I have participated in one or two threads over the past few years about the pros and cons of mail-in photo prcessing - particularly Fuji in Phoenix. Generally, I have supported their service because (1) it is one of the least expensive available to me, (2) I treat my slides with respect, so the cardbord mounts have never been a problem, and (3) they have never screwed up one of my orders. Until now.

Last July I took yet another of those "trips of a lifetime." I shot about 40 rolls of film and had an "inventory control" problem somewhere along the line. (My foolproof numbering system turned out not to be so foolproof.) In the end I had a feeling that I was one roll short, but could not identify (in my mind) the precise shots that were missing. I therefore assumed that all was OK.

Cutting to the chase: The film was mailed to Fuji on July 26 - 27, 2004 and the last roll appeared in my mailbox on April 28, 2005. That's nine months, give or take. Can anyone top that?

Tom in Pennsylvania

Hey Tom, how have you been?

I guess I can't top that, but it's good that they did finally get it to you. I have heard stories of lost (forever) rolls but that's never happened to me.

I don't want to turn this into a film vs digital thread but lab quality control is one thing that drove me to a DSLR. There was one place in town that still did E6 in house so I used them to support that and also get next-day service. But I started getting fingerprints on my slides (no, they weren't mine - as the shop suggested!). Also, water spots and the occasional crooked mount - but the worst was three slides on one roll that were gouged. The guy at the shop insisted that it was a water spot even though you could see it poking thru the other side, it was pretty obvious. He comped that roll of processing but I was more worried about it not happening again. Not long after that they closed their lab and moved the mini-labs into their main store. I'll bet that they send out E6 now, but haven't been back to find out.

Photo Craft (http://www.pcraft.com) is a really good place in Colorado that does work for a lot of pros. If you're shooting travel and nature (not commercial) then their rate is really reasonable, and they're fast too.