Imrahil Dol Amroth |
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Walmart
Why is it a bad idea to take your photos to walmart or other general stores to be developed, as opposed to a store which specializes in photography? Would there be a visible difference in the photos qualty?
If so why? Do these photography stores have superior equipment, or do they take better care in developing the negatives?
I have recently been taking my photos to a dedicated photography store, but they are very pricy, as opposed to walmart which is cheap. Is it worth the extra money?
Any help appreciated.Nathan.
July 17, 2004
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April A. Abbott |
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I can't give a technical answer but I can tell you that I have experienced negative results with Wal-Mart photo developing. I do think that the reasons are probably a little all of the above added with the fact that some of the technicians are poorly trained. I know the equipment they use makes a difference, as well. When I started taking my pictures to Wal-Mart for the standard 3 day processing the results were horrible. I had just spent hundreds of dollars on new photo equipment and actually thought that I had wasted my money; that perhaps my camera or lens was faulty after I received roll after roll of bad pictures. Every picture was blurry and almost looked out of focus with poor color rendition. Finally, on one occasion I took my film to the same Wal-Mart but used the one hour processing instead, which isn't sent away but is done in the store. It made a HUGE difference. I didn't like the matte paper that it was on but the pictures were sharp and clear, the color was great. I have since taken several rolls there for the one hour processing and have been pleased for the price but I am going to try Wolf Camera next time. The processing really does make that big of a difference.
July 17, 2004
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Steven Chaitoff |
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CVS garbage
See that blurriness, not to mention darkness & unwanted crop! (This was 1 hour developing.)
Steven Chaitoff
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Oh man that's awesome
By the way, after I scanned the images in, I did take out the blue flare on the other print, so that's why it's gone.
Steven Chaitoff
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Hey Nathan, I have officially stopped getting my prints done at convenience stores and markets and types of places like that. I don't know the exact tech. involved, but like anything else, you get what you pay for...bad quality, lousy equipment, low res. results.I don't know if "CVS" is around the states, but it's a small Walmart kinda place, (more like walgreens actually) thats all over where I live in Cleveland. Anyway, that's where I got my prints done that I didn't care about. Here's an example of one of my favorite shots I got printed at CVS and then the same one from a professional lab called MotoPhoto. It's really astonishing, & I didn't pick this one as an example because it's especially bad or anything...this is on-hand evidence of the difference in all prints. Check it out... If you care about your photos & enjoy taking them you probably want good lenses, cameras, film so why not go the whole nine yards & get good developing too. Well enough ranting. -Steven
-http://www.vinrock.i8.com/photos/
July 17, 2004
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Diane Dupuis |
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When I was still using digital (actually I was using it 6 months ago because my old digital camera couldn't handle action pictures). I had always had my photos developed at Walmart, and although it wasn't perfect, it was worth what I paid for. I brought my last rolls to Blacks Photo - paid over twice as much, and did not see any difference at all.
So I can't tell you what works and why, but I felt burned and am glad that I've gone completely digital.
July 17, 2004
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Steven Chaitoff |
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Diane, no big deal, but don't you mean "When I was still using film" rather than digital?
July 17, 2004
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Diane Dupuis |
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Yes Steven, you're right! I must have been tired when posting!! Thanks for the correction!
July 18, 2004
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Lisa Lenderink |
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Steven, your MotoPhoto must be different from mine. I know it depends on the staff.. etc. but ours has great equipment (Fuji Frontier) but lousy prints..so just goes to show that even great equipment doesn't work if you can't use it right! I'm still looking for something cheaper than my lab (about $1 per photo) which I use for all of my outdoor shoots....but take my indoor to Sam's Club but have recently been having trouble with consistent color & scratched negs.
July 25, 2004
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Steven Chaitoff |
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Hmmm that's funny...I use them for everything as far as developing, printing & enlarging goes. It is expensive though...
