THAT DAY has Finally Come...

<p>That Day of Dread finally happened.... I walked into my local Costco, and they said that the film processor was down, and if the repair would be expensive, they are just going to scrap it and pull out the processor. Ouch, my only source of inexpensive and high quality neg film development!<br>

So, I have just ordered the Tetenal C41 liquid kit. 5 Liters to do 60 films for $75 from Freestyle Photo. If anything like the excellent Tetenal E6 kit (Freestyle also sells this now), I wil now get my negs developed for slightly less than I was paying, and in less total time than driving to and from Costco. So, maybe things are not so bad after all;-)....<br>

FYI, 1 Liter kits are also available.</p>

<p>Oh yes, and it is super easy, with no expensive equipment needed. I will post some pics in a week or so after my first run.</p>

<p>Check out the Kodak-based kits from Photographer's Formulary, and the Fuji-Hunt based Rollei Digibase kits from Freestyle. Both use separate bleach and fix, and you can pretty much re-oxygenate the bleach forever with an aquarium bubbler stone and pump. They should also give you better color fidelity.</p>

<p> A couple years ago our CostCo quit on film also. It has not been the same around here since then. Currently I have Target process the film for 0.95 cents a roll and scan myself. I am ok with that for now but It's just a matter of time until Target stops processing film as the photo department is pretty much dead and I cannot see why they even have it there taking up space myself. Once Target stops processing film I will just shoot and develop B/W film and then process it myself. It's the last option as there is no other place around. </p>

<p> </p>

<p>And yet my Costco just put in all brand new film and print equipment last month.<br>

I had better shoot some film and get it over to them in thanks for the investment.</p>

 

<p>Bill,<br>

Just out of curiosity, where is your Costco?</p>

<p>Crown Valley Road in Laguna Niguel, California.</p>

<p>I stopped having other folks do my C-41 a couple years ago and haven't looked back. It's easy to do at home with the Tetenal/Jobo/BrandX kits. All you need is a water bath of some sort to bring the chemicals up to, and stay at, proper temp. I recommend you look for a scientific water bath. They're more robust than many cheaper alternatives. Been there, done that. :) </p>

<p>We have a new Costco just south of where I live. I may stop by there this weekend to see if they put in film processors.</p>

<p>For me the kicker these days is the importance of getting good scans with my processing. I started using North Coast several months ago (mailing my film cross country from the Atlantic Ocean to California) and haven't had to waste time cleaning up dust spots or hairs ever since, and their premium scans are just large and awesome.</p>

<p>I wouldn't mind processing on my own, but these days I like everyone else want scans to post to the e-web and and the word on the street is that you can basically spend all your time learning how to do perfect scans. I'd just rather spend my time doing other things than managing a quality scanning workflow.</p>

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<p ><a href="../photodb/user?user_id=5286401">Skip Kempe</a> , Sep 18, 2012; 03:54 p.m.</p>

 

<p>...<br>

I wouldn't mind processing on my own, but these days I like everyone else want scans to post to the e-web and and the word on the street is that you can basically spend all your time learning how to do perfect scans. I'd just rather spend my time doing other things than managing a quality scanning workflow</p>

 

</blockquote>

<p>I agree, getting the scanning workflow down can be a royal pain in the butt. In my world I have a Nikon Coolscan with a roll adapter, several Vuescan config files for various films, and the time to do any minor post processing. Should the Coolscan ever die I'll probably switch to a flatbed. And if they stop making scanners for film and mine are all dead, I'll shoot the negatives with a digicam and macro lens, and convert. It's all good. :)</p>

<p>Get a Pakon F-235 or F-335. Scans a whole roll of 35mm in about 5 minutes! :)</p>

<p>Sorry to hear. My local Costco actually just <em>fixed</em> their film processor a couple of weeks ago! I believe one of the main electronic components of the computer was shot. They actually had a tech come in and replace the part. This is good, because I have 11 rolls to drop off this weekend. It seems they do approximately 10 rolls a day (not 100% sure, but judging by the serial numbers on envelopes).</p>