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Re: [OM] I told you so

Subject: Re: [OM] I told you so
From: Winsor Crosby <wincros@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Tue, 20 Aug 2002 13:56:35 -0700
"And I recently saw some really dreadful Velvia done by the Fuji lab -
scratched and muddy.  Sad thing is, that photographer sent them the stuff he
shot from the back seat of an F-16D. Tough to get a retake. . ."

Occasionally, I'll see a post on a group by someone that has searched long
and hard to find the absolute cheapest possible chrome processing. I'm
baffled. Kodak/Qualex and Fuji are mass market photofinishers. They do OK on
negative film, because this is their bread and butter. Several months ago,
someone on a group quoted Kodak that 800f their film sales was Max 800.
Now, Max 800 isn't a bad film, and I've used it on occasion, but that would
just confirm that chrome is but a small part of their volume. They keep the
cine processors for the negative film in great shape, but you can only
imagine the amount of attention that the chrome machine receives.

C41 has been refined over the years to be amazingly forgiving. That's why
you can have minilabs without any plumbing connections. E6, on the other
hand, requires constant monitoring. The best processing comes from a well
regulated replenished system. That's what gives the greatest consistency. In
fact, the more film run through a replenished system, the better, assuming
the staff is doing their job. The staff at a commercial lab has the time and
inclination. they're not trying to do a 36 for $4, mailing included. I often
wonder what Fuji uses. Is there still enough volume for an E6 cine machine?
I'll bet that they only process E6 at a few labs, and ship in from the
others.

As you can tell, this is a subject on which I have strong opinions!

Bill Pearce

 For Fujichrome I mostly use the inexpensive Fuji mailers which go to
the Phoenix, Arizona PO Box. The turn around is usually 7 - 9 days.
It does not seem like that is much turn around time for forwarding
somewhere else. I have never lost film or received it back damaged or
badly processed. They are only cardboard mounts though. I did have
one that was lost for an extra week in the bowels of the USPS.  I
have sent other brands of chrome occasionally in the mailer with no
problems.

I have a local Fromex mini lab that is very conscientious which I
have used with good results. Processing and mounting a 36 exposure
roll is about $10 there, however. I only use it if I am in a hurry.
--
Winsor Crosby
Long Beach, California

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