July 25, 2004
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John A. Lind |
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I gave up on one-hour and consumer send-out (overnight) labs some years ago and do nearly all my personal work using chromes. It was truly astounding how dramatically my cameras and lenses suddenly improved their focus and exposure and so miraculously without any maintenance or rebuild/overhaul. Any "for hire" work using color negative goes to a pro lab . . . period . . . Ritz and Wolf are not pro labs either (although they tend to do a better job). It's not the negative developing, it's the printing. The print machine needs to be maintained and adjusted well. That's not always the case in a consumer lab run by minimum wage staff that suffers high turnover rates. The print machine operator controls print density and color balancing. I have suffered dust specks on negatives (they show up as white specks on prints), improper print density, incorrect color balancing and poor enlarger focusing (the latter caused by improper machine maintenance). Pros don't let their labs get away with sloppy work; they know anough about the photographic processes that they cannot be flim-flammed into believing it's their cameras/lenses when it's not. Pros demand rework until it's right and won't tolerate very many printing errors before finding another lab. As a result, pro labs don't remain in business long if they are sloppy. One of the better pro labs in The Big City near me changed ownership about five years ago. The new owners let quality go downhill. It went under and closed in less than a year. -- John Lind
July 25, 2004
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Steven Chaitoff |
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John this sounds like good news...you're saying the negatives themselves are okay & you can still get good prints from them at a good lab? Because the prints don't matter nearly as much...it's the negative I care about.
July 26, 2004
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John A. Lind |
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Steven,
A very guarded "yes" . . . there are things they can do to the negatives also, but color negative developing is a very defined, specific process (C-41) and it's not nearly as common as screwing up the printing:(a) not replensishing the C-41 developing chemistry properly (current machines have some failsafes to alarm when it's needed).
(b) scratching negatives
(c) similar to scratching them . . . knocking holes in the emulsion by gouging one negative strip with the corner of another (shows up as a small black spot or speck in the print) In terms of scratches or holes in the emulsion versus dust specks: Dust specks are opaque and will create white specks or spots on the prints. Scratches or holes in the emulsion will create black specks or spots on the prints. Exposure to light turns "C" prints and negative films black; a negative print of a negative renders a positive image; the "C" print material for printing color negative is merely a very slow form of negative film with very white, opaque base material. -- John Lind
July 26, 2004
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Chuck Freeman |
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Walmart is spending Millions on new equipment and up to date on their photo processing. Like everything else it depends on trained staff. I trust them (in my town) with my film everytime. They have great staff. They also scan slides nicely... try to beat 29 cents each. Walmart is controlling everything to an extent.
July 26, 2004
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Lisa Lenderink |
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I agree with you Chuck....our Walmart just got all new equipment as well...but the staff is still learning. I've had great results for the money at Sam's and have a wonderful relationship with the staff. But recently am having trouble with consistent printing. I just took 3 rolls back to be reprinted tonight...but they didn't give me any hassle and are reprinting for free. Hopefully I get better results the 2nd time. They've had a lot of turnover (I know I know they all do)lately so maybe this will just be a small bump in the road for me! :)
July 26, 2004
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Imrahil Dol Amroth |
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What walmart are you attending chucky! The staff at my walmart are rude, know very little about photography, and do a crappy job.
July 29, 2004
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Chuck Freeman |
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Again, I have beeen a pro for over 30 years-I know good work and bad work. The Walmart in my town is very friendly and very helpful ( They are understaffed true at times). But the photo lab does a great job and I shoot a lot of 35mm and they often do much better work than a pro lab. For $6.50 per roll 4x6 , with good results-you can not beat it. Again, The staff is what matters.
July 30, 2004
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Imrahil Dol Amroth |
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Alright chuck, I would have to agree that the price for development is phenomenal, and well worth it, especially since the negatives are usually free of damage, and can be reprinted at a pro lab if necessary.
July 30, 2004
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Nicole |
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I take my film to a Walmart Superstore. Since it's in a rather small town, I tend to trust them more. How can I tell if they are good or not? Would you reccomend that I take my film to Fred Meyer's instead. They are pretty resonable, too, and I find them to be dependable with other things. Thanks for any help.
