Ie with only 8 exposures to a roll it will cost about £1.20 per processed negative and thats without printing it etc. Yeah Pinewood studios is just up the road, could probably just drive over and drop them in! Development doesn't seem to be too much, although it does cost more than the film! I will try and work out the cost of getting my own development stuff vs getting it sent away for processing. I don't plan to correct any 'mistakes' on the film/images, the image will be shown as it was taken (otherwise I would just get a digital camera) Once developed, nothing further is needed
Find somewhere local that takes MF/LF negatives Set up a dark room and try analogue printing (long term project)ģ. Basic scanner, max resolution I can get, shown online or printed at homeĢ. Wet plate/tintype - Developed by myself (no further processing needed)ġ. I just noticed a Canon LiDE 700F scanner, 9600dpi x 9600dpi but its around £90, why such a difference? Or is it just the case that the light source is better on the non flatbed model?įilm - try locally, if not basic starter kit + black box I am planning on keeping with the simple low cost theme in keeping with the camera, it looks like the V700 scanner is around £400, or 26 times the camera cost lol considering the natural errors/blemishes from using the camera of this age and the fact that I won't be 'touching up' anything I will start with a basic scanner and see how that turns out. It feels like I have just stepped on a land mine! lol thanks for all the info, I will check the DPI on the scanner I currently have (I know it won't be amazing but it will be a start) I will still have all the negatives so I can always rescan, trying to keep everything as low cost as I can, I saw a starter developer kit for around £85 or indeed some development drums and auto feed reels for about £30ish. Going digital, means that you must totally understand the photographic process, or your stuff will look as dismal as you see everywhere on the web. The operator of the big machine in a commercial lab corrects your mistakes so you probably are not aware of how poor your technique may be. Digital is much more flexible, but with the flexibility comes a much higher degree of complication and a far longer learning curve.ĭigital cameras have liberated photographers from the extremely expensive domination of commercial photo labs, but have put the ball back in their courts. It is possible with determination to become a competent printer in the fume-room with a couple of years experience.
The simplest is a drum processor and rotator base. To go digital, you will need a scanner such as the excellent Epson V700 and a ton of experience, or a darkroom with an enlarger and image processing trays for B&W, or a processing system for colour and even much more experience.
You have the choice of equipping a traditional fume-room and learning analogue printing, or going hybrid digital. Negatives are originals, just like RAW files with digital.