How good is Dwayne's Photo for developing 35mm and 120 color film?

bvy · May 18, 2012

I used them a couple weeks ago to process three rolls of 120 (color negative). Sent it out on Wednesday, had them back the following Friday. No complaints. They were clean, carefully sleeved, and looked good.

My first experience with them was December 2010 when I sent them my first and last rolls of Kodachrome. I requested slides and scans. Slides were good, the scans were terrible. I'll do my own scanning.

kid_rondeau · Sep 27, 2014

Hi all,
This is my very first post on these forums (though I've been active in several other forums not related to photography), and I apologize for reviving a dead thread, but I have to chime in about Dwayne's Photo: I loved them for years and used them exclusively, but last year (summer 2013) I noticed the scans got progressively worse every time I sent film out. Some shots were completely washed out (as though they were overexposed...they weren't). Pics are often blurry and colors are not corrected...I don't recall the grass in my yard being quite so cyan, but there you go.
I gave them one more chance recently, and while I admit I am a rather mediocre photographer, I was very unhappy with the processing. The prices are cheap, so you get what you pay for. Also, when they send you the CD of jpegs, the individual picture files have the most screwed up indexing I've ever seen...they start at "-36" and count down to "-10", and then they have seemingly arbitrary names like "9-3", "7-7", "5-3", "-1A" and so forth. It's up to you to remember or figure out what order they go in!

Yeah, so I'm on the lookout for a new lab too. NCPS did great work for me the one time I used them, but they're a little too expensive. I'm gonna try TheDarkroom next.

Sirius Glass · Sep 28, 2014

kid_rondeau said:
Hi all,
This is my very first post on these forums (though I've been active in several other forums not related to photography), and I apologize for reviving a dead thread, but I have to chime in about Dwayne's Photo: I loved them for years and used them exclusively, but last year (summer 2013) I noticed the scans got progressively worse every time I sent film out. Some shots were completely washed out (as though they were overexposed...they weren't). Pics are often blurry and colors are not corrected...I don't recall the grass in my yard being quite so cyan, but there you go.
I gave them one more chance recently, and while I admit I am a rather mediocre photographer, I was very unhappy with the processing. The prices are cheap, so you get what you pay for. Also, when they send you the CD of jpegs, the individual picture files have the most screwed up indexing I've ever seen...they start at "-36" and count down to "-10", and then they have seemingly arbitrary names like "9-3", "7-7", "5-3", "-1A" and so forth. It's up to you to remember or figure out what order they go in!

Yeah, so I'm on the lookout for a new lab too. NCPS did great work for me the one time I used them, but they're a little too expensive. I'm gonna try TheDarkroom next.

Welcome to APUG

I used Dwaynes for 135 and for 120 for a while and then I got dirty negatives and prints with the color balance way off. So I stopped using them.

BetterSense · Sep 28, 2014

This is interesting as I have just boxed up a batch of film to send to Dwaynes...35mm slide and C41; 120 C41. Are there other reports of bad quality?

I used to use Samy's for slides until they shut down. I ended up with Dwaynes because it was the only other option I knew of. I have been ok with their slide processing except they chop off frames past 36.

I sent 1 batch of color neg to them and I thought the prints were fine, but that was a year ago.

Roger Cole · Sep 28, 2014

Last batch I got from them the slides were fine, the scans were terrible even by Dwayne's standards - they all looked washed out and overexposed, but the slides looked great.

I am sitting here looking at six rolls of 36x slide film ready to go with a seventh in my camera bag. I was just about to go ahead and send to Dwayne's but if someone can suggest a place that I can get the mounted slides back with scans on disk for a reasonable price I'll give them a try. But I need the scans - otherwise I'd just buy some E6 chems and run them myself.

They did take care of the crappy roll of scans I posted above back in May.

Alan Klein · Sep 28, 2014

How do they return the film? The lab I use in NYC LTI Lightside returns them in a plastic sheet with the (10) 6x7 films slipped ionto 4 rows (3+3+2=2). if you're shooting 6x6, I believe they return it cut 3+3+3+3. The film is perfectly flat.

peter k. · Sep 28, 2014

For slides I go to

Denver Digital 303-698-2962

http://www.theslideprinter.com/services/e6-slide-developing/

Roger Cole · Sep 28, 2014

Alan Klein said:
How do they return the film? The lab I use in NYC LTI Lightside returns them in a plastic sheet with the (10) 6x7 films slipped ionto 4 rows (3+3+2=2). if you're shooting 6x6, I believe they return it cut 3+3+3+3. The film is perfectly flat.

