I just love my old cameras. I am just wondering what are the tricks to minimize the cost of developing medium format film? I would like to have professional quality.
1. I guess the first is to buy expired film? (Which is the best source to get the film, ebay?)
2. I guess I need to develop my own film on my own.
3. I need to scan the negatives with my own scanner.
Which is the best scanner to scan medium format film? Do you use one or you send it away to scan it?
BUT probably the most important question: Is it worth it to develop and scan your own film?
- Buying expired film isn't a very good way to save on costs. Better to buy film in bulk and keep it refrigerated/frozen to preserve it, depending on how much you shoot.
- Processing B&W is a very good cost savings. The equipment is inexpensive (a tank or two, thermometer, changing bag, and a few bottles and graduated cylinders). It costs pennies per roll in chemistry to process B&W film and you can process four rolls together in about a half hour with the right daylight tank setup. That's a lot of MF shooting for a half hour's work and a dollar's worth of chemistry.
- C41 and E-6 films, however, take a bit more work to process, require much more precision for consistency. The chemistry is much more expensive. The savings only come in once you're processing a pretty sizable amount of film and have acquired the right processing equipment. Having a shop process C41 "negatives only, uncut" and E-5 "uncut" is rarely more expensive than getting your equipment, setup and workflow worked out, and cost of chemistry until you've run a few hundred rolls of film. Unless you intend to shoot a heck of a lot of MF film, let the labs who are set up do it for you.
- Scanning MF film ... well, it all depends on what you're trying to do. If you insist on the maximum quality equipment and highest resolution scans for enormous exhibition grade prints, it's going to cost a fortune to get set up and a bundle of time to learn how to use it all. For less demanding needs, however, a modest price flatbed scanner with transparency lid can do a very creditable job. The only issue then is time: scanning film is very time consuming and it is yet another learning curve to do it right.
(I was using an Epson 2450, then bought a V700 ... both work very very well for prints up to 13x19 with 645 film, even better with 6x6 and 6x9 formats; I didn't use the V700 enough, though, so sold it to a friend, keeping the 2450 for the occasional scan. When I have something that I want more quality from, I rent time on a local shop's Imacon Flextight ...)
Basically, if you want to continue to pursue MF film work, you simply have to accept a baseline cost for the endeavor in materials, equipment and time. Saving money is always a good thing, but don't compromise your work due to costs too much ... otherwise, you'd be better off shooting smaller format film and working with that. This was always the case, even before there was digital capture to consider.