I had a great experience with Photolab. I first used their online service to order some rushed prints for an event. The quality was great and the timing was faster than I expected and well within the window they quoted me. I also had them develop some disposable cameras with excellent results and service. I visited the store 3 times and each time, the service was great. All my questions were answered and I never felt rushed. I observed them treating everyone that way. Great place! read more

I found this jewel looking for a photo lab that could help me with some family pictures. I needed about 300 Tiff files converted to manageable JPEG files. The friendly folks at Photolab did the conversion for me quickly and at a reasonable price. Matt says Thank you Photolab! read more

I've really gotten into film photography over the past year or so. I started with an old Minolta 35mm I found at a yard sale, and I've just recently moved up to a big chonky Mamiya RB67 medium format camera that uses 120 film (featured in my last attached pic). I'm very much a beginner with this stuff, but super excited and enthusiastic to be learning a whole new subset of photographic techniques. With that said, I feel incredibly lucky to have a resource like PhotoLab in the East Bay. The services they offer are great, their prices are competitive, and (most importantly) their team is friendly and helpful and welcoming to a newbie like me. It's also awesome to have a local shop that sells a wide variety of film stocks, and can offer advice on which ones to use to get whatever effect I'm going for. TL;DR: PhotoLab is fantastic! read more

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Photolab still does great work. They seem a little slower than years ago, but that may be because of smaller volume. read more

I received a disposable camera from The Weeknd concert and was excited to get the films developed! I heard it was better to go to a photo lab instead of using CVS or Walgreens to develop photos. Also, I wanted to keep the camera, and I heard that if you get them developed at the drugstores, they ship the cameras to someplace else to get them developed. It was my first time developing film, but the worker was very helpful. She explained to me the different packages and options that they offered. She recommended the develop + print package and to add on the digital scans, as I wanted both. She also helped me decide which photo paper I wanted on the prints; matte or glossy. I paid $33.57 for developing the film, prints, and digital scans. Since this was my first time, I did think it was a bit pricy; not knowing how much people usually pay. I only had 12 prints lol. I received an email stating that my order was ready for pick up; it took 3 days. I received the digital scans in 2 days. The photos came out sooooo goood!!! And it was nice not knowing how they were going to turn out! It was very nostalgic. I recommend Photolab for your prints! read more

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I received helpful, friendly guidance & service when I brought in a large quantity of really old 35 mm film to process into negatives. But when I picked up the negatives and asked for help to view the images so I could decide which ones were worth printing, I was ignored and brushed off for another customer behind me. Then the young lady said VERY rudely: 'I'm helping another customer!' and while that doesn't sound so terrible, it was somehow really upsetting & I got so rattled I had to leave. I did say that I paid them over $200 for the film processing & was hoping to get a little more help. Then I said I was really upset and was going to have to leave without making my order for prints, if they couldn't help me. They offered silence, rather than help, in response. I was frustrated because I couldn't see the images with the light table they offered, so I was just asking if there was a better way to deal with it. Plus, I had this huge role of negatives that kept falling on the floor and I couldn't figure out how to handle them. I paid a little extra to go to this place because it is a small local woman owned business. I'm sure the owner and many of the employees are great, but I just can't go back there because of this one bad encounter. read more

Photolab - Over $200 in film developing into negatives - Photography Stores & Services Near Me - Berkeley, California

This place is the real deal. They make ordering prints of pics from your phone super easy, tons of options to personalize the size/type of paper/border etc. I got several disposable cameras developed and am really happy with the way they turned out. The people working the few times I have gone have all been friendly, helpful and super knowledgeable. Def going here for all of my printing needs from here on out... So happy to support local brick and mortars! read more

These guys know what they're doing. They were a great help in getting my photos framed.

They're very fast at developing photos! I've developed 3 rolls of film with them now and every time, I receive the digital scans within 2-3 days. Service is quick and easy, and there's never really a wait. There's also always parking right outside or across the street. All in all, it's all I could ask for. Be sure to do yelp check-in for a couple dollars off your scans! read more

Happy to find PhotoLab as my new go-to spot for printing photos. I was using Shutterfly to print photos, but the shipping costs were high. I look forward to using the other services PhotoLab offers, as the quality of the prints received were excellent. Thank You! read more

Photolab does not follow instructions nor comply with requests EVEN THOUGH they agree to do so. I gave them a stack of photos in a specific order and asked them to scan it in - in the order I gave them the photos. Simple enough. But PHOTO LAB did do it. Yes, they scanned it in, and the scanning was not cheap. BUT they could not bother to keep them in order. And so I'm spending too much time reorganizing these photos when PHOTOlab could have saved me that time. BAD CUSTOMER SERVICE. read more

I never do this, but I just had such a bad experience here I have to leave a review. I went in to have some priceless family photos saved from war restored and called in advance to make sure they have this service. The man helping me kept asking me to spell my name out loud, I explained I was dyslexic and giving spellings outloud was hard/impossible for me and offered to write it down and/or point to where it was already written but he absolutely refused to adapt or accommodate my disabilities. He just kept rolling his eyes, snipping at me and asking me over and over to do it in an inaccessible way. Finally, I said, it seems like you don't have patience today. And he agreed that he did not. Frankly, if you don't have patience to accommodate basic disability requests like this in your place of business you are not conforming to the American Disabilities Act, which is not only rude it is illegal and you should not be working with the public. Disabled people deserve better than your eye rolling contempt. read more

