>>>>>> > >>>>>>> > >>>>>>> > >>>>>>> > >>>>>>> > >>>>>>>>So, those of you who use C-41, how busy are your labs? > >>>>>>>> > >>>>>>>> > >>>>>>>> > >>>>>>>> > >>>>>>>> > >>>>>>>> > >>>>>>>Don - The short answer is not very busy at all, at least as far as > >>>>>>>C-41 processing is concerned. I would guess that part of his > >>>>>>>business has dropped to about 25% of what it was at its peak. To > >>>>>>>survive, he has had to change with the times. He (actually, one > man > >>>>>>>plus one gal on the counter) now offers a wide range of digital > >>>>>>>printing services, portraiture, sports and wedding photography, > photo > >>>>>>>copying and restoration, and does a lot of commercial business as > >>>>>>>well as the retail he started with. > >>>>>>> > >>>>>>>He seems committed to keeping the C-41 service alive and long may > he > >>>>>>>be successful. His product is superior to either of the two local > >>>>>>>alternatives, a CVS and a video store. > >>>>>>> > >>>>>>>I processed my own B&W film (35, 120, 616, 116) for years. Now the > >>>>>>>convenience of C-41 really appeals, particularly since the shop > does > >>>>>>>good work and deals with the hassle of scanning all the negatives. > >>>>>>> > >>>>>>> > >>>>>>> > >>>>>>>(snip) > >>>>>>> > >>>>>>> > >>>>>>> > >>>>>>> > >>>>>>> > >>>>>>> > >>>>>>> > >>>>>>>>Don > >>>>>>>>don.dory@gmail.com > >>>>>>>> > >>>>>>>>_______________________________________________ > >>>>>>>>Leica Users Group. > >>>>>>>>See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more > information > >>>>>>>> > >>>>>>>> > >>>>>>>> > >>>>>>>> > >>>>>>>> > >>>>>>>> > >>>>>>>-- > >>>>>>>Regards, > >>>>>>> > >>>>>>>Dick > >>>>>>> > >>>>>>>_______________________________________________ > >>>>>>>Leica Users Group. > >>>>>>>See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more > information > >>>>>>> > >>>>>>> > >>>>>>> > >>>>>>> > >>>>>>> > >>>>>>> > >>>>>>> > >>>>>>_______________________________________________ > >>>>>>Leica Users Group. > >>>>>>See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information > >>>>>> > >>>>>> > >>>>>> > >>>>>> > >>>>>> > >>>>>> > >>>>>> > >>>>>_______________________________________________ > >>>>>Leica Users Group. > >>>>>See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information > >>>>> > >>>>> > >>>>> > >>>>> > >>>>> > >>>>> > >>>>-- > >>>>Pics @ http://www.adrenaline.com/snaps > >>>>Leica M6TTL, Bessa R, Nikon FM3a, Nikon D70, Rollei AFM35 > >>>>(Jihad Sigint NSA FBI Patriot Act) > >>>> > >>>> > >>>> > >>>>_______________________________________________ > >>>>Leica Users Group. > >>>>See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information > >>>> > >>>> > >>>> > >>>> > >>>> > >>>_______________________________________________ > >>>Leica Users Group. > >>>See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information > >>> > >>> > >>> > >>> > >>-- > >>Pics @ http://www.adrenaline.com/snaps > >>Leica M6TTL, Bessa R, Nikon FM3a, Nikon D70, Rollei AFM35 > >>(Jihad Sigint NSA FBI Patriot Act) > >> > >> > >> > >>_______________________________________________ > >>Leica Users Group. > >>See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information > >> > >> > >> > > > >_______________________________________________ > >Leica Users Group. > >See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information > > > > > > -- > Pics @ http://www.adrenaline.com/snaps > Leica M6TTL, Bessa R, Nikon FM3a, Nikon D70, Rollei AFM35 > (Jihad Sigint NSA FBI Patriot Act) > > > > _______________________________________________ > Leica Users Group. > See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information >