Where to get film rolls developed + scanned to CD?
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RichardSeah
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actually almost all photoshops does that, even my neighbouring photoshop. Just enquire the personel in the shop.
can range from 7+ to even 11+
Note also that there are mainly two resolutions offered:
4 base scan is about 1500 x 1000 pixels and cheaper, about $12 per roll
16 base scan is about 3000 x 2000 pixels and costs about $18 per roll.
Also the quality of scans varies greatly.
When I first started scanning some of my old slides around 2002, I didn't know anything, just go to any colour lab, quality was so terok - eg very dark, colours off, etc - I had to re-scan 4 times before got decent (not good) quality.
See http://www.art-photograph-gallery.com/photograph-of-hands-1.html for example of how much the quality can vary.
Recently my friend went to neighbourhood shop and same thing happened, scans looked terrible, as if my friend is bad photographer but his pixs are generally very high standard.
So I would recommend you spend a bit more and go to reliable place. After trying many places, I finally settled for Fotohub at Beach Road near steamboat places. Cost is higher but quality is good.
More recently, I found a friend who scans for me with dedicated slide scanner -- and with dedication. He puts his heart and soul to do a good job. Now I get not just good but EXCELLENT quality. But this will be costly because a lot of effort goes into it, not just straight scan. He also cleans my old slides, removes fungus, after scanning do colour correction with Photoshop, etc.
Those interested to see the difference email me at richardseah@pacific.net.sg I will show you some before/after scans. World of a difference!
macingrouch
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Some neighbourhood places are bad for developing because they dont treat your film nicely. I had one roll of very nice fireworks photos but the developing came out like poo cos it was scratched in many places, as if the film was kept from the 60s.
Fotohub at Beach Road is by far the best scanning place I've gone to, but generally (processing and scanning) they are more expensive. They also do push-pulling for your film ($2 for one or two stops), and by far the only place I know that still does it.
Some of the places I go regularly to develop my film-
Slide film: Ruby photo (opposite peninsular plaza) $4.70 per roll.
B/W film: Ricebowl (one at Adelphi and one at Funan) $5.00 per roll, another 2 bucks for push/pull, 5 bucks more for a contact print.
Fotohub at Beach Road is by far the best scanning place I've gone to, but generally (processing and scanning) they are more expensive. They also do push-pulling for your film ($2 for one or two stops), and by far the only place I know that still does it.
Some of the places I go regularly to develop my film-
Slide film: Ruby photo (opposite peninsular plaza) $4.70 per roll.
B/W film: Ricebowl (one at Adelphi and one at Funan) $5.00 per roll, another 2 bucks for push/pull, 5 bucks more for a contact print.
RichardSeah
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You mean scan from a print? I did that once at Fotohub because I lost the original slide. Yes can be done. In fact, any desktop scanner can scan prints.
But again, it is matter of quality. I should have tried my home scanner first, but kiasu went to scan at Fotohub just to make sure it is good. Forgot how much I paid, but not cheap.
RichardSeah
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Ah! Very important point.
When my friend scanned my slides recently, he said some had plenty of finger prints, and he knows they are not my finger prints because small and elongated, like girl's fingers.
According to him -- who had studied photography and about care of negatives / slides at university level -- finger prints are VERY HARMFUL because our sweat is acidic and will damage the slides / negatives.
So here is one more reason to get it done by reliable lab, not any neighbourhood lab.
oic, didnt know there are differences. Thanks for sharing. My first roll with my neighbourhood shop came out pretty nice (have allowed that shop to process all the rest of my films) so i thot all photoshops should be the same.
thanks guys.Actually scanning the slides/negatives is never a problem. The problem lies in how the owner took care of these sensitive photographic medium. The climate in Singapore is brutal on photographic emulsions.
Develop good storage habits. Always, always store your slides, negatives and prints in acid-free storage sleeves or boxes, and then place them inside a spacious dry cabinet. Since I have more than 10,000 slides and negatives, and over 200 silver-based photographic prints, I have bought three 130-liters dry cabinets specifically for this purpose. Buying three dry cabinets may seems costly at first, BUT exposing ones negatives, slides or prints to the our warm, humid and dusty environment is even more costly (consider the fact that some of the damaged slides/negatives are irreplaceable).
I do film scanning on a personal level, but only to help restore damaged or faded images (faded memories to some). Image restoration is an art by itself and SHOULD NOT be treated like the usual Photoshop enhancement.
