That has been my thought all along - basically that price of processing and time (mail order) will be big factors in the decline of film use. For the masses, taking their card or cd into Walmart and getting inexpensive prints back almost immediately will easily win out. That will further drive up the cost of film processing and developing as fewer rolls will go through. My local lab (Pro Lab) has seen a significant drop in the number of rolls processed per day - I think they are down about 40-50%. Their E-6 is now saved up and run once a week unless someone brings in a bunch of rolls.
I don't think the price will jump rapidly, but it will go up slow and steady. The consumer will be the ultimate decision maker. -- Best regards, Bruce Friday, July 15, 2005, 2:19:08 PM, you wrote: MR> About a week ago I was rooting around in my camera bag and found an MR> undeveloped roll of slide film. Oh yes! I shot a roll while in Britain MR> in May. So I dropped it off at one of the three places in Pittsburgh MR> that still does in-house E6 (only two of which I'd actually trust with MR> my film). I picked up the slides today and they certainly look fine. But MR> at $17.00+ for processing! Granted, they were pushed one stop, for which MR> some sort of extra fee is understandable, but that kind of pricing is MR> still going to have me thinking twice before shooting slides. MR> I suppose I could look into mail order outfits, but that seems a bit MR> much for one roll. Never mind the wait. MR> As film use declines I can see this price trend increasing, though...
