Lab-Scanned Alfa

Nikon F6, AF Nikkor 50mm f/1.8, Fuji Velvia 100F

I finished off that roll of slide film I started shooting in my F6 almost two months ago and had it developed at North Coast Photographic Services located in Carlsbad, CA.  This is my first time using that lab, I got the idea from Ken Rockwell‘s site where he gushes about their services.

In particular he likes their scannning at time of film processing. I am frankly still struggling to keep up with my own scanning backlog and so I decided to try out a few labs that offer film processing and scanning at the same time.

My initial impression of this roll scanned by NCPS is that the detail is good and the scan has nice contrast, but it is also a bit grainier than I would have expected from my own Nikon Coolscan 5000.

I plan on having some more rolls processed and scanned by my usual lab Photoworks SF as well as another new contender The Darkroom.

If one (or more) of these lab scans is enough to my liking for casual use (Flickr, small prints, etc.) then perhaps I can focus my own scanning efforts on more critical uses.

As much as I appreciate producing a good scan and final image, I would rather be out taking more photographs instead!