July 31, 2004
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Richie Calloway |
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It's amazing to hear all the negative responses about Walmart. Speaking from an Eckerd lab manager's point of view, every week I get new customers that are tired of Walmart's "cheap procesing". A lower price doesn't alway's mean a good quality product. I reprint for free lot's of Walmart and CVS's work and when I give the customer back the improved prints I gain a loyal customer. As someone stated earlier the state of the C-41 chemicals matters greatly. If the lab has a low volume or they don't change chemistry often and do the required maintance religiously then there prints can be dark and muddy. C-41 chemistry if not replinished regulary will for lack of better words "oxidize" or loose potency, resulting in poor prints. Eckerds, on the other hand is always having training class's for it's managers. As a matter of fact I just finished a course given by the PAMI (Photographic Marketing Association International) and now I am a "Certified Photgraphic Consultant". This test consistes of 300 questions dealing with all kinds of situations and technical information. A large majority of it today deals with digital. Eckerds strives hard to keep it's lab personal up to date and well trained. Although, as in any other lab professional or otherwise it depends on the lab manager and how dilligent they are at training their employes as well as following up on that training. My goal as a lab manager is to try and teach my customers what mistakes they made and how to correct them next time. If I can do that then we both win. They take better pictures and I in turn get more business. Give Eckerds a try. :)
August 07, 2004
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John A. Lind |
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I've personally found consumer labs . . . particularly 1-hour . . . far too variable in their printing. They've never damaged a negative or slide. For personal work needing some proofs that don't matter much in the printing beyond evaluating the negative better than through a loupe on a light box it's worked just fine. For delivery to someone I've had far too many "do-over" experiences . . . not just with Wal-Mart . . . and that's why I rely on the work done by a pro lab for all display/exhibition work and all prints that will be delivered to someone (proof or otherwise). -- John Lind
August 08, 2004
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Imrahil Dol Amroth |
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Well, people, you certainly gave me alot to mull over. But in the end I couldn't bare to have my photos developed at walmart. I mean, how can I strive for that great picture and then take my film to a cheapo developer. I just could'nt stomach it. But I would agree that walmart does a
decent job most times.Thanks again, Nathan.
September 05, 2004
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Kelli Campbell |
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I have had prints done at Wal-Mart, and they were not good at all. As someone else mentioned-blurriness, unwanted crops, strange hue and saturation problems. However, I LOVE Costco. They always do a good job (the 1-hour part, not the send-off part), and they have told me that a lot of professionals here in town have their printing done there as well. Maybe you should try them if you have a Costco in your area!
July 28, 2005
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Collette Photography |
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I have taken my film to various walmarts across the country, ive done a lot of traveling, and the prints were all far from pleasing, of course I didnt figure this out until I took the same neg. of a picture to a different place
(my local grocery store "Hy-Vee") and had a another print made, then I compaired the two, the one at walmart had horrid color contrast and saturation than the one at hy-vee.After that I tried out a few other local convenience stores, but none were as good as my grocery store. So now the only pace that I will take it is there, and even there, there is a big difference between the 1 hour and standard 3 day processing, 1 hour is much better. So in my oppinion its just trial and error until you find the one place were your prints come out the way you think is satisfactory! But thats just my oppinion!! -Collette-
July 28, 2005
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John Rhodes |
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Imrahil, I have been using MPix with great satisfaction. Orders are usuallly turned around by the next day and in my hands in about three days. I emailed them about color space management and quickly received a very thorough reply that completely answered all my questions.
VR
John
July 28, 2005
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David A. Bliss |
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Ok, I got bored reading through all the posts, I admit, so if I repeat anything, I'm sorry ;-) When I shot film, I tried Walgreens (close to 10 years ago, so it may have improved), Wolf, and a local company in Denver called ProLab. After once at ProLab I never went anywhere else. Walgreens stratched my negatives and gave me very poor prints. When I started shooting slide, I went to Wolf and they were very uncommunicative and getting reprints was like pulling teeth (after I became more experienced and learned to ask for reprints), and very expensive. ProLab was wonderful. They answered my questions, didn't give a second thought to reprints, I could trust them with pushed or pulled film, and they would even clean my slides for me (for a charge, of course). The biggest difference between a "pro lab" and a lab at a grocery store (etc..) is that in a pro lab, they look at more than one or two prints for color accuracy, some good labs look at each print (hence the time and cost). A general store lab only looks at the first two prints, and sets the color for the entire roll.
July 28, 2005
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Lisa Lenderink |
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It's been over a year now since I've said goodbye to any retail processing (except for personal snaps of my kids) Every since I've been strictly going to a pro lab my health has dramatically improved. No more scratched negs, no more strange color casts! Life is good! They are also very patient with me in my new venture into the digital world. Happy shooting!
July 29, 2005
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Sheila M. Walsh |
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I have had my photos developed all over & I am thrilled that I found Ritz Camera. I go to my local Ritz, in Boscov's, Steamtown Mall, Scranton, PA. Excellent work & they are all have a nice white border. Very nice.
