[NYC] 120 Film developing

Easy_Target · Oct 13, 2009

I'm not really sure if this is the right area to post this since it's a region specific question.

Backstory: I dropped of a 12 exposure roll of Fujifilm Superia 100 ISO 120 format film. The film only cost me $3.50, but the developing and printing of the pictures cost me $11, a little more than three times the cost of the film.

Does anyone in the NYC area have any particular stores that they like to use to develop their 120 film? I'd develop it myself, but I don't have room to spare in my place. I'm looking for an alternative to my current shop since the prices are a bit higher than I'd prefer.

1986 · Oct 13, 2009

I know you said that you did not want to develop the film yourself but you dont need a darkroom to do it. you can get a changing bag or i load my film in a closet. After you load the film in the canister you can have it in the light and develop by a sink. Just a thought.

Mike_E · Oct 14, 2009

:er: pssst

developing film youtube - Google Videos

Easy_Target · Oct 14, 2009

Easy_Target said:
I'd develop it myself, but I don't have room to spare in my place.

1986 said:
I know you said that you did not want to develop the film yourself but you dont need a darkroom to do it. you can get a changing bag or i load my film in a closet.

I'd prefer to develop it myself, but I honestly don't have room to spare. My place is only 10''x14''. The room has my bed, my roommate's bed, one dresser, a book case and we share a desk. No closet. There's just barely enough floor space to walk on.

Hooray New York City living.

Buckster · Oct 14, 2009

Easy_Target said:
Easy_Target said:

I'd develop it myself, but I don't have room to spare in my place.

Click to expand...

1986 said:

I know you said that you did not want to develop the film yourself but you dont need a darkroom to do it. you can get a changing bag or i load my film in a closet.

Click to expand...

I'd prefer to develop it myself, but I honestly don't have room to spare. My place is only 10''x14''. The room has my bed, my roommate's bed, one dresser, a book case and we share a desk. No closet. There's just barely enough floor space to walk on.

Hooray New York City living.

Wow, you're right. 10 inches by 14 inches IS small! :lol:

Still, as said before, all you need is a dark bag and a sink to develop film, not a dark room or even a closet. Prints are another matter, but I'm scanning the developed film for web publishing, and printing with my photo printer. If I really want to, I can take the negs to a lab for pro printing, enlargements or whatever, but still no dark room needed here to run lots of film through, and it's working out okay.

Easy_Target · Oct 14, 2009

Woopsies! I meant 10 feet by 14 feet.

It appears that overall consensus of those replying so far is to just develop it myself and go get it printed?

Buckster · Oct 14, 2009

Easy_Target said:
Woopsies! I meant 10 feet by 14 feet.

It appears that overall consensus of those replying so far is to just develop it myself and go get it printed?

Sure. No sweat.

Just pick out the ones you really want printed, IF you really want to have any of them printed. I only print a photo if I'm giving (or selling) it to someone, and a lot of the time, I don't need any better quality or bigger quantity or size than my home photo printer can deliver in a couple minutes.

The option to get any of them printed as real photos on real photo paper is there for the taking whenever you want, as long as you have the negatives.

You can always just scan them, make jpg copies of the ones you like that you can put online, share by email and print on your home printer, and tuck the negatives away in a storage album in case you decide later to have any of them printed by a lab. It really doesn't get less expensive than that, I don't think.

selmerdave · Oct 17, 2009

$11 for processing and printing a roll of 120 is really quite inexpensive, what size prints? I recently used Duggal after using a few other places for the last few years and ultimately getting frustrated with mistakes, scratches and just lousy work. I'd used Duggal a couple of odd times before, but the job they did this time was spot on and I'll be using them in the forseeable future. It was a little more than $11 though, I think more like $15 (5x5 prints) but that was for B&W and included multiple prints of many of the photos for alternate exposures. No scratches or screw ups.

Dave