For film enthusiasts, it can feel dreadful to pay to develop a roll of film and have photos come out fogged, blurry or sloppily cut. Unfortunately, the days of one-hour photo stands focused solely on developing film are long gone, leaving people forced to use outlets which send film to a third-party processor that develops film in masses with little to no attention to care. Luckily, a trendy and flourishing city, Austin houses a community of film enthusiasts who keep camera stores and film development departments alive. The Daily Texan compiled a list of these stores to help develop and shop film locally.
Lago Vista Film Lab: open Monday – Saturday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Conveniently located only two blocks from campus on West 24th Street, Lago Vista Film Lab stands as a solid choice for getting film developed in a rush. Since 2017, the small hidden store processes, scans and prints with a one-hour turnaround for the typical roll of 35mm film like C-41 and disposable cameras with no extra charge. It’s the only film lab in Austin with that turnaround time. When developing with Lago Vista, customers can pick from medium-resolution scans for $20.99 or high-resolution scans for $26.99 for all exposure counts. 4×6 prints cost $12.99 per roll. They also offer the development of 120 and APS rolls of film with only a dollar extra cost.
Holland photo: open Monday – Friday 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday 10 a.m to 5 p.m.
Opened in 1981, Holland Photo functions as a reliable photo lab with an average turnaround time of three business days. Serving customers for over 40 years, they are a popular spot for the Austin film community. Holland uses a special dip and dunk processor that achieves at producing high quality images but does take a bit longer than the traditional mini lab process, making it a good visit for customers who aren’t in a hurry to receive their pictures back. The total price to scan, develop and print a 36-exposure roll of 35mm is $22.79. The store can also accommodate APS, 120 and 220 film.
Austin camera and imaging: open Monday – Saturday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday 12 p.m. to 6 p.m.
A ten minute drive north of campus and the most cost-efficient on the list, Austin Camera Imaging provides affordable developing services. Scans and prints only cost $19.99, and scans by themselves cost $13.99. One of the few stores to give customers negatives back free of charge, Austin Camera Imaging processes images in-house, and it has over 40 years of experience amongst its staff. They also develop APS, 110, 126, 127, 620 and black-and-white film.
