Wool over Wal Mart's Eyes

It has come to my attention, that while everyone else treats Kodachrome as if it were some foreign

substance, to Mall Wart film is film, and slide film is the only term they use in the literature pricing

development of same. So, if you submit Kodachrome they are bound to develop it, and do, for under $4

unmounted, $4.88 mounted. (Most other places I've used charge three times that)

My slides of Nova Scotia came out great, except you have to really write "Do Not Mount" on every

available surface of the order bag or they'll miss it. I try to use gepe glassed mounts myself, those

kodak mounts are a bear to re-open. >:^(

Cheers!

For E-6 rather than Kodachrome processing, will they return the film cartridge if requested?

About a month ago I was at a Wallmart store in NJ. I asked the guy in the photo department about Kodachrome, K-14, Dwayne's etc. He never heard of any of them.

I wouldn't push the issue with the film cartridge Alan (Collecting for the War effort?), and as

far as New Jersey, well... it's New Jersey. But I'll bet, Jeff, if you do as I do and just say

nothing, fill out the envelope explicitly as KODACHROME and drop it in the slot, you'll be

okay regardless of what the in house crew say. I never heard of "Dwayne's" either. Their

central lab is in Albany, and is a Fuji lab. Good luck!

For the record, Dwaynes is in Kansas and is the only lab left in the world that still processes Kodachrome.

Perhaps not quite accurate, I believe I read that Kodachrome processing in Japan ends on

Dec. 20th. But close enough.

Alexander,

 

I have some E-6 in reloadable cartridges, which is why I wondered about the return of the cartridges.

 

Alan

K14 processing ends in Japan on Dec 20th? That's news to me. I haven't heard any announcements from HCL on that yet.

I can confirm that if you mark the envelope "Kodachrome K14 Processing Only" you will get back your Kodachrome slides, 36 for $4.88. I don't think you're pulling the wool over anyone's eyes. Walmart knows what they're doing and has a deal with Dwaynes or else you would get the film back undeveloped, trashed from being developed in the wrong chemistry, or not at all.

 

Don't ask the guys at the counter. Walmart cannot develop the film on site and on site work is all they know about. No one has ever told them about Kodachrome, K14, or that Walmart can handle the film if it's put in an envelope, marked, and dropped in the film slot.

Understood, but I h-a-t-e wal mart, so I'll keep thinking I'm getting one over on them. It

makes me happy. Alan, reloadables, I don't know if they could be trusted to know the

difference. And you guys mean to say that my film goes to Kansas and back? Then I'm

costing them even more than it's worth at $3 a gallon. Hallelujia.

Maybe it depends on the local area, but I've found that employees at our nearby Wal-Mart tend to stay in one department for a while. The same guy and gal have been working the photo counter for several years, and they know that slide film gets sent out. I do write 'SLIDE FILM - K-14 PROCESSING ONLY' (or E-6) on the envelope and also on a sticker that is taped over the film canister just to be safe, but that's as much for whoever will be handling my order in between Central New York and Parsons, Kansas.

Cool, I'll have to try that. I didn't realize Wal-Mart would handle Kodachrome at all. I've used their send-out processing service (Fuji) for E6, in both 120 and 35mm, and had good results.

 

You probably won't get your cartridges back, though. For my send-out stuff I ask for empty cartridges at the photo desk, and reload them by taping my bulk film to the exposed stub of the previous roll.

I too had heard that you could get Kodachrome film processed cheap at Walmart/Sam's Club so I called the 1-800 number on the film bag, I got the main lab for middle Tennessee in Tullahoma. The nice lady said they still get some Kodachrome film and they send it out, she thought to NY but she wasn't sure as someone else handled it. She also said they send out 120 E-6. I sent them my last roll of K25, it came back in 8 days, processing looked good. I also sent a roll of 120 Velvia, it came back sleeved and uncut, just the way I like it. The guy at the Sam's photo counter was impressed with my "giant" film (120). Look on your film bag for the 800 #, call them and ask lots of questions. RandyB

Our Walmart here in town has one person who know A LOT about all kinds of film. May not be the norm for all Walmarts, but here yes.

I send everything out through Wal-Mart. B&W and E6 are done at Fuji's labs. Kodachrome goes to Dwayne's. Fuji labs refuses to return slide film uncut - I've tried it, and I got a note that said that they don't do that. I guess Dwayne's is more accomodating in that respect with Kodachrome.<p>I sent a roll of 35mm Fuji Acros 100 B&W film to be developed through them. I got back some of the cleanest, wonderfully developed negatives I've ever put into my scanner. This was even cleaner than the local lab that I normally use, which promises dip and dunk processing (but which uses glassine sleeves that let dust in).

Oh yes, forget the counter people. They don't have any idea what a "slide" is (besides the thing in the playground that kids ride down upon).<p>Just use the mailer envelope for the drop off box, tick off the "Special instructions" section, and wait 9 days (for me in Chicago). When I was in Upstate New York, it was a 7 day wait.

C-41 color negative developing at Wal-Mart is $1.78 for 36 exposures. Getting my Fuji Acros developed was around $3. Slides are $4.88 for 36 exposures, and less for 24 exposures.

<p>When you factor in the rapid depreciation of digital SLRs, there is no "cost savings" to digital vs film. I'm not trying to start a war, it's just my opinion.

Fuji closed their lab last year and now uses Dwaynes, so whether you shoot Kodak or Fuji, if you use their processing, it all goes to Dwaynes anyway. Your only alternative is to support a custom lab where of course you can get whatever you want done with your film: cut, uncut, cross processed, clip tested, pulled or pushed in 1/4 or 1/3 stop increments and so on. Because the people here are serious about film, no one on this board should be using Walmart, aka Dwaynes, unless it's K14. That's the only place you don't have a choice.