![]() ![]() Bear in mind, too, that they don’t process E-6 films. Obviously this is less of an ideal option for those visiting the city for a few days – in that case it’s probably best to visit a lab like Analogue Films. So it’s become a mail-order lab but it is well within the M25 so it counts. Owner Nitin Parekh moved the store’s film lab to an industrial estate in north London and continues to sell films, secondhand cameras and developing chemicals from there. West end Cameras itself closed its doors – right next to Spearmint Rhino’s – at the tail end of 2017, but it wasn’t the end of the business. As online retail proliferated, these stores closed one by one. West End Cameras was one of the last camera shops to remain on Tottenham Court Road, once a mecca for anyone interested in photography. West End Cameras’ old shop on Tottenham Court Road was a mecca for film fans (Pic: West End Cameras) This service takes three days and the scans are delivered straight to your computer.Īnalogue Films also develops black-and white and 120 and has plenty of film in stock too – this is the perfect place to stock up on the likes of Kodak ColorPlus. If you’re not in a screaming hurry for your scans, they have a particularly wallet-friendly option at the moment – development and WeTransfer scans for C41 films for £3.99. Sid opened up Analogue Films a stone’s throw from Brick Lane in the spring and it’s already proved to be massively popular with photographers on a budget. I take all my 35mm black-and-white, slide and colour negs shot on SLRs here, and scan at home to keep the cost down.Īs fantastic as their development is, I don’t need this level of quality for cheap colour films snapped on a £10 compact for blog posts, so there’s another lab for that workĪnalogue Films is one of the newcomers of the film developing block, though the brains behind it has some 20 years’ experience working in labs. Again, you will find cheaper elsewhere, but they’re unlikely to be of this quality. The printing here, especially off black-and-white negatives, is also incredibly good. Every one of these negs has been faultless. I’ve had most of my soundcheck project and music works developed here, with the films often being pushed three or four stops. The reason I keep coming back here time and time again is that their processing is exceptional. A roll of film costs £9.50 + VAT for dev only of colour neg, though the owner Terry will negotiate if you’re a regular customer and especially if you’re bringing in a bundle of films time and time again. It is not a place to go if you’re penny pinching. It offers an absolutely bewildering array of services, especially when it comes to printing and framing. It’s been in business for more than 20 years and does a lot of high-end work for commercial photographers, magazines and galleries. I know these three are but a half-handful of the labs available, so I’ve also listed a few more that come recommended from fellow photographers who left comments on the Kosmo Foto Facebook page.īayeux is a professional lab on Newman St in the heart of London’s West End. The labs listed below are the ones I personally use – I develop my films there and I’m happy with the results and service and wouldn’t hesitate to recommend them. I’ve often thought of writing a post like this and was finally persuaded after reading this excellent piece by Jim Grey on Down The Road in August, where he listed the US labs he sends his film to. New labs are opening as a generation exposed to film cameras through Instagram dabble with film. While some continued to close, the most recent trend has been far more positive. Enough people still shot film regularly enough to keep a fleet of labs still open. All of these labs have now gone.īut London has fared better than a lot of places thanks to its population – 8.13 million and counting. I used to dev and print my LOMO LC-A shots at the legendary Joe’s Basement and develop test rolls at a friendly local lab in West Hampstead, 15 minutes walk from my house. I used to love Metro Imaging on Great Marlborough St and Panther Prints off Theobalds Road. Some have closed – several of my favourites fell casualty to the race to digital in the mid-00s. Over the last quarter century I’ve used a bunch of different labs. In a good year I’ll shoot between 150 and 200 rolls of 35mm and 120 film. I’ve lived in London for a few months short of 25 years, and for a good 20 of those years I’ve been an enthusiastic film photographer. Decent scanners cost decent money, and getting the best out of negs and slides often takes time and patience. Even after the development there’s the scanning. Many of us don’t have the space or time to develop our own films at home. Finding the right lab is as important as finding the right camera. ![]()
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