Theme A-Z Challenge
*”You’re like a bear with a sore head,” Aunt Selvi announced, ever the expert in unsolicited assessments.
“She’s always like this when she doesn’t get enough sleep,” Amma added, because clearly, my flaws required cross-referencing.
This grand diagnosis unfolded over my second coffee—true coffee-bhakts know the stages. The first cup fuels conversation, the second births…
We asked you guys one simple question: How much do you pay for film developing where you live?
We got a whole lot of answers from a whole lot of countries and it turns out that some of us are paying WAY more than others. If you have a serious film habit, it turns out that most of Asia and Europe are significantly less expensive than the most of the US and UK.
Here’s what our readers had to say:
Europe
goldentapes answered: I give my films to the local drugstore, it takes about 7 days to develop and I pay around 5 Euros for one film!
mylifethroughaleica answered: Hi, my name is Massimo, Italian, living in Turin. I shoot 35mm on my Leica M7. For B&W I usually develop and scan my self, while for C41 and color film I use a lab only for development (2 euros per roll). cheers, Massimo
moralfreedom answered: Dublin, Ireland. €6.95 to scan a roll of 36 exposure 35mm film to CD. €15 for a 3-pack of Lomography ISO 400 Color Negative. More for nicer films, I’m partial to Portra. I buy online from Lomography to save costs.
tamillipede answered: In Dublin the cheapest for one roll of 35mm is €3.50, dev only
leheaven24 answered: In Cork it’s costing me €8/9 per film roll and around €11 to get a roll developed at a pharmacy!
cincuentaunoconocho answered: Mostar , Bosnia and Herzegovina , 35 mm and 120 , C41 , 1,5 euro/roll develope an scan
sams-world-photography answered: I live in Bucharest, Romania and for a roll of 35mm b&w it is it 11 Lei ($2.70) for just developing and 49 Lei for developing + scan. I use a great little place called Maican Art if anyone else here is stuck.
donnasview said: In Belgium: to develop and 36 small prints, no cdn it’s about €8-10
cheapescape answered: Gent, Belgium, 35mm mostly, €3 ($3.50) for dev, I scan the negs myself on a canoscan.
denisdunaj said: Zagreb, Croatia Develop color: 2-3€ Develop BW: 5-7€ Scan low res ~2mpix: 4€ extra Scan high res on Nikon 9000: 9€ per Frame!!! Scan high res on Epson v500: 0.7€ per frame But ALL these scans except Nikon Are usless for any serious work.
analytik answered: Estonia, Tallinn - 6 EUR for 10x15 photos, 4~5 EUR developing, 4~5 EUR scanning in high resolution
pine-snow answered: i’m living in France right now and it costs 14€ to get a CD made of my 35mm exposures.
screechypeachy answered: Bremen, Germany: 4,40€ for developing & 23 Prints at the Drugstore / 14€ for developing & 38 prints in a photo shop, both in 10x15cm
johannhusser answered: Dortmund,Germany: only development, for one film, 35mm = color 3,50 - 5 Euro, b/w: 7 - 10 Euro / 120mm = color: 4,50 , b/w: 7-10 Euro
annik-noir answered: Leipzig, Germany, 35mm, 36pics: around 8€, negatives+positives (small)+scans for colour, without scans for B&W
fo-to-grafi said: Germany Cheapest: 2,55€ to develop But better places charge 5€ or 7,50€ for black and white (it’s worth it)
mlamhofer said: Germany, just outside of Frankfurt, 35mm color, development & scans around 7-9€ (comes with prints)
blaueturnschuhe answered: Dresden, Germany. 35mm = 4€. Doesn’t matter if Color or B/W. I scan them myself.
adamhuszka answered: 800HUF (~2GBP) in Budapest, Hungary and 8GBP in London, UK
minusgold answered: in Vienna, Austria it’s between 4€ and 6€ for colour or bw film 35mm or 120mm - scanning goes with an extra fee of 5€ and prints for a 36 film roll about 10€ (10x15)
pe-kay answered: I am from Austria and I pay for colour developing with soft premium Paper around 13 to 15 Euros.
theanalogdiaryproject answered: something around 2$ per roll (c-41) in Poland
raackete answered: In Istanbul Turkey: For Fuji C200 (35mm) 1,5$ per roll. Just developing and cutting film 4$. I scan the negatives by myself with a Reflecta ProScan 7200.
beat-belmont answered: I live in Bern, Switzerland. 7CHF for a roll of 35mm c-41, including cheap, digital prints. 9CHF for b&w (development only)
jeremiasthetrainee answered: Switzerland (no considerable differences among cities), 35mm, professional developing&scan, 11-17$ per roll.
tataburduli said: 1$ for basic 35mm color film. 2,5$ for black and white film. in Republic of Georgia.