120 transparency comes in one long roll, rolled up in a cardboard tube - not ideal if you want them to lay flat. But I very rarely shoot 120 E6 (and that only because I got some film basically free.) 35mm E6 comes mounted in cardboard boxes unless you specify unmounted. Since I shoot 35mm E6 for projection I want them mounted. Negatives come in sleeves.

Roger Cole · Sep 28, 2014

peter k. said:
For slides I go to

Denver Digital 303-698-2962

http://www.theslideprinter.com/services/e6-slide-developing/

Processing is fine but the only scans they offer are 9 MB and up, priced prohibitively for a full roll. I like getting back ~2MB scans of each frame from Dwaynes - not really enough to print but plenty for web posting and email and such, even with some cropping. I want a CD of such quality (roughly) scans back - or I need to invest in a 35mm film scanner and some E6 chems and just do it myself.

EDIT: Well I liked it when they didn't suck anyway.

peter k. · Sep 29, 2014

Roger Cole said:
Processing is fine but the only scans they offer are 9 MB and up, priced prohibitively for a full roll.

yes that's true, but scan all my own.

A year back when started looking for a new company, (dissatisfied with the old one that I had used) what impressed me, is that they developed E-6, 5 days a week. People must use them and like them, if they have that much to do.

Roger Cole · Sep 29, 2014

peter k. said:
yes that's true, but scan all my own.

A year back when started looking for a new company, (dissatisfied with the old one that I had used) what impressed me, is that they developed E-6, 5 days a week. People must use them and like them, if they have that much to do.

35mm film scanners don't cost that much. I need to just pony up for one. Then I can do my own E6 or send it out, either way.

BetterSense · Sep 29, 2014

It's more about the time for me, versus the expense of a scanner. I know I can scan my own film, but scanning is not enjoyable and is not booked as hobby time. I would prefer to pay a lab for scans.

Alan Klein · Sep 29, 2014

Roger Cole said:
120 transparency comes in one long roll, rolled up in a cardboard tube - not ideal if you want them to lay flat. But I very rarely shoot 120 E6 (and that only because I got some film basically free.) 35mm E6 comes mounted in cardboard boxes unless you specify unmounted. Since I shoot 35mm E6 for projection I want them mounted. Negatives come in sleeves.

That;s what concerns me and why I use LTI Lightside. LTI returns each roll in a plastic protector page cut into 4 strips 3,3,2,2. So it lies flat. Years ago I got them in long rolls in a box. When I went to scan them, it was hell trying to get them to lie flat in the Epson scanner. With the new way, the holders, although still not the best, at least I can get them to lie flat because the film was shipped and now stores flat.

Sirius Glass · Sep 30, 2014

BetterSense said:
It's more about the time for me, versus the expense of a scanner. I know I can scan my own film, but scanning is not enjoyable and is not booked as hobby time. I would prefer to pay a lab for scans.

Film processed by Dwaynes has dirt on the negatives before they scan so nothing is gained from using Dwaynes but ruined film.

Roger Cole · Sep 30, 2014

I've never received dirty film back from Dwayne's. One scratched frame but that's it out of probably a couple hundred rolls or so.

Sent from my iPhone via Tapatalk using 100% recycled electrons. Because I care.

BetterSense · Oct 1, 2014

So to the Dwaynes critics - please recommend alternatives for

-color slides
-color negatives and 4x6 prints

I still do a fair bit of casual color negative film and disposable cameras, but it's getting hard. Since Walmart quit doing it, and I too have been burned by drugstore minilabs, I'm sort of floating. I always liked Walmart quality of send - out. I think they sent it to Fuji Labs. Is it possible to send my film there by myself?

Roger Cole · Oct 1, 2014

It is for E6 at least:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/18646-REG/Fujifilm_Slide_Processing_Mailer_for.html

EDIT: Never mind, it's only good for the rest of 2014 and goes to Dwayne's anyway.

Sirius Glass · Oct 1, 2014

Roger Cole said:
I've never received dirty film back from Dwayne's. One scratched frame but that's it out of probably a couple hundred rolls or so.

I do not need one roll ruined, but Dwaynes ruined multiple rolls.

Roger Cole · Oct 1, 2014

Sirius Glass said:
I do not need one roll ruined, but Dwaynes ruined multiple rolls.

Don't get me wrong, I totally understand. I'd feel the same way if it happened to me. Just that, so far, it hasn't.

How good is Dwayne's Photo for developing 35mm and 120 color film?

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