so you sent your precious film to a lab ... the truth about developing and scanning film (re-edit)

it's not cheaper when you do it at home. they overprice AF
I live in Europe, my dev shop, makes only c41 and usually takes 4 days to receive the film and the scan, it is located in a mall so top rent :) price for dev- less the 4 euros- price for "high scan" around 8-9 euros, it is a "fuji brand" store
Actually I can develop at hope cheaper then that, because guess what, chemicals are also overpriced :)) they are what 50-100€ for a c41 dev kit? I bet they are worth 10e.

This brought me back! I worked at Photographic Works in Flagstaff as the color tech for a few years. Unfortunately they closed due to digital taking over. Those were hard times for those of us working in labs.

At home, it's a lot easier to just listen when you rewind the film for when it pops off the reel, then do a half turn or so and open the back before you fully spool it into the can in the first place

very interesting video. Back in the day I worked at a professional photo lab for a number of years. I was in the film processing dept. I processed 35mm film, 120 roll film, sheet film and we had a machine that handled long rolls of 35mm bulk film. I processed only color film, E-6 and C-41. The machines were dip and dunk machines. I also did clip tests per the customer's instructions. I pushed and/or pulled film too as per customer's instructions. I would mount 35mm slide film in either cardboard, plastic or glass mounts depending on customer instructions. I processed the film of a lot of professional photographers. And of course I processed my own E-6 and C-41 films. It was an interesting job and I enjoyed it.

Great video, I've just bought a Canon AV-1 analogue SLR I've watched your videos on the Kodak Vision 3 500T and 250D and just ordered some rolls, but I don't know how to develop the film into negatives. Have you done a video for beginners on how to develop film, please?

How do they print photos?

Jaw dropping video, thank you very much, makes me more and more hell bent on developing my film at home and complete my darkroom project.

I feel their pain needing to match computer hardware/software to the scanner. I am doing my black and white scanning on a 2004 Powermac G5. That computer is immortal! Another great insightful video.

Interesting. I haven't used a Film Camera since 2008.

After the local developer goes, we have to send our film rolls to a larger commercial for processing, but it is not really good. They break my two film reels. Also, I noticed a light leak that I think is from their machine issues. This is why I got the JOBO development kit and do it at home this year.

The lab tech making "creative decisions" is why I always order film "develop only."

Awesome & Thanks :)

A big shoutout to The Darkroom in California in the USA they have been doing my film for years and a great job they do.

From the viewpoint of an art photographer who does not churn out many rolls of b/w 135 and 120 and 4 x 5, my Jobo processor is automation and my Nikkor or dip and dunk tanks are manual processing. I have no use for scan services since I select only a few images to print and use an old Epson 2450 when I need a digital. Otherwise, it's Mr. Bessler or Mr. Durst. Incredible to think there are a few who still perform photography all by themselves with the aid of the magic of chemistry and running water. However, when I view the results, I just can't see another way. Cheers!

Great vid. Subed.

The darkroom guy was such a cool dude lol

Funny seeing Kiro 400 at a lab in london! Shout out to Film never die one of Melbournes many local labs!

Another lab to try is Silverpan in Bristol. Lovely team also

Thanks, Ribsy, that is fascinating!

Hey Ribsy, I’ve learnt that doing it at home takes more effort and takes a longer process but it’s all done by me. That was the journey I chose to walk. Black and white only of course. I don’t dare dabble into colors. Colors I will send to the lab :) glad we have machines to help us with colors. My only fear is that there might not be anyone to take over the very old uncle here where I send my films to.

Brilliant. I must say, I used to develop and print all my own work at home, but the convenience of sending it off to be developed and scanned is just a lot less hassle for me. I'm a documentary photographer and just don't have the time to do it all anymore.
That's why it's so important for people to keep supporting good companies who provide high quality development, scanning and print services.

Another solid video mate, love it. Reminds me of the smell of the darkroom (that I don't miss at all 😂).

Great video! Love the commentary - "when i do this at home in the dark, i rip it apart like a savage." lol

Basic lab service. Far away from top places like Carmencita or photovision or others.

Your video is really informative and easy to watch :) loved the pace and the amount of work you did put into this!! Thx a lot

Definitely going to continue hone scanning my film, never realised that they colour corrected them until recently, I would love one of those scanners tho, soo much quicker than an epson

Develop at home and use a darkroom or Epson scan and inkjet.
Much better than any lab I’ve ever used.

Oh and make good pictures.

I'd love to know how they got their jobs at the lab?

Very exciting video, as usual. Best regards from a french photographer + Yashica 124.

Fascinating ! Cheers Ribsy ….nice people but they can keep there automated machines …I’ll keep taking over the kitchen on a sat night enjoying a beer and few tunes whilst practicing my latest exotic agitation technique ….Happy Days.

wow.. very interesting episode as I didn't know how they develop as well! thanks for sharing! I need to test out your film on my channel as well :)

Does anyone know what the special tape for labelling is called?

very interesting to see what's happening in a real lab...thank you for sharing! ...Do the fuji brand colour developing machines only develop fuji films or all brands?

No point in shooting film now the price of film skyrockted and it doesn't make any sense. Now

Awesome video!!
….The guy with the blonde hair is so fit though

Yooooo I'm on the internet!!!!!!

Interesting.

This is amazing! thank you for showing how a lab works!

What machine are they using for BW exactly?

I work in a lab in brighton and the set up there is very similar we have a sp3000 and it's a great scanner.
We have an ilford FP40 which is a black and white Roller Transport processor which is pretty unique, makes black and white a LOT easier.
Everyone saying "what if something breaks" there is actually a huge parts market, the machines are actually all pretty simply designed so they're easy to fix it;s just getting the parts can sometimes be a pain.

Very interesting and fun to watch. Cool to see the old Frontier scanner still doing.

Very cool

Just came across your channel man, love everything about it!

I really miss the one hour photo lab that Walgreens and CVS had back in the days.

I used to work in a mass photo lab when I was 18. We used to put each roll into this big machine which bulk loaded each roll into a light proof spool. From there the spools went into a dark room to be processed. Complete darkness. We never saw who worked in there.

I had a bad experience with the Wonderlab when it opened, but to give them their due, they apologised, gave a full refund and I understand had to do quite a lot before they could re-open again. I will give them another go, just not yet.

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That was awesome!!! Love the two people working there.

Ribsy, this took me back a couple of decades. I spent 33 years working for a pro lab in the USA. So I've seen and done just about all of it. I've hand-processed B&W, E6, C41, and more. I ran a digital scanning lab that churned out 7-9 high resolution portrait scans every 4 seconds. So I thought this was rather quaint. 

But it's typical... Labs still use equipment from the early 2000s because that's all there is. A lot of the things you see in commercial labs are no longer made in 2022. And a lot of the labs that were around in 2002 (the one I worked for included) are no longer around!

The process they demonstrated for you was much the same all over the world 20 years ago!

Those machines are over 20 years old man. What happens if they break down?

I've actually sent my film to the guys at Wonderlab coupla dyas ago - one Portra 800 and one 400. It was very interesting to meet the team behind that. Excited to see the scans. Also I always wondered why BW is more expensive to develop than colour... now I see why. Thanks for that Ribsy!