Love the fact they were able To process old Kodak film for me because apparently CVS and Walgreens don't do this anymore ! I had so much instant film from college and they sent it to me via email which was perfect t read more

CVS was cheap but produced 100+ worthless prints, poor quality overall but smudges and cropping. Needed to send for holidays so ordered here despite longer processing time. Online site allowed to adjust cropping for each photo so didn't have to guess if cropping issue would reoccur. Quality was worth the price and wait. read more

Same day service is quick and high quality!!! Great customer service and knowledgeable people attending your needs.

Best photolab in Berkeley! I love the flexible film drop off process here, fill out the intake form and drop it into the slot in the front entrance. I usually receive my scans in 3days or so. Never had an issue with any wonky development! Prices are pretty standard - $7 for developing color 35mm film and $8 for scans, pro-tip they are running a Yelp check-in promo of $13 for dev+scan, so save yourself a few bucks :) read more

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Fabulous photo lab who I implicitly trust with all of my precious work! Until my state of the art darkroom is done being renovated I am using this fantastic lab for everything! I also have an assistant who is very helpful but almost everything else I have this lab do and I really like them especially the manager Melissa who is a competent incredibly kind person who is a joy to work with! I highly recommend this lab! read more

This is my go-to film developing spot! Their system is quick and efficient. They just take your credit card info to put it into their system then from there, whatever orders you put in, that card on file will be charged. The workers are usually nice and very knowledgeable. They are always willing to answer your questions. They also sell 35mm film which is where I usually get my film as well because recently the prices for film have been extremely high, but I feel like Photolab prices are still pretty good. I usually submit one roll of film a month and within the next day or two, they already send me the digital download link. The turn around time is just so fast. My negatives are usually ready to get picked up within a few days. I also ask them to print out my film and their prints are very high quality as well. THANK YOU PHOTOLAB!! read more

I was very happy with getting my film developed here. There are a few places around the Oakland Area to get film developed, but I came here because of their $13 check in deal. I filled out an intake form and the worker there took my credit card to put it in their system (they don't do Apple Pay or have a chip reader, you're charged once the film get processed). I got ample help and was very happy with the nice worker. When I was here, I was hoping to get some film as well but they didn't have my favorite 35mm stock due to the film shortage. I got three rolls of film developed here and all the pictures turned out great! The scans were high quality and I love the colors. Turn around time was about 3 days, which was also amazing. I received my photos via a shared drive link, which is great because I was used to bringing a USB whenever I get my film developed... a little inconvenient to have to pick it up again as well. Keep in mind, the link only works once. I tried opening the link on another one of my devices and it didn't work. I did already save the photos to my personal drive, so it was fine. I definitely will be back to develop more photos and hopefully get more film soon. read more

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Had a friend recommend this place after I had a poor experience with a pharmacy development of a disposable camera. Reasonable pricing and great development. Use a proper film lab for development people. read more

Photolab - Photography Stores & Services Near Me - Berkeley, California

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Been a while since I've left a review but I'm breaking my hiatus for this lovely business. I recently transferred to Berkeley and was scared I would have to resort to expensive development services online or in *gasp* San Francisco.... but alas! I discovered Photolab. Thank you for changing the way I approach taking my films now. Their turnaround times are INCREDIBLE - like literally within the same day for most of the times I've visited. I get so excited when I get the email from WeTransfer within a few hours of turning in my films to them :) The quality, hospitality, service, everything is just perfect. I wish I didn't have to drive over and it was somewhere closer to the UC Berkeley campus but it's absolutely worth it. Make sure to take advantage of their Yelp check in deal too! Comes in clutch every time. THANK YOU FOR YOUR HARD WORK PHOTOLAB TEAM! read more

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Just had a gorgeous print made (16 x 9 to hang on wall) of wrapped canvas around a wood frame. Came out beautifully and our friend LOVED her gift!! read more

Had an amazing experience at Photolab. Fair prices and amazing support with some film that belonged to my grandmother as well as some new film I shot myself. Will definitely be coming back! read more

Photolab - Photolab - The image shows a gray door with a window, set in a pinkish wall, featuring signs for a photo lab business. The signs include a large blue 'WE'RE OPEN' notice, a purple 'WELCOME' sign, and a smaller sign about skipping the line for film drops. The door has a handle and a mail slot, with a reflection of trees and buildings visible in the window. Additional elements include a keypad and a small red alarm box on the wall to the left, and potted plants at the bottom corners. - Photography Stores & Services Near Me - Berkeley, California

They were very professional, and the turnaround time was fast. They even try to help push resolution to help improve the image.

ADVANTAGES OF Photolab. For the past 22 years, I have relied on Photolab for film processing and for film scanning with transfer of the scans to either a disc or to a flash drive. After dropping off an order, I typically receive an email about a week later saying, "Tom, come and pick up your order!