United Kingdom
the-modified-world answered: £2.50 colour c-41 dev Birmingham, England, no scanning
sparrow-and-wolf answered: As a student in Brighton UK I pay £3 dev only for any format
justremembertoroll answered: £3 dev only with a membership card for most films. Brighton, UK.
rehatkathuria answered: I’ve been getting all my film developed at a family run business in East London for £3.99 a roll. I only get my rolls processed and then scan them in myself using a Pandigital scanner I bought on Amazon. Results can be seen on londonfilmportraits.com
newagewhat answered: I pay between £7 and £10 in England
morechickens answered: £2 to develop a 35mm colour negative roll, £1 to scan to CD (as many rolls as you put in for developing (Asda, UK)
fortunepie answered: I shoot a mix of 35mm and 120 film and get it developed in Nottingham, the UK! It can cost anywhere between £6 for 35mm colour to £12 for 120 black and white.
nhanvo said: 5 pounds for a roll of 24. York. The UK
jenquest added: Yo. Glasgow in Scotland, UK. Colour 35mm 36 shots2 day process around £6. One hour add a couple of GBP.
graymanphotography answered: Great question! £8 to develop and scan a roll of 35mm, £12 for scan and develop roll of 120. UK
erebo-s said: In UK 35mm, colour, at Boots is about £5 (two days, film comes with prints)
Americas
US
kathleen2k answered: Roll of 12-120 with 5x5 proof prints, about $15. Berkeley Ca.
matthewlawrencevincent said: 6 or 7 for a roll of 120 color neg in Berkeley CA
drakesmemoirs answered: LA is about 25 bucks a roll + hi-res scan. Just develop is about 4-8 bucks.
taylor-gilmore answered: $6 in Los Angeles for 35mm and 120mm
ricky-dennison-photo answered: I live in Long Beach, CA. I shot 35mm Kodak Professional black and white and color film. the place i go to cost me 10$ for color develop and scan and black and white costs me 11$ for develop and scan.
pullm3upwitheoceans answered: 35mm, san francisco, I don’t have the resources to develop my own film at this time so I average $15 a roll including scans. BREAKING THE BANK but it’s always worth it.
aylaroselaakea said: Marin county CA: I develop my own bnw color film is 6 bucks. Or 10 at another place in town. Scanning is 4-10 per roll depending on the place.
nicopenitenti said: Medium and 35 b&w are 6$ each to develop at little film lab in Menlo Park CA, they do mail-ins and i just sent my first group in! they also scan and print if you want! Cant wait to get them back
mmcza answered: $13.79 including tax at Bromfield Camera in downtown Boston, MA
abiowens answered: I’m in Charleston, SC, i shoot 35mm color and it costs $3 to develop a roll, about $5 to scan a roll to a CD.
samanthade5a7 answered: In Baltimore, Maryland it is $8/roll to process the film, and then another $7.50 to scan to a CD.
annaalyn said: in Los Angeles, CA I mail my film to Orange County $11 a roll + 5.95 flat rate shipping so I usually mail multiple rolls at a time!
georgedanielbarriv answered: 35mm film is $3 for color negatives and 6 to scan onto a flash drive at Colonial Photo & Hobby in Orlando, FL
hypernauts answered: Philadelphia - 35mm Process and print (4x6): B&W $15.50 (24exp), $18 (36exp); Color $13.50 (24exp), $16 (36exp).
quinnmil answered: I do process only at a place in Chicago (they send it out to a lab) for 35mm and it’s about $7/roll.
huitzil answered: I get film from B&H, NYC; HC110 dil g=250 rolls (36 exp) @$30; 35/120mm/Epson PerfectionV500
kelliemarty answered: I’m in New York, I shoot 35mm format and i get c-41 processing for $5 and black and white developing for $6. To scan for both it’s $4 per roll.
cleanaction said: I pay $7.20 per roll of 120 and 35mm for develop only at LTI in Manhattan and 5.40 for sheet film.
estyeffyou answered: I’m from San Mateo, CA. I go to College of San Mateo to work on black and white projects. It’s $46 USD per unit but I qualify to attend for free. I buy my own film developer for $20. I shoot 35mm, 120 and sometimes 4x5. I can scan at home. :)
chpsnsalsa answered: In Seattle I pay $6 per roll of C-41 120 film, $5 per roll of black and white (develop only in both cases)
audioper answered: I pay about $5-6 for a roll of 35mm in Cleveland OH.
