What I was doing at the end of my color film days was just get film processed and I would scan the film for proofs, using a display on either a laptop or monitor. Giving good proofs for someone to take home was an invitation to steal. Let them pick out the ones they wanted in my presence, and then get them wet printed or the selections rescanned specifically for the prints ordered (with the customer fully informed of which) and go from there. Took a bit of extra time but brought the cost way down with a drastically reduced theft risk. Id guess I was paying about $5 a roll with a couple of bucks extra for processing. That equates to about a 1000 rolls in two years max. For the longest time that also came with a reduction in quality, though I really do not believe that to be the case anymore. Comparing some of the early digital cameras though with a MF negative and there was no comparison.
Now many pros would do that kind of volume and many wouldn't, but it also only includes the body not software and computer upgrades too. Many of those film users would also do so its pretty hard to compare and for many people cameras with a crop factor actually work better for them. That changes the economics, but cost is not the only reason to justify digital. For me it was the speed of delivery.
When I use film now, its almost always black and white and I do all that myself. Its also something I still enjoy so I don't try to justify the expense.
-------- Original Message --------
Subject: RE: Everybody Is A Photographer
From: David Dyer-Bennet <dd-b@xxxxxxxx>
Date: Thu, September 22, 2011 12:37 pm
To: List for Photo/Imaging Educators - Professionals - Students
<photoforum@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
On Thu, September 22, 2011 11:55, mark@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx wrote:
> Unless you take
> enough that you can throw away a body in 2 years, for most pros its not
> cheaper
So how many rolls do you shoot in a year? I figured a roll of film was
about $5, and professional processing (just to proofs or contacts) about
$15; so $20/roll just in film and lab charges.
Yeah, some of the prices have come down to account for it being cheaper,
so that makes it harder to hang on.
--
David Dyer-Bennet, dd-b@xxxxxxxx; http://dd-b.net/
Snapshots: http://dd-b.net/dd-b/SnapshotAlbum/data/
Photos: http://dd-b.net/photography/gallery/
Dragaera: http://dragaera.info
