Best easy way to print photos from a Diana Camera?

August 19, 2008 7:10 AM

I'm wondering about Medium Format 120 film processing and printing for a Diana Camera?

I love the way photos from the Diana Camera look, and I'm looking for a fun creative outlet. I am wondering if this will work the way I think it will... after shooting a roll of film, can I take it to a photo developing place and just have the film developed, then use a flatbed scanner that will do film and negatives to scan to my mac and print myself?

I am not interested in handling chemicals etc. so I can't develop the film myself. If this will work, any suggestions for the best inexpensive scanner?
If this won't work - what options do I have or am I stuck just paying a lab to develop and print?

posted by pinkbungalow to media & arts (11 comments total)

If you've got a transperency scanner, yes, you can scan the film, but the quality won't be near what MF film is capable of, even with Diana's craptacular lens. Also, most local labs farm out 120 film these days as far as I'm aware of. The big boy local pro labs may do their own still.
posted by piedmont at 7:17 AM on August 19, 2008

Depending on where you live, you may have trouble finding someplace to develop the flim, but if you're near even a medium-sized city, you should be able to find a local lab that will do it for as low as $5. If you post your location maybe someone can recommend a place.

I just go into the local photo shop, plop down my roll and $5, and tell them "Develop only, no cut", then scan the negs myself. The downside is the local lab here does color 120 only, for b&w I have to go to a different lab that's not as close to my house, and for cross-processing slide film I need to go to 'the big city' (Toronto) where there's a shop that offers 1 hour xpro service.

For scanning, a lot of people (including myself) use the Epson 4490 which comes with holders specifically for that film. I'm not sure what piedmont means about quality, my Epson can scan at a high DPI and I don't feel anything is obviously lacking in the resulting shots (although I'm sure there's some technical loss of quality involved in scanning & printing vs having a photo developed straight from the negative).

If you go to Flickr and browse the forums for Diana/Holga/Toy Cameras, you should be able to find a host of other recommendations for developing and scanning. But basically, yes, this will work the way you think it will. And it will be fun.
posted by Gortuk at 7:39 AM on August 19, 2008

COOL! I am in Orlando - and there is a fancy camera/photo processing/store on my way to work.
posted by pinkbungalow at 7:45 AM on August 19, 2008

I just go into the local photo shop, plop down my roll and $5, and tell them "Develop only, no cut", then scan the negs myself.

This is exactly what I do. Except my local independent lab charges $5.50 for developing a roll of 120 color film (C-41 process). I scan on an Epson V500 (got for a good price w/ free shipping directly from epson.com), which can make a high-rez scan suitable for printing on an inkjet. You'll get various opinions about whether scan&print is as good as old-skool wet darkroom techniques, and there are professional 'drum' scanners out there that deliver higher quality for a much higher price, but the dev/scan thing is good enough for me, for now.
posted by statolith at 7:54 AM on August 19, 2008

Nobody should be afraid of developing their own B&W film, BTW. It's stupid easy, and all the kit you need is 3 bottles of non-toxic chemicals (developer, stop, fixer), a thermometer, a developing drum and a light-tight bag/box/room. I develop mine in the kitchen, fwiw.

And the Epson scanners are the only decent ones I've seen for film, as far as flatbeds go. Well, maybe the Canon 8800F, but it's not as nice.
posted by jedrek at 8:00 AM on August 19, 2008

I shoot 120 b&w and process my own film too. I scan the negatives on my Epson V500. It's not that difficult (the developing). The only real challenge I have is what to do with the chemicals (we have a septic tank). I dump used chemicals in a 5 gallon bucket and dispose of them at work. I wash my film outdoors.
posted by jdfan at 8:20 AM on August 19, 2008

I just go into the local photo shop, plop down my roll and $5, and tell them "Develop only, no cut", then scan the negs myself.

Yes, me, too, except I prefer to have them cut the film into strips for me, because my flatbed scanner has a film attachment that takes a maximum of 6 at a time and I'm lazy. And, my lab puts them into PrintFile protectors for me. (You should probably invest in some storage solutions for your negatives.) Note that not all flatbed scanners will be able to scan medium format 120mm film. Mine can only do 35mm, and that's with a bulky attachment.

Oh, and Lomography just announced the Diana+ with a 35mm back, which may also interest you.
posted by kathryn at 9:05 AM on August 19, 2008

I've only recently tried shooting on 120 for the first time (using one of these rather than a Diana/Holga). I sent my films to a mail-order lab, and used an Epson Perfection V500 scanner on the negatives.

This was a somewhat slow and frustrating process, as the V500's medium-format film adaptor only allows for a couple of frames to be scanned at a time. Also, I was using an old-school film (efke R100) to go with the old-school camera, which was great, except that this particular film is very thin and liable to bend & warp, which made it harder to handle than I expected: choosing a more modern film-stock would likely make for much easier scanning.
posted by misteraitch at 10:07 AM on August 19, 2008

I got into Holga photography and pretty much took the same route you are planning.

I was able to get an Epson 4490 from Epson's clearance website (unfortunately it's no longer available), and just get my film developed, no prints.

I only have 3 examples of holga shots on my flickr, but it might give you a feel for how they'll scan.

Also, as kathryn mentioned, you can buy a 35mm backing, or just hack one up yourself, which is what I did.

Best of luck with your new toy!
posted by carpyful at 12:14 PM on August 19, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]

The Epson V500 is a newer scanner and can be had for $100 w/ free shipping. The refurb cost is 149 and there is a $50 rebate to be mailed in after you get the scanner in your hands. It uses an LED light source instead of a CCF, so there is no warm-up time needed anymore.

You can get around the thin film problem by using a glass film holder from betterscanning.com. He makes film holders for lots of different Epson scanners.
posted by tmt at 4:25 PM on August 19, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]

If you have any local portrait studios nearby, they can be affordable places for developing, and having prints made of, 120 roll-film.
posted by unmake at 5:39 PM on August 19, 2008