PSA: Don't fall for those 'professional' film scanning services online

I sent 8 rolls of 35mm film to a place called ScanLab Pro last summer, cost me $180 plus shipping. They promised high-res scans in 2 weeks, took 6 weeks and the scans looked like someone used a $50 flatbed. Colors were trash, dust everywhere, and they refused a refund. I lost both the money and the film because their processing ruined the negatives. Has anyone else gotten burned by these Instagram ad scanning shops?

2 comments

2 Comments

nina_johnson8627d ago

Haha oh man, that's rough. I had almost the same thing happen with a place called "Film Revival Labs" last year. Paid $120 for "professional drum scans" and got back files that looked like they were shot through a dirty window. They even had the nerve to claim the grain pattern was "artistic." Did they at least send you your negatives back so you can get them rescanned somewhere decent?

lilyg8326d ago

oh man @nina_johnson86 you reminded me of something. you said "drum scans" but i think you meant "drum scanning" is a whole different thing. drum scanners use a photomultiplier tube and the film is wrapped around a rotating drum, it's a super high-end process. most labs that call themselves "drum scanners" are actually just using film scanners or flatbeds and lying about it. yours probably was one of those fakes. mine was advertised as "optical drum scans" which i think they just made up to sound fancy. i checked their website and it was all generic stock photos of equipment. did you ever see their actual setup? i bet they didn't even own a real drum scanner. that "artistic grain" line is the worst, they always try to pass off bad scanning as a "style.