korygasser answered: in Cleveland, Ohio at Dodd Camera, i got a roll of 35mm developed for $5, cd with 400dpi scans for $2.50, and can get flatbed scans for $.50 per frame. not bad. the cheap scans kind of suck though.
master-bait answered: In Louisiana, shooting 35mm, machine developed. Around $7 dollars for development for 24 exposures, plus about another $7 for 4x6 prints of the whole roll or a scan to cd. After tax, about $15 per roll.
alysonbowen answered: I work in a lab in downtown Portland, Oregon. C-41 processing is $4.00 per roll, $7 with prints. B&W processing is $12.99 per roll or $19.99 with prints. This is only for 35mm though.
snapshotsofspunk said: In Illinois, in Peoria and Chicago its about $4 a roll for negatives only development, for 120 color film. I have paid $5-8 for 35mm color film, negatives only, depending on where I take it. B&W I usually process myself.
blue-folio answered: It cost between 5 and 6 bucks in Brooklyn, depending on color of B&W. This is just negative processing, no printing, no scanning.
ax5chronicles answered: $3.99 per roll of C-41 and $7.50 per roll of E-6 at Dwayne’s Photo in Parsons, Kansas. I do my B&W myself, so maybe $1.00 per roll or so.
nijigahaara said: I mostly home develop with rodinal for black and white and scan at home. For color I go to cvs and that’s about $8 for negatives of portra 400
bluecollarhighclass said: $8 for a roll of 120 color, $11 for 120 b&w. Charlotte, NC
evanhalf said: In Bellingham, Washington it costs $8 for 35mm b&w development, add $2 to push or pull. That’s at a great photo lab called Quicksilver Photo. 35mm C-41 development costs $4.
lianakitsune added: I pay $5-6 for a roll at Costco lmao
kimsmithmiller
answered: Portland, OR. 120mm and 35mm are $4 ($8 for hand developed B&W). No scanning, negs only. $1 extra to cut/page.
Canada
tylerhayward said: Toronto, Ontario, Canada, for 1 roll of 35mm developing is $5.50 and for jpeg scans (3000px longest edge) it’s an additional $5.00. Students can get a 10% discount off of each though
crcksnaphtgrph answered: in Toronto, ON - to get a 24/36 colour roll scanned in 3 days costs $11/12. 24/36 Black and White roll scanned in 5 days costs 12/13. To push film andywhere from 3-5$ more, for Hi-Res, $5 more. (all for 35mm)
mitchoud answered: $4 in London Ontario, Canada for 1 roll of 35mm on CD
marcnagainisphotography answered: 9.99 for c-41, 10.99 for e-6, ottawa ontario canada
cosmic-poetry said: $6-7 to develop a roll of standard 35mm in Southern Ontario, Canada, plus $15 for the roll to be scanned
blue-trafficlights said: 35mm, colour, for just negatives, $6, and b&w about $10, Canadian :)
dimsuns answered: Currently $5.99 CDN for developing. With scanning (and coupon) it comes to $17 at London Drugs (Calgary, Alberta, Canada)
lianakitsune Where I live, it’s 50 Mexican Pesos (about 3.5 USD) for developing 35mm (24 or 36 exp) and another 50 for scanning
linuskuleshov answered: In Guadalajara, Mexico. Currently working with medium format: Just develop the film (C-41) either 35mm or medium format: +/- 2 dollars. Scanning: +/-:4 dollars. (the real problem is there is only one shop developing C-41 medium format)
lintphotography answered: I’m from Mexico City. I shoot 35mm and 120. I pay $1.70 for colour film minilab developing (negatives get a bit scratched) or $3.30 for manual developing. Professional developing costs around $14. These prices were converted form pesos to US Dollars.
jazbliuto added: Santiago Chile developing ( C41 / manual for b/w + scaning ( like crap in norirsu 1000x1509 px) 35 mm color $ 8.400 CLP...
ivillalobosa answered: In Santiago de Chile 35mm color develop + scan about $5000 CLP, that’s about $8 USD.
ohhellopanda answered: In Toronto, you can get 35mm colour and black-and-white (C-41) processed for C$2.99 and you get a CD with the scanned images on it.
michdee said: In Toronto, Canada it’s about 5$ to develop 35mm and another 5$ to scan.
unknownxmofo said: In Nanaimo, BC, Canada I pay around $20 for a 24 exposure 35mm roll developing, set of prints, and scans onto CD. It’s around $13 without the prints, and you can only get film developed at London Drugs. (We’re limited here, can you tell?)
