Film?

[Trever1t]

I haven't shot film in at least 23 years but I do have a film cam and plan on using it...

Minolta Weathermatic 35 DL - Camerapedia

I've had this camera since it was released in '87 and you know what? It works great and still looks brand new! When I go on Vacation this year I don't want to bring my DSLR to the beach on on the boat and thought I'd dig this old unit out of her storage.

What about film? 100/400 ASA...what's a good source for inexpensive 35mm?
What about processing and getting it digitized?

 

[molested_cow]

You should test it out before you take it on a trip, just never know what may have been broken sitting there not being used for so long. I used to buy negatives on ebay in bulk, even the consumer grade Kodak Gold. ISO200 and 400 will be good. If you are not serious about these photos, you can just sent them to Walgreens or local lab and they will scan the negatives on a CD. Then you pick and choose to see which one you want to have scanned in high res and go from there.

 

[Trever1t]

Well I am wanting the best I can get given the equipment's capabilities. Testing a roll is a good idea and I'm going to do just that although I am pretty confident everything is in order

Walgreens still develops film or is it better to send it somewhere? Where would I get a negative scanned in hi-res if I desired?

I will be using the DSLR most of the time but you know, on the boats and in the water this camera really does well...snorkling and stuff like that.

 

[ulrichsd]

I went to Meijer's "One Hour Photo" and they said the only place that still does one hour film development is Walgreens (not counting actual film stores like Ritz). So one hour photo is for printing digital prints, kind of lame if you ask me. Anyway, Target and everyone else ships it out and takes about a week to get back.

Have fun!

 

[ann]

It is going to depend on your location. High end scanning is another story.

We have a camera store here in Atlanta that still develops film and it doesn't take a week, In fact in before 10 out before 5.

 

[Sw1tchFX]

Ektar 100 is awesome for taking pictures of things (and people if you send it to RPL), Fuji 400H is my favorite for people because of the pastel tones. Shoot them at half box speed, expose for the shadows, and you're golden, the lab does the rest.

DO NOT take the film to Walgreens. Walgreens is little more than a glorified 7-Eleven that fills prescriptions. They typically do not have dedicated lab techs, and i doubt run regular maintenance such as control strips, or swapping out chem filters. Speaking from experience working with Dwayne Reed's, and Rite Aid's when I was working as a wet/drylab systems tech. They also have just about zero control over the scanning adjustments (if they even know where/what those are). A memorable, and not uncommon conversation i'd have with Rite Aid's:

RA: "We have film coming out blank"

ME: "when was the last time you ran a control strip?"

RA: "what are control strips? we don't know what those are, we just run people's film"

ME: "take a look into your working tanks and tell me what you see"

RA: "the BL sort of has the consistency of motor oil"

ME: "...."

Take the film to a real lab like RPL or NCPS. It's much more expensive, but they won't screw your film up, and in fact will make it look incredible.

Local on the left, RPL on the right

BTW, take a look at my blog link, except for the last page or two, it's 100% film from 35mm and 645 (from RPL).

 

[Gromit801]

Costco does print processing on premises. Gawd I miss the old days!

 

[Trever1t]

Costco quality is decent, well from the few prints I've seen from there, probably the place I'll use. Kodak Gold is probably just fine for this P&S beach camera.

 

[davisphotos]

It depends on where you are, there is an awesome shop here in Portsmouth, NH that does an awesome job with color and B&W film, and she's a personal friend of mine. That's the best way to go in my book, find a great local lab and build a relationship with the owner. I buy my film from B&H.