Newbie questions on image sharpness

Lol999 · Nov 14, 2005

Hi, new to the forum. returning to photography after an 18 year lay off. Bought some Nikon gear off E-Bay and just had first film processed, generally okay. My question pertains mainly to image sharpness in the following stages:

1) Prints versus slides. I read that slides will give a sharper image. is this true? I like having prints to show people, would a decent inkjet printer printing a scanned slide image give better results than a high street produced print from film?

2) Processing. How vital is the processing service? I can't afford to send every film off to one of these "pro-am" type labs advertising in the mags. Are they really worth the extra money compared to dropping a film in to my local LCE or Jessops?

In general terms, if I use process paid slide film, do I have to have it processed at a specific place via a voucher system? If not, how does it work?

Sorry for the length of the post, times have changed since my last photo experience

Thanks, Lol

Rob · Nov 14, 2005

Hi there and Welcome to TPF.

1. This is a bit of a debatable point - some people prefer slide, but I can't be bothered with the hassle and extra cost. I don't think you'd see any difference between neg and slide when printing yourself, btw but others may disagree. I hate Velvia, I think it's nasty, but many many people swear by it - just find a film and lab whose results you are pleased with - it makes no difference if you pay £1.99 or £7.99 for a roll of film, it's how happy you are with the results that counts.

2. IMO doesn't matter unless you've got special instructions like pushing a couple of stops where you need the lab monkey to understand you. As long as they have a good maintenance contract and look after their machines, there won't be much in it between say Boots and Jessops or the local chemist and a pro lab.

Yes, the process paid normally has an address where it's sent to and they do it and send it back. It's advisable to take a photograph of your name and address on every roll of film in case they lose it.

Good luck, hope to see some piccies from you

Rob