Cheap Camera Stores: Not Worth the Savings
The old saying, "You get what you pay for," certainly holds true for anything to do with traditional (non-digital) photography. If you're like the thousands of people who have dusted off their old 35mm cameras because they miss the rich colors and depth of print film, be forewarned: The one-hour photo places and mall camera stores will not satisfy your yearning for artistic shots. These days, they are mostly geared to digital photography and barely know what to do with traditional print film. Such shops may be great for vacation photos or family pictures that you don't intend to enlarge. But for those hard-earned 2-hour time exposures of star trails or that sunrise shot of the mountain you trekked 3 hours to take, please do not make the mistake of entrusting your film to incapable hands. The cheap shops will process your negatives by machine, based on an "average" of light, color, and other readings. The result is that all the prints will be processed at the same basic levels, and the photos will appear bland and washed out. No care will be taken to bring out the nuances of individual pictures.
"Cheap" camera stores are easy to spot if you know what you're looking for. Try this test: Do a search online for which types of film are recommended for, say, nighttime photography. Make a list of the top three that keep coming up. Then call around to camera stores to see if they carry any of them. The answer will generally be "no," and they may refer you to a professional photo store. Don't waste any more time. Head straight to the pro shop. Try not to go overboard and spend the wad the first time you visit. Just look around, buy a roll of high-quality film, and talk to the staff about the services they offer.
These days, many quality shops and labs will be able to both process your film and "scan" the negatives into computer files that you can then access online and edit to your heart's delight. When the photos look the way you want on the computer screen, you can click a link and order quality prints or enlargements from the same shop. This is a terrific option, as it saves the paper and cost of printing an entire roll when you may only want copies of a few frames. What you'll end up with is a handful of gorgeous, high-grade, frameable prints that will do justice to the time, energy, and emotion you poured into creating them.
In the third paragraph, the author discusses the option of having negatives scanned into the computer. What word best describes his or her feelings about this option?
A.
unsure
B.
enthusiastic
C.
neutral
D.
skeptical