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I was just browsing Rocky Mountain Film Lab's price list and I was astounded at how high some of their prices are. I can justify how they charge a lot of $$$ to restore really old films (such as Kodachrome II), but what's the deal with $28 for Ektachrome 7240--a stock that Eastman Kodak still manufactures? And $33 for Plus-X or Tri-X--also rolling off the assembly line at Kodak's plant? What's with that? Their turnaround time is another eyebrow-raiser--four-to-six weeks!?!? I know they process it only on a volume basis, but their competitors process the stocks listed above at a cheaper price and ship it to you much more quickly.
I guess they concentrate on the film restoration business.
Anybody ever use them? What are they like?
Tom
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Good question; I would like to know also. I was considering sending them some old Ektachrome but went with Yale instead mostly because of turnaround time and price. I believe Rocky Mountain labs will do 'whatever it takes' to produce a nice picture and won't charge extra for push processing.
I bring this point up because I was once given a quote of $50 to push Ektachrome VNF (the new stuff) one stop by a different company. I didn't do it and it came out fine. This is the same place that tells me that my old Ektachrome is processed twice a year - now after I send it in. I sent it in around August and they said it's outsourced and would be done in Nov./Dec. What's up with Javaphoto?
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no charge for push? where can i find that mounation lab www address to find out.
Jerome Cain, deaf filmmaker
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<BLOCKQUOTE><font size=2 face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><table border="0" width="90%" bgcolor="#333333" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="0"><tr><td width="100%"><table border="0" width="100%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2" bgcolor="#FF9900"><tr><td width="100%" bgcolor="#DDDDDD"><font size=2 face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Originally posted by Jerome Cain:
no charge for push? where can i find that mounation lab www address to find out.
Jerome Cain, deaf filmmaker</font></td></tr></table></td></tr></table></BLOCKQUOTE>
I BELIEVE that they do this but when I looked on their site and found nothing said about push processing. This was probably explained in an email reply to me after asking. If you need it push processed you need to know how much to push and tell them ahead of time. I'm not positive it's no extra charge so email them first to be sure about the process. I don't want to spread misinformation.
Thanks,
Chris
http://www.rockymountainfilm.com
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Another thing I find confusing is that RMFL does not guarantee any results. While this is completely understandable if you're submitting a very old stock of film that is no longer manufactured, it's pretty high-handed for a new roll of Plus-X that you just purchased last week.
Even if they do "go all the way" for you, processing-wise, shouldn't they guarantee the results of stocks still widely available?
Tom
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don't they specialize in processing very old exposed film? this would jusify their prices. even films like tri-x and plus-x need extra care if they have been sitting on the shelf for 10 years. i think kodak does change forumlation every decade or so. this also my figure into the price. using special developers and bleach to obtain the best results.
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<BLOCKQUOTE><font size=2 face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><table border="0" width="90%" bgcolor="#333333" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="0"><tr><td width="100%"><table border="0" width="100%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2" bgcolor="#FF9900"><tr><td width="100%" bgcolor="#DDDDDD"><font size=2 face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Originally posted by rollemfilm:
don't they specialize in processing very old exposed film? this would jusify their prices. even films like tri-x and plus-x need extra care if they have been sitting on the shelf for 10 years. i think kodak does change forumlation every decade or so. this also my figure into the price. using special developers and bleach to obtain the best results.</font></td></tr></table></td></tr></table></BLOCKQUOTE>
That's true but do they have to make you wait four-to-six weeks for you to get your film back? I can take into account the price if they're using special bleaches but making you wait for weeks and weeks--even Kodak gets your K40 back to you in under a month (if they don't lose it).
Just my $.02.
Tom
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Does it ever make you wonder why some people will be willing to spend much more for their photo processing when their quality really doesn't differ from any of the other services that you use. By the way, I don't recommend that you get extachrome or tri-x processed by Rocky Mountain since you can get it done cheaper and quite nicely by A-1 film lab in NY. That's where my local camera shop outlabs my Tri-x and it's only about 10 dollars a roll through them. A-1's website sucks though, it's all flash-oriented and doesn't work very well.
But I was going to develop an old Kodachrome II cart. by Rocky Mountain. I figured this: it takes almost a year to get it back, black and white, on a video, if there is any image left at all. So for the Kodachrome II it's basically a crap shoot. I decided it wasn't really worth it.
Bottom line in my opinion: If you seriously want to develop an old Kodachrome II cart, than use Rocky Mountain, otherwise keep it cheap and reasonable and use a local service. Their quality isn't any different than the ones I've used.
~M
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I wasn't planning on using RMFL; I just wondered what the deal was with them.
I use Pac Lab for all my non-K40 needs.
Tom
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i think the point here is that you can send your old film to a standard lab and "maybe" get some usable footage if the film is real old. but these folks try to get "something" out of very outdated film. they should be commended for the service and understood.
