question on c41 processing @ minilabs..

[jano]

Hi,

When I give my cute, friendly, neighborhood ritz gal to process my c41, she sticks the film in a machine and out comes developed film within 10-15 minutes. Some questions about this:
- are all c41 films developed the same way, i.e. same length of time?
- is the machine reading the dx coding on the cartridge and determining the time/amountofchemical/etc ?
- if the latter, then is the person supposed to enter iso manually if I give them a bulk-loaded cartridge with no dx codings?

Thanks for your time
Jano

[peterc]

All C41 films, regardless of speed etc., get the same time running through the soup. The process is standard, any differences are the responsibility of the film.

Peter

[jano]

Excatly wha I was looking for, thank you.

[Trius]

Custom labs can push or pull C41, but the cute girl at Ritz isn't custom; at least not with film.

Some time ago I was at an established (over 100 years in business) photoshop here in Kodak-town. I asked a clerk for a high-speed C41 film that was also pushable. He stated quite empahtically "C41 film can't be pushed." I was stunned, because I know different. I didn't say anything, as he obviously was referring having the film processed in a standard mini-lab where there is either no way or no practical way of controlling times.

[ClaremontPhoto]

C41 is usually used by people with low end cameras which may over or under expose massively. The printing process takes this immense latitude into acount. We can piggyback on this latitude and 'push' or 'pull' and still get usable prints.