July 30, 2005
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Brenda D. |
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first to everyone who has had a bad experience at Wal-Marts one hour photo lab let me appologize, I work for them and truely love my job and treat each roll as if it were my own. at our lab we do weekly maintence and change our chemicals as specified by the co. not to mention cleaning the rollers every evening. every person in the lab is trained to do so, but like I mentioned in another question some employees are just there for a paycheck and just do what they need to do, ask the person behind the counter if they also do photography if so it will tell you they care about the quality of the prints . but I have to say that even with our new machines we still get complaints if someone is enlarging a photo the machine will automaticaly crop it , and theres nothing we can do to prevent it. if you are not happy with your pictures, you do not have to take them or pay for them, thats store policy so dont let an employee behind the counter give you a hard time, also if you ask color adjustments can be made, but most will not do it if they are very busy and have a one hour dead line to meet
July 30, 2005
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David A. Bliss |
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About the cropping issue. 35mm, and digital equivalant, are a 2:3 ratio. To get a print that does not crop any of the original photograph, you need to print 4x6, 8x12, 16x24, etc... or some other equivilent. The most common enlargement sizes are 8x10 and 16x20 (thank god 4x6 is now the most common print size), which means that some of the picture will be cropped, and most general store photo labs will crop without looking at the picture, to decide what crop is best. It is all done on computer, even at Wolf (Ritz). If you are enlarging a 35mm negative, ask for an 8x12 print instead of an 8x10 print, and crop it yourself (if you need to). Or, crop it yourself on the computer, so that the print size is 8x10. Another reason I stopped going to Wolf. I had a print they cropped poorly, and when I asked them to redo it, they said they couldn't do anything about it, it was all automated. Fine, I went to a lab that could.
July 30, 2005
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T. Walters |
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I've used Wal-Mart's 1-Hour Photo Lab for about 5-6 years. The key is to develop a good working relationship with the Lab Technicians. Whenever I turn my film in, I don't hold them to the 1-hour time limit, but I give them as much time as they need to process my film correctly, even if it's up to a week. If it comes back "botched" (which is very, VERY seldom), I kindly ask them to re-do it. When they do a great job in processing, I let them know it. When dropping off or picking up film, I wait my turn just like everyone else. This is a personal deal: When I look at my pictures, I check to see if the majority are good. If they are, I buy the whole roll. I don't go through and pick out the ones that are bad because 9 times out of 10, those were my errors, not theirs. If the pictures are "botched", I discuss it with the Tech. If it can be fixed, they take it back and I don't have to pay anything. Even if I'm just at Wal-Mart doing a little shopping, I'll swing by the Photo Lab just to say hello. Taking my film to Wal-Mart generates a great deal of savings to me & my clients. It's out of the savings that I will do something nice for the whole Wal-Mart 1-Hour Photo Lab, like provide lunch for them or give each a gift certificate to the movies(this happens 2-3 times a year). In any relationship, you have to give as much as you take. You may think, "It's their job to process my film right the 1st time. They're the ones who advertise it can be done in an hour." That's true, but someone said it earlier, some Techs are there just to get a paycheck every week and you get what you pay for. You'll get somebody who's trying to hurry up and get your film processed in an hour and from experience I've learned that you make more mistakes by hurrying than you would if you took your time and just did it right. If you give them time to handle your negatives and develop your film properly, and compliment them when they've done a great job, you'll get great service and quality work every time. Every blue moon, I'm in a crunch and will need my film processed in an hour, and I need it done right. When they do that for me, I consider that above and beyond. In appreciation and gratitude, I go above and beyond & do something nice for them. I love Wal-Mart's 1-Hour Photo Lab and wouldn't trade them for nothing in the world!
July 31, 2005
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Brenda D. |
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T.W. I couldnt have said it better, thanks for the good words about WM 1hour you are so right about a good relationship with customers and techs we have customers who are at our lab 3-4 times a week who are pros like you and get the perks of knowing each other on a personal level we know just how they like to have thier film done and asking for a little extra is no problem as long as we're not treated like we dont know what we are doing and the customer doesnt give us twenty rolls and expect each one to be adjusted to their liking in one hour. every day we get customers who will accitently get a finger or strap in front of their lens and say its our fult their pictures are bad. T.W. you are the type of customer we love and give special treatment to plus when your there ask the dept head about any discounts for volume work .
July 31, 2005
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