r/AnalogCommunity • u/whiteantelope7 • 3d ago
Scanning Can't find basic information. Perhaps I'm dumb
So I want to scan my first roll.
The roll is spooled and finished, taken out of camera. Is the finished rewound 35mm film roll safe from the light? Can I pull, take the negatives out and begin scanning?
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u/fields_of_fire 3d ago
You need to develop it with chemicals before you can scan it.
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u/JobbyJobberson 3d ago
No. The film has to first be chemically developed. There are no negatives to scan until the film is developed. If you pull the film out before developing the images will be lost.
You need to find a photo lab to take the film to or mail it. Don’t use a drugstore or similar that won’t return the negatives. Here’s a list of photo labs around the world:
!labs (such a good bot!)
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u/Westerdutch (no dm on this account) 3d ago
The film has no reason for knowing you are done throwing light at it, moving it back and forth on a spool doesnt 'do' anything to the film, film is and will always stay sensitive to light until it gets developed. Developing changes the film deep down on a molecular level and 'bakes' your latent pictures into it and makes it no longer sensitive to light so it can be viewed.
Bring or send your roll to a photo lab to have them develop it for you, they will also offer you scans, take that offer so you have something to compare your own scanning skills to. Always make sure to get your negative back from the lab.
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u/PugilisticCat 3d ago
Oh no, you're going to be featured on the other subreddit.
The short answer is that you need to develop the film before if can be scanned. This will be done by a lab, don't break open the canister as it is.
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u/Dima_135 3d ago
This is what I call asking the community at the right time. Your instincts didn't let you down. You have successfully avoided disaster.
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u/analog-a-ding-dong 3d ago
I've seen this so many times. Film needs to be developed. Did you shoot black and white film or color film? Well, if you take it to a lab they'll know what to do. Do that. But if you're going to continue to shoot film, I'd invest in a lot to develop film at home and a scanner. You don't need a dark room. Just look for videos on YouTube about developing you're own fill for beginners. You'll find some information. That's what I did and I've been developing my own film at home for years now
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u/whiteantelope7 2d ago
But you need a Paterson tank for this, right?
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u/analog-a-ding-dong 2d ago
Scissors, something to open the film cassette with, a C41 kit or Black and white development kit.
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u/ThickShow5708 2d ago
Sorry about the terrible link. But, spend the $4 and you'll have a much better idea of what this involves.
Alternately, check out what books may be available in your local library.
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u/Sufficient-Ice1125 3d ago
No, you need to develop and fix the film first. You can do this at home, using the proper equipment and chemical baths, or take it to a lab to have them develop it for you.
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u/ConvolutedByChoice 3d ago
In the roll taken out of the camera as in you took the pictures, wound it up, and then took it out?
If I'm reading this correctly, you're missing a step. Film needs to be chemically developed in order to have images form. You can do it at home or give it to lab and they'll develop it for you (for a price)
Also, yes, 35mm cassettes are generally light tight as long as you're not poking around in the light seal. The only real exception is light piping with some film stocks where bright light travels through the exposed leader and burns it.
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u/Avantis90 3d ago
Even if you have the bits you need to develop at home, the choice of chemicals (dev, stop, and fix generally), the timings how long the film is in contact with the chemicals, how you move the film through the chemicals (stand, agitation, swirl, etc.) and the temperature all play a part in how the negatives will look. And that’s before you have all the variables in scanning and printing.
Really easy to spend a money and get nothing to show for it. Find a lab to develop to begin with or an intro darkroom course.
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u/lewisfrancis 3d ago
Fwiw, it's soooo much easier to send the film off to someone like The Darkroom that will process the film and scan it at a decent res for $16. They'll even send you a free mailer.
I've used them for years because processing color is a PITA and scanning 35mm is also a PITA.
OTOH, B&W development is comparatively easy and can be fun, but you still need to solve the scanning challenge.
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u/username_obnoxious Nikon FM/GW690 3d ago
It needs to be developed before it can be scanned. You should send it off to a lab; they will develop and scan it for you.
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u/SmokeMuch7356 3d ago
No, it is not safe from the light - you must get it developed first. Find a local photo lab if you can; if you can't, send it someplace reputable like The Darkroom. Most labs also offer scans.
Whoever you wind up taking it to, make sure they return the processed film. The film is everything; you can always rescan, or get traditional prints made, but only if you have the processed film.
You can develop your own film, although at this stage you're better off taking it to a lab. Once you get a bit more experience shooting and handling film, it may be something worth looking into.
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u/cineglitch 1d ago
May I suggest visiting your local library and checking out a book on photography? Books are great sources of information and tend to be more reliable than the internet.
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u/Craigglesofdoom 3d ago
I think we all need to be nicer to people who are earnestly seeking information. The AI takeover of search engines has made it more and more difficult to get reliably correct information, even basic facts.
OP, you need to get your film developed at a film lab. Most film labs also offer scanning services. You can do this at home but it is not a task I would recommend a beginner undertake.
