A New Record for Fuji Phoenix

[carney2]

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

[another view]

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 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.