Asia
buddhacola said: I live in St. Petersburg, Russia and I work at photostore so developing and scanning are free for me.) We do developing of any c41 film (135 or 120) for 45 roubles (around 0.6 dollars) and scanning is about 0.3-1,5 dollar per frame
samgregg answered: £1 in Bangkok. £6 in England. Absolutely crazy.
gababoutgab answered: Manila, 35mm, c41 and scan to cd, developing is P65/roll; scanning at P150/roll
rejipatch answered: The Fuji Colorlab in Iloilo City (Western Visayan islands, Philippines in Southeast Asia) charges PhP 55.00 (1.20 USD) per roll of c41 films. Photolabs don’t process traditional b&w films anymore. scanning is PhP 50.00/CD of at least 3 rolls.
666463 answered: 600¥/roll for developing color at Kitamura Shop, Japan.
quillhon answered: In Hong Kong, HKD $35 for developing film(120 and 135 are same).
romualdhk said: In Hong Kong for developing and scanning : 35mm colour : 28hkd 35mm b&w : 38hkd 120mm colour : 38hkd 120mm b&w : 48hkd
jaylovesfilm answered: In Hong Kong, I had 6 35mm rolls and 4 120mm rolls developed, printed and scanned for 600 saudi riyals. In Delhi, I just had four 35mm rolls done for 3011 rupees, and in London I usually develop (and scan/print) a roll for 10 pounds. All color.
itorangers16 answered: In Indonesia. Negative film process C-41 & Scan 300dpi with Noritsu around IDR 35,000 or $ 2.71. I Make Pyrocat-MC at home Total costs incurred around IDR 3,000,000 atau $231.98 they can be used in 1000 BW films to be developed
mikecampton answered: I live in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. I just started shooting 35mm film and a roll of color costs just under $5 to process and scan. Black and white is just over $7 a roll. Hope this helps!
Australia / New Zealand
peoplefamiliarwiththesituation answered: Cut and Sleeved Colour 135 and 120 are both NZ$6.50 in Auckland, New Zealand.
alexbowler answered: AUD 22 for dev and prints (36 x C-41) In Brisbane. You guys should compile this info so I know how good/bad to feel about paying that much
film-file said: Around $15 per roll in Brisbane (Australia) I used the get rolls developed for £5 when I lived in the UK (Edinburgh)
katfight answered: Standard 35mm in Melbourne, Australia - $12 to develop only, $20 for prints, $22 develop and scan (more for higher resolution)
citiesandcitizens added: From Perth, Western Aus shooting mostly 120 through a Fuji 6x9. Costs 18 bucks for developing and pretty mediocre scans.
minasaleeb answered: For B/W (unless it’s for something very important/vital) I develop and scan for myself using Adonal/D-76 and Epson V550. For colour, I use a place in Newtown, Sydney that does dev/scan for $25 regardless of format.
byhollypearson said: In Melbourne, Aus: Roughly $5 for straight dev or $8 with scans at low res or $15 with hi res
patterninterrupt answered: $6 to develop in Sydney and $12 to develop and scan.
Africa
paulpiguetwallington answered: In Cape Town, South Africa it’s R60 for process and scan.
acceptablepizza answered: South Africa: 40 Rand to dev. 30 Rand to scan to CD. 60 Rand to print 36 I think
Mail-In Film Developing
jamestown added: Just paid 11.98 for one roll of b/w 120 shipped to Dwaynes Photo in Kansas ($2.99 for cd, $4.98 for shipping, $4.49 for developing)
cencalphoto answered: About $11 (USD) per roll at thedarkroom.com. 35mm and 120 film developing and standard quality scans.
rlfsoso answered: well, I do my own black & white and send off Color to FINDLab, USA or Carmencita Filmlab (Spain), where I pay like 18€ per roll for development and rather large and very well made scans (including my shipping costs).
jenquest answered: 35mm colour film - £2.99 per roll. Mail order. Scanning done at home.
dozensofcolors said: Hi! I ship mine to mpix.com, where shipping there is free but you pay for developing and printing by print, and shipping back. It’s not super expensive, about $7.50 per 24 shot roll, I think?
kylesford answered: I’m currently using Indie and Alpine they start around $18 and I’ve been doing my own BW and scanning on my Pakon. I’m shooting mostly 35mm until I can get the hassy Fixed.