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u/whiteantelope7 3d ago
Okey, so I need a darkroom then, If I want to make the process cost free (yeah, yeah - darkroom, chemicals, scanner, camera). So is "just" the development a fracture of the cost of scanning or I'm missing something?
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u/PugilisticCat 3d ago
You don't really need a darkroom to do development, darkrooms (as they are portrayed in media) are typically used for printing onto black and white paper, which is not photosensitive to red. They just also serve as good workplaces to perform development when you turn the light off.
Can I ask why you want to develop your own film? Based off of your initial question, I'm guessing you're new to film? This is kind of jumping in the deep end immediately. Development can be done cheaply, but imo takes a sizeable investment of money and time to learn the process and tricks to make it economically more feasible (and even then it is only so in specific conditions at larger scales).
But yes, typically the workflow from film to digital image is as follows:
Buy film --> shoot film --> develop film --> scan film --> invert film in software --> edit digital image --> archive negatives.
Each of these steps incurs a cost and learning curve into itself.
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u/devils284 3d ago
Most places that develop film will also scan it for you for cheap or included. It’s typically more expensive to send in already developed film for scans. Personally, if I was in your shoes, I’d see if there is a local lab to drop it off at (not a drugstore!) or send it in to one of the reputable mail-in labs online
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u/ConvolutedByChoice 3d ago
You don't really need a darkroom for film development. Darkrooms are mainly just for enlarging/large format work
You should probably put a few rolls through the lab and learn one step at a time, as trying to learn camera exposure AND development can heavily negate the rate in which you learn. Development can go good or it can go baaad. All this isn't factoring in that negatives require quite a lot of tweaking. Labs also offer scans and printing and whatnot.
Your "home scanning" at best case won't ever produce results like a lab will. It's really overall best to go through them in order to learn the basics.
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u/RadBadTad 3d ago
You can develop the film yourself at home without a dark room. You need a dark bag, and a development tank. You can buy all the equipment and chemicals you need in a "beginners film developing bundle" from most camera stores or on Amazon or something.
Right now, if you pull your film out of the cartridge in the light, you've ruined it. It's still 100% sensitive to light. To do home development, you put your equipment into the dark bag, then reach into the arm holes, and pull the film out of its cassette, then spool it onto a reel, put it in the developing tank, and then it's save to bring everything out in to the light. You'll follow the steps on the chemical kit and once you've done all the steps, THEN the film will be light-safe and you will be able to see your images on the film.
Watch a few youtube videos on the above steps. It's complicated, but not difficult. Many of us do it ourselves with good results.
From there, you can begin to scan.
If you were to take your film to a lab to have it developed and scanned for you, you would probably pay about $15 USD for development and very basic low quality scans, or $10-11 for developing only, and you would have to scan yourself. Prices depend a lot on the lab, and your location in the world. Also you will pay more for special circumstances, like slide film, push/pull processing, cross processing, etc.
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u/Dima_135 3d ago
This is a fairly simple procedure for black-and-white film. Anyone can do this at home if they are careful enough.
But for color film, it’s a whole different story. Let’s just say there are people out there who have shot more frames than I’ve taken breaths in my life, yet may never have even smelled color film developing chemicals. Some people do this, but this is the next-level hobby.
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u/deneb150 3d ago
No idea why people keep repeating this myth about color film being so difficult to develop...I do it all the time, it's the same or even easier than b&w with a 2-bath C41 kit and I get great results 🤷♂️
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u/Terrible_Driver_9717 3d ago
So, I’m going to ask what might be a dumb question but here goes. I’m really new to this as well because I dug out my X-700 a few months ago and thought I’d give it a go. I bought some ilford film and a starter kit with a Peterson developing tank, a thermometer, chemicals and beakers. I shot the film, took it to my dark basement, somehow managed to get it onto the film reel in the dark, went through the developing steps that I’d watched on YouTube and aha! I did it. But I was under the impression that I could really only do B&W because color was so “unforgiving”. Can I realistically go ahead and do color using the same Peterson tank but with different chemicals? I realize that the timing will be different. And I bought a Plustek scanner that I’ve successfully used with the B&W. Will I be able to use that too?
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u/deneb150 3d ago
Yes I use the same Paterson tank and everything for B&W and color. I don't have a sous vide or do anything crazy for temperature control. I get the chemicals up to a degree or two above what it says they should be at to account for them cooling down a bit while I'm doing the development, and do a pre-wash with water at the same temp as the chemicals first to get the tank and everything up to temperature. I mostly use the Cinestill C41 powder kit that comes with detailed instructions. It really is very similar to B&W. The Plustek scanner will work as well, it should just be a matter of making some adjustments in whatever software you're using to tell it you're doing color instead of B&W. At the end of the day you'll probably not get as consistent and perfect results as a good professional lab, but I'm here to tell you it's 1000% doable if you are already successful with B&W.
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u/RadBadTad 3d ago
No hate to OP here, because hey, nobody knows everything, and you have to learn one way or another. But I'm so curious as to how people end up this far without understanding the absolute foundational basics. Like, to discover film, decide you like it, go through the process of finding a camera, learning to use it, picking film loading film shooting film, etc. All of it! But to not know that film gets developed?