Noticed my old Holga shots got way grainier after I switched to a different lab

I used the same little camera shop in Austin for like 4 years and everything came back fine, then I moved and tried a place in San Antonio and my negatives look like sandpaper. Anyone else see a big shift just from changing who develops your film?

3 comments

3 Comments

emma_hart24d agoMost Upvoted

Wait, could the big difference be in how long the lab stores their chemistry before changing it out? Because I've seen some places stretch their developer way past what's recommended, and that leftover stuff gets all oxidized and weird, which absolutely messes with grain structure. It's not just about temperature or agitation speed - if the chems are half-dead, your negatives are going to look terrible no matter how careful they are. Mitchell's point about fixer residue is real too, I've had rolls come back with a cloudy haze that I swore was grain until I rewashed them at home. Seriously, one bad batch of chemicals from a busy lab can ruin a whole months worth of shooting without you even knowing.

cameron3182mo ago

Bet on @mitchell.wade being right. Labs matter a ton more than people think. My old place was slow and cold, new shop was rushed and hot - night and day difference.

mitchell.wade2mo ago

Nah man, I bet your new lab isn't actually giving you grainier negatives - they're probably just developing them at a higher temperature or agitating them way more aggressively than your old shop. I've seen this happen where a lab rushes the process and uses hotter chems to speed things up, which literally cooks the silver in the emulsion and makes everything look like sand. Your old Austin shop might have been one of those places that takes their sweet time with cold development and gentle agitation, keeping that grain super tight. The other thing nobody talks about is how some labs reuse their fixer way too long, which can leave residue on the film that makes it look grainy even when it's not. If you're feeling bold, try sending a test roll to two different labs at the same time and compare - I bet the difference is HUGE.