I work in Shoreditch, home of the hipster and the painfully expensive pint. Everything is expensive, in Shoreditch, but alas, my wages aren’t quite up to the same levels just yet. So my search for somewhere to get a roll of bog-standard 35mm colour film started last week. Usually I go to Snappy Snaps, that stalwart of film processing, but I thought I’d have a look around, just in case there was anywhere better, and (gasp) cheaper.
Googling brought up Pro Centre, just around the corner from my office. Really good prices on film, almost comparable to online prices, and conveniently placed. They mostly do lighting and equipment rentals, but also stock a decent amount of 35mm and 120 film. I also picked up a litre of Kodak Tmax developer, to replace the Rodinal that exploded. The guy I spoke to there was really helpful, and even though they don’t do film processing, he pointed me in the direction of Hammer Labs, just around the corner.
I pootled off around the corner, into an industrial estate, and knocked on the door – it was like an Aladdin’s cave in there, loads of film hanging up drying, and Michael (the owner) was really helpful. Took my film and only charged £4 for developing, which as I remember, was about the same as Snappy Snaps. The only place cheaper that I can think of, is ASDA (not counting online services, where you have to factor in postage). I’ll be picking them up Monday, will post the results!
Pretty chuffed with that – cheap film and developing, all just 3 mins walk from my office.