imaginator Posted November 2, 2003 Share Posted November 2, 2003 Since I started scanning my film, I realized just how much crud is on some of the film, and have decided to try some new labs (pro) What first clued me in was areas of blue sky... you notice every spec, hair, fiber, ect that found it's way onto the film, so this gave me the idea of shooting a few frames of sky to use as a reference to compare processing quality of different labs. I went outside to do this and my dumb luck... it was cloudy, so I grabbed a gray card and shot this instead. After explaining this to a photographer friend, he asked "maybe you should shoot it out of focus" This makes sense... a uniform frame with no detail... so everything else on the film shows up. Does this make sense? Does anyone use something similar to compare labs, or have other tips for how to judge processing quality? What about: blank frames, or totally exposed frames? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark_uhde Posted November 3, 2003 Share Posted November 3, 2003 Some of that has got on the film later. Be sure you clean the film with canned "air" before scanning! And be careful you don't spray the canned air liquid on the film - it'll damage it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markw Posted November 3, 2003 Share Posted November 3, 2003 It�s an exercise in futility. Since I've started scanning my film, I have noticed that I havn't received any clean film back from many different labs that I tried. The mundane work of cleaning it up after scanning can turn you off really quick. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imaginator Posted November 3, 2003 Author Share Posted November 3, 2003 I cleaned the film and the scanner. I realize getting back clean film is unrealistic (isn't that a shame) but at least I can compare the "less dirty" labs to ones that are really bad. Seem to have more trouble with C-41 than with E-6, and the worst/best of the bunch is: Fuji "Premium" processing (a lab in the bay area that my local store sends out to)... crud, bubbles and fibers/ Dale lab (a "pro" lab in Florida)... fairly clean (and good prints) As a last resort, I might do my own C-41, but first I'm going to try a few of the pro labs (I'm going to do a few myself anyway, just to see if it's possible to end up with clean film... already designed a filtered film dryer) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imaginator Posted November 3, 2003 Author Share Posted November 3, 2003 Woops! Uploaded the tiff file...<div></div> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imaginator Posted November 3, 2003 Author Share Posted November 3, 2003 hair or fiber<div></div> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imaginator Posted November 3, 2003 Author Share Posted November 3, 2003 air bubbles?<div></div> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imaginator Posted November 3, 2003 Author Share Posted November 3, 2003 Please delete the tiff image if possible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john_cook1 Posted November 3, 2003 Share Posted November 3, 2003 Last time the Kodak rep was at the studio he explained that many of the big automated developing machines used by one-hour labs in strip malls are not hooked up to running water. The film "washes" by being passed through a tank of standing water. It is up to the part-time highschool kid who works nights to remember to change the tank between personal phone calls. Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markw Posted November 3, 2003 Share Posted November 3, 2003 From John�s relay of what the Kodak rep said it would seem that Kodak does a much better job of processing. I just received (what is going to be the last) order from Fairlawn, it�s awful, and that�s an understatement! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john_cook1 Posted November 3, 2003 Share Posted November 3, 2003 I have been laboring under the impression for over ten years that Kodak sold their lab processing business about the time they gave up their literature publication. I believe Fairlawn is Kodak in name only. About the only place I'd trust would be a big city lab catering to pro's. Even those come and go as digital gains an ever increasing foothold. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oskar_ojala Posted November 4, 2003 Share Posted November 4, 2003 This is exactly why advanced infrared dust-removal techniques while scanning are such a damn good idea. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alyn_divine1 Posted November 11, 2003 Share Posted November 11, 2003 I would just like to say that I am a part-time employee at a fairly large chain lab in the Twin Cities, and I've been reading these fourms for quite a while now, and there are many cracks about how "us kids" don't really care about what we're doing, about the quality of the photographs we print, or the care put into making sure the negatives stay clean and so on. I personally do, and take a lot of time to make sure that everything that I print or process looks its best, and if it doesn't, I re-print them, adjusting the color and density settings to make them look better. Most people my age, however, don't care, but I don't think it's fair to bunch us all into one group. I wasn't offended or anything, I just wanted to let you guys know that there are younger lab people out there who care about what they're doing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James G. Dainis Posted November 11, 2003 Share Posted November 11, 2003 Jeff, I can't delete your tif file without deleting your entire post. Since it is doing no harm, it isn't using any PN bandwidth, I left it up. James G. Dainis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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