Develop good storage habits. Always, always store your slides, negatives and prints in acid-free storage sleeves or boxes, and then place them inside a spacious dry cabinet. Since I have more than 10,000 slides and negatives, and over 200 silver-based photographic prints, I have bought three 130-liters dry cabinets specifically for this purpose. Buying three dry cabinets may seems costly at first, BUT exposing ones negatives, slides or prints to the our warm, humid and dusty environment is even more costly (consider the fact that some of the damaged slides/negatives are irreplaceable).
I do film scanning on a personal level, but only to help restore damaged or faded images (faded memories to some). Image restoration is an art by itself and SHOULD NOT be treated like the usual Photoshop enhancement.
RichardSeah
New Member
I wouldn't agree that scanning is never a problem. True that my case involved old, damaged, fungused, discoloured and otherwise terok slides. And your point about taking good care is certainly important to bear in mind.
But recently my friend had some brand new slides, sent to neighbourhood lab for developing and scanning...and the scans came out looking like s hit.
I believe some of these neighbourhood labs, inside their big and costly machines is just a cheapo scanner.
RichardSeah
New Member
I just found my friend's email after sending his slides to a shop in Woodlands Caueway Point. This was what he wrote:
The scanning quality is simply unacceptable and I was quite disappointed. All images were full with dust and the picture noises are terrible.
The scanning quality is simply unacceptable and I was quite disappointed. All images were full with dust and the picture noises are terrible.
Guys, I just came back from Funan and couldn't find the Ricebowl outlet. Care to guide me as to what floor and location of that shop? I should've just went to Adelphi hehe, much less floorspace to search.
My negs doesn't contain anything special right now, just casual street snaps, especially with this first roll... I dumped it to a neighborhood shop right across my office to try it out, at least there's nothing important or precious in that roll anyway... Kinda expensive for a small Fuji lab, $9 from roll to CD (no prints) 4.50 for developing, 4.50 for the scan and write. Is that about right? Prints will cost extra (per sheet).
My negs doesn't contain anything special right now, just casual street snaps, especially with this first roll... I dumped it to a neighborhood shop right across my office to try it out, at least there's nothing important or precious in that roll anyway... Kinda expensive for a small Fuji lab, $9 from roll to CD (no prints) 4.50 for developing, 4.50 for the scan and write. Is that about right? Prints will cost extra (per sheet).
RichardSeah
New Member
Yes, compared with digital which is "free" except cost of camera, then of course expensive, Even 5 cents is expensive compared with zero. But compared with approx $18 for good quality scans at Fotohub, $4.50 is very very cheap.
For those of us who have some good images from the past on negatives / slides, then the value of a good scan I would say, is priceless.
My friend did the scans for me and now I owe him many dinners and many glasses of teh halia still not enough to express my full appreciation
This reminded me of an incident that happened to me while working as an assistant photographer in the US.
My employer (a lady) uses a Hasselblad medium format camera. All her negatives have to be sent to Golden, Colorado for high-resolution professional scans. The service lab uses a high-end Howtek Hi-Resolve 8000 drum scanner which has an optical resolution of 8,000 dpi.
This incident was about one particular image of a lady, in her 70s, who is the wife of the Governor and Board Director of a well-known Ivory League university. Obviously, she is somebody in the high-society and wealthy. Such clients are able to pay thousands of US dollars just for a simple portrait taken. The scans came back tack-sharp. Every single wrinkles on her face is visible. When we showed her the proofs, she despised all of them. She even threatened never to use our services again, and to tell her acquaintances and business partners (who are all rich and famous) never to patronize us. To have this lady's photo retaken is impossible as she lives in another state.
My boss was petrified. She did not know what to do as she may loose a lot of businesses due to this unfortunate incident. I suggested instead of using our usual service lab in Colorado, we can "give it another shot" by sending our negatives to a local (neighborhood) lab. The local uses a lower-end Minolta Dimage Scan Multi Pro which has an optical resolution of 4,800 dpi. The scans came back and proofs made. We overnighted the proof to our client via FedEx.
The moment of truth...... She loves them all! :sweat: The fine lines and wrinkles were so much softer. A 30" X 36" wall portrait was made and framed. My boss made US$10,700 from her.
So my point is, sometimes even neighborhood labs can satisfy the most discerning customers.
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