B+W Film Dev. Time?

[SirMike1983]

I recently went to get some black and white film developed and found that the wait times the different places estimated were quite long. I know color can be done in an hour most everywhere. Apparently though black and white requires a wait period of 5 days to two weeks. Is it that the places are shipping it out to some kind of special photo center to be done? Is there anywhere in the DC area that can do black and white film quicker than that? Thanks for the help.

[photophorous]

Depending on your film/developer combo, developing should take somewhere in the area of 8-10 minutes. Hehehe. Just kidding.

Yes, they are most likely sending the film somewhere else, because true B&W is done differently than color. To get it done quicker, usually over night at best, you'll have to go directly to a place that does the development in house. Try looking up pro labs in your area, or ask someone at the camera shop.

An alternative would be to use B&W C-41 film. C-41 refers to the process used to develop color film. Kodak and Ilford both make a B&W film that can be processed by a color lab. I've used Ilford XP-2 and liked it.

Another alternative would be to develop it yourself. It's not as scary as it sounds. You can get set up to do film with about a $60 investment and some internet research.

Good luck,
Paul

[another view]

Exactly what Paul said. I've had great luck with some of the Kodak C41 process b&w films, but some places don't get the printing right. Problem is that the negs aren't totally clear and so the prints can have a bit of a color cast to them. I've had good luck at both a specialty lab and also a one-hour place personally, but I have heard of some bad experiences. Find a good lab and stick with them. This is a great film for scanning if you don't want any grain. I usually scanned, made my own digital file and printed from that.

"Real" B&W is a totally different world. The results can be amazing but it takes a long time to master the process. Go to an art museum and see original prints by Ansel Adams, Minor White, Edward Weston and many others and you'll see how it's supposed to look!

[SirMike1983]

hmm another question on B and W film:

What is the difference in picture quality between 200 asa and 400 asa film? I've been using whatever 400 speed Ilford black and white my girlfriend has around but would the picture quality improve greatly by using 200? I know the speed is slower so the shutter speed and F stops have to be adjusted but is it much harder to use as well?

[another view]

Most of the ISO400 films are really good - in some cases they might be less grainy than older ISO200 films (newer version of 400 versus older version of 200). Most people are going with 400, so that's where you'll usually see the newest films.

You'll lose one stop, and that may or may not be a problem depending on what you're shooting. General rule of thumb is to use the slowest speed that you can, but a lot of the 400 films are really good and will break that rule.

[SirMike1983]

hmmm so it sounds like there is very little quality difference in terms of grain between 400 and 200? I've been shooting with Ilford ISO 400 (I think the film was maybe a year old because my girlfriend had it and didn't use it last year) so that's probably newer film. I've considered picking up some 200 but I don't want to lose the stop if I don't have to. Most of my shooting is outdoors during the day but there is a mix of sun and shade here and there.

[freygr]

hmmm so it sounds like there is very little quality difference in terms of grain between 400 and 200? I've been shooting with Ilford ISO 400 (I think the film was maybe a year old because my girlfriend had it and didn't use it last year) so that's probably newer film. I've considered picking up some 200 but I don't want to lose the stop if I don't have to. Most of my shooting is outdoors during the day but there is a mix of sun and shade here and there.

Historically the lower ISO films had smaller grain. The new film chemistrys are braking the old film speed and grain rules. I have shoot and developed many rolls of old gun camera out dated film, it was all ISO 400. I have had some very good photos, but many not so good photos.

The most costly Item is the developing tank if you going to do your own B&W developing.