Not quite noob...advice needed

[WI_F3]

I've toyed with photography on and off for quite a while (original owner of a Nikon F3), never overly serious, but always tempted. I've been tempted to dive into the DSLR pool, but love the quality, build, etc of the F3 and don't have the $$$ to get an equivelant DSLR. I have a decent Sigma 28-70 zoom. Main photo subjects are nature/landscape, and mobile, agile toddlers. P&S digitals don't work on toddlers (press button, count to 3, then shutter clicks).
How practical is it to shoot B&W, develop it in the basement, somehow scan the negative, choose ones I like, and get them printed? I could probably justify the time/expense of developing, but not of printing. Or am I better off just chucking the film and getting a D40?

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[nealjpage]

You do what I do, man. I develop my own stuff (except slides) and scan what I want. I also make my own enlargements, but that's another story.

I say go for it!

[Battou]

get yourself a deicent to good Photo/film enabled scanner and go for it. The bulk of the acumulous cost of film shooting comes from sending out for prints, If you can side step this you would be well off.

I myself don't have a room that would enable me to work with unprocessed film, otherwise I would be doing that.

[WI_F3]

What's the learning curve like to develop B&W film (no printing, just making negs).
Any recommendations for scanners, and what price are we talking? Budget is an issue...
How do you go from a B&W negative to a print? Light to dark are reversed on the neg, correct? If you scan the neg, how do you reverse this and make a print?
Thanks!

[Battou]

What's the learning curve like to develop B&W film (no printing, just making negs).
Any recommendations for scanners, and what price are we talking? Budget is an issue...
How do you go from a B&W negative to a print? Light to dark are reversed on the neg, correct? If you scan the neg, how do you reverse this and make a print?
Thanks!

Proper scanner software should invert it for you so no worries there, as far as the learning curve for BW it's not that bad. I am fairly certain you should be able to get everything knowledge wise from a basic BW course, I don't think you will need to go beyond the first year, anything beyond that is up to you. Scanning equipment varies in price, I was looking at a new Canon film enabled flatbed scanner for with an MSRP under a hundred, My dedicated had an MSRP at $1199.00 but I bought it for under $200. It's all a matter of knowing what you are looking for and where to look, and whay you are looking for is something that is film capable.

I use a Canon 2710 dedicated and am very happy with it, if you can find one in your budget it'll work, I am sure there is better on the market now but it's the only film scanner I have experiance with.

[Orrin]

If there is a place in your city/town/village that will develop your film
and put the inages on a CD, without getting prints, that's another way
to go.

I have been doing that for a long time using color negative film that is
still readily avalable most places. Once I have the image on a CD I can
decide whether to leave it in color or change it to B&W with image editing
software.

Small prints can be made using the kiosk's at various places and larger
prints that I use for exhibition are set to EZ-Prints in GA. Every now and then
when I need a slide, it goes to GammaTech in NM.

[christopher walrath]

Don't despair, F3 dude. I just got enough film, chems and gear for the year with uncle H&R's return for about $350.00 USD and I am developing film for the first time. Next year, I will start to print and I'll have plenty to catch up on by then. NO, DO NOT THROW IT AWAY! There are film photographers starving in Africa . . .

[yellowjeep]

It's all a matter of knowing what you are looking for and where to look, and whay you are looking for is something that is film capable.

Where would you recomend looking?

[christopher walrath]

And the B&W learning curve is like minutes. Just ask enough questions so you get a procedure more or less down pat in your head. Try a dry run with water for each stage with a practice roll of film (pref the one you practice loading) and then go for it. It is easy and if I can do it . . .

[randerson07]

If there is a place in your city/town/village that will develop your film
and put the inages on a CD, without getting prints, that's another way
to go.

I have been doing that for a long time using color negative film that is
still readily avalable most places. Once I have the image on a CD I can
decide whether to leave it in color or change it to B&W with image editing
software.

Small prints can be made using the kiosk's at various places and larger
prints that I use for exhibition are set to EZ-Prints in GA. Every now and then
when I need a slide, it goes to GammaTech in NM.

I just dropped off a roll of B&W at the local Wolf Camera(its on my way to work) and they say its going to take a week and a half to get developed.

A couple days prior I dropped off a roll of color and it was done in a hour on a CD with no prints. The files on the CD are tiny, nothing over 1.2mb. When you get them on a CD are you getting the premium one? at around $15 I dont know if thats worth it for only a few usable shots(that could just be cause im new to film).

Developing my own would be fun, probably just as cost ineffective and paying $15 for the premium CD and if im doing that I might as well use my DSLR. Is a class necessary to learn to develop? or could I just do lots of reading and figure it out? if so where do I start?

[Battou]

I just dropped off a roll of B&W at the local Wolf Camera(its on my way to work) and they say its going to take a week and a half to get developed.

A couple days prior I dropped off a roll of color and it was done in a hour on a CD with no prints. The files on the CD are tiny, nothing over 1.2mb. When you get them on a CD are you getting the premium one? at around $15 I dont know if thats worth it for only a few usable shots(that could just be cause im new to film).

Developing my own would be fun, probably just as cost ineffective and paying $15 for the premium CD and if im doing that I might as well use my DSLR. Is a class necessary to learn to develop? or could I just do lots of reading and figure it out? if so where do I start?

Buy a Film enabled or dedicated scanner, screw that CD stuff. Having your own scanner is like the digital equivalent of darkroom processing, You get to choose what gets printed (saved in this case), At any size you want (within the ability of the scanner) and you don't have to pay some one else to do it.

[randerson07]

But I still have to have a lab process the negatives, a week and a half is crazy talk. Is that the going rate? or are some labs faster than that?

Im certainly on the hunt for a scanner, maybe I can trade my broken Sigma lens for one.

[Battou]

But I still have to have a lab process the negatives, a week and a half is crazy talk. Is that the going rate? or are some labs faster than that?

Im certainly on the hunt for a scanner, maybe I can trade my broken Sigma lens for one.

Yes, a week to a week and a half is a fairly standard rate for B/W to my knowledge.

[ann]

it is not hard to develop your own film.

you will need a few basic things and a place to load the film in complete darkness and then everything can be done in light. also you need a dust free area for drying the film. hang in a shower, shut the door and go to bed. easy as that.


check out Ilford's website , they have some pdf files that will give you a list of equipment needed and how to develop the film.

most equipment can be found on ebay.
the first roll is always nerve racking but from then on it is a snap.

[Orrin]

A couple days prior I dropped off a roll of color and it was done in a hour on a CD with no prints. The files on the CD are tiny, nothing over 1.2mb. When you get them on a CD are you getting the premium one? at around $15 I dont know if thats worth it for only a few usable shots(that could just be cause im new to film).

I get 6 megapixel images (3072x2048) images on the CD's I get from the local
camera store (Gordons Photo in Reno). They call the scan "large Base" and its
available in either TIFF or JPEG. The JPEG CD costs $8.95 plus the cost of
the film development.