Photo processing in my area suggestions

[stc9357]

I live in greenville, north carolina and was wondering if you could suggest photo places in my area we have walmart, cvs, walgreens, eckerds, and ritz but was wondering if these would be ok and what place is the cheapest?

I just got into photography and think I have some good shots but I'm not certain have shot 5 rolls of film so far. Should I get a picture CD?

I also ran into dale photo lab processing through searching online are they worth the cost of getting professional film processing?

 

[JIP]

I you want over the counter Ritz will always give you the best prints. The best way to compare, for quality at least is to take the same image to all three places you named Ritz, wal-mart, walgreens and see who gives you the best results. I guarantee you it wont be the cheapest one.

 

[JaimeMC]

I you want over the counter Ritz will always give you the best prints. The best way to compare, for quality at least is to take the same image to all three places you named Ritz, wal-mart, walgreens and see who gives you the best results. I guarantee you it wont be the cheapest one.

This may not be true about Ritz. In my opinion, it's not really where you get it done, but who does it, and how it's done. You could go to 5 different CVS's and get 5 different results for quality (I know because I work there) and I'm sure it's the same for any lab you go to. I certainly agree with the advice about bringing a print to each lab to see who does it best...I think that's the only way to really decide. Also, a little tip is to notice who is working when you drop your photos off...you might find that certain workers do a better job than others and then you can try to drop them off only when "good" people are in the lab.

Also, a picture CD is a good idea if you think you may want to put your images on your computer and do your own editing with say Photoshop or the Gimp (or any other software you prefer). Other wise, it's just an added expense!

 

[stc9357]

I went to target and overall they did a good job I got their premium service instead of their basic and I think the ones that did turn out well did turn out really well. I only got 34/96 usuable prints in my opinion but that was due to my error not anyone elses I realized that I was using to slow of a shutter speed for my holding it and a lot of pictures turned out blurry but I had a few good ones and I know what to do when I shoot from now on so I'm gaining experience. I need to save the money to get a good tripod and I'm doing so.
Makes me wish I hadn't quit my job and I wouldn't be in this predicament.

 

[JIP]

As far as the CD's go, just remember the scan you are gong to get from most CDs that you buy with your film (the cheap ones) are 9 times out of 10 a very low resolution scan, not up to printing quality so if you really want print quality scans that you can manipulate and reprint you can ask for a higher resolution scan. Most places offer them, at least I know Ritz does, but any place with average digital printing capabilities should offer a higher res scan. As for printing quality if you really care about the quality of your prints you should do a comparison I can almost guarantee you that a place whose only business is selling cameras and making prints (ie Ritz or any other camera shop/minilab) is going to do a better job for you than a store who is just printing your pics as a sideline to give you a reason to shop in their store a little longer. One cavaeat I have to put on that statement is that you must compare in-house services all bets are off when film leaves the store and if you need your prints made that cheap well, all I can say is you get what you pay for.

 

[stc9357]

JIP I forgot to mention that Ritz and Wolf camera have gone out of business in my area. Thats where I was planning on going to I found out. There is one independent place that does the work its aindependent store called ASAP photography I heard they do good work but they weren't open when I wanted to get them done on sunday. Their prices I heard were high but I will check them out. When I called walmart the girl who answered the phone didn't even know the prices on their service so I knew I wouldn't go there immediately and also at CVS and Eckerds it was just as bad so I called target and the girl knew what she was talking about so I went there and she did them for me. The print quality was good in my opinion and the blurry photos were error on my part.

Also what do you consider to be cheap per a roll of film seeing as Target's premium srvice 2day is 6.99 a roll and 7.99 for one hour. Walmart is cheaper and the other places but I couldn't see myself going there. Dales Labratory is supposed to be sending me mail order sheets ad they are a professional service if I remember correctly they are 10 per a roll.