pro film lab in San Francisco Bay Area?

<p>A lot of film labs have closed, lately. Anybody know a good pro film lab in the SF Bay Area? I'm reading the posts about mail-in and will go that route if necessary but would like to be able to drop off and pick up my film either in the East Bay or SF.</p>

<p>I shoot 120/220 color and b&w film..</p>

<p>Thanks. --Sally</p>

<p>On the Peninsula, the places of which I know are sending film to Swan Labs down south. They get it back in a couple days. </p>

<p>If you're near Concord I highly recommend Action Photo.<br>

They're at 1741 Clayton Rd Ste A<br />Concord, CA 94520<br />(925) 676-7777<br>

They do a great job on C-41 and E6. I don't know about their B&W services, if any.</p>

<p>I take my film to Kaufmann's Cameras in San Mateo. They have their own in-house B&W lab, but they send color film out to Swan, as Steve mentioned.</p>

<p>Swan does not qualify as a "pro" lab. There are a couple places in San Francisco, only a few do color. For black and white, you can try Gamma. For color and black and white, you can try Photoworks. A friend uses the latter and is happy with their services, although not the prices.</p>

<p>True, I stopped paying to have Swan scan my slides because their idea of high resolution was something ridiculous like 6 MP. They do a good job of developing film, though, which is all I ask them to do anymore.</p>

<p><a href="http://www.thedarkroom.com/">http://www.thedarkroom.com/</a> in San Carlos is a good pro lab focused on commercial productivity, or at least they were. I have not used them in several years. I always got quality work from them, color and B&W.</p>

<p>I suggest yp.com and search for photo finishing with san francisco as the city. There are a few pro labs worth checking out.</p>

<p>The Darkroom in San Carlos is owned by Swan and has been for a number of years, at least five. Almost everything cool in there is dismantled. I think Paul still does some black and white printing there, although the fibre room is gone.</p>

<p>Actually The Darkroom in San Carlos is closed. </p>

<p>Interesting, well it was owned by Swan...</p>

<p>Thanks, all. Gamma has been recommended before for b&w and I'll use them for printing b&w for my next exhibit.</p>

<p>I took a roll of 220 color to Looking Glass Photo in Berkeley today, they send film either to Photolab (Photo Lab?) in Emeryville or Swan. Describing some of the problems (malfunctioning developing machine stopped after film was developed for 5 seconds, light leak in the darkroom, film stuck together on drying rack) with a lab I used to use, the man who wrote up my order said they hadn't had any such problems. Here's hoping. . .</p>

<p> I do not know about the Bay area however you can send your film mail order from your mail box and you do not have to drive around at all. I live in the South Bay and everything is slow and expensive.<br>

Picture Preview in Oregon will develop your film, scan it and put it on-line in your personal account and mail back your negatives. The total cost for color 120 is $7.50 and that includes return shipping of your negatives. 120 B/W is $9.50. You then download your files to your computer. You can also use the account for permanent storage. You must have 1 order per year to keep it intact.<br>

Put the film in one of those bubble envelopes and 4 stamps and mail it in. Within 48 hrs of receiving the film your images will be on-line. One week later you get your negatives in the mail. They offer other services as well. All at a cheap price and no driving around and parking.</p>

<p><a href="http://picturepreview.com/">http://picturepreview.com/</a></p>

<p> </p>

Thanks, Ross. No worries about my driving around and parking: I can usually find a place to park my bicycle without too

much trouble. Not having a car is partly why I would like to find a lab in SF or the East Bay.<br>

<br>

I'm looking into mail-in labs so thanks for the link.<br>

<br>

--Sally

<p> I always like to see somebody cycling instead of driving. I am a cyclist myself and commute to work each day on my Surly. About 40miles per week total. Sometimes I ride just for fun if one of my kids comes around and wants to ride. They live in Berkely and cycle for transportation most of the time. Bicycle retention is a serious problem however for them. If you give the lab a try you should be happy. The scans they provide are a little larger then the usual stuff. However there is nothing better then local business as you get to know them and they go the extra distance for you.</p>

<p>a little late here but it doesn't look like anyone mentioned oscar's in sf<br /> http://www.oscarsphotolab.com/<br /> probably the best place in the city since newlab closed</p>

<p>i'd recommend against photoworks. prices are unreasonable and the customer service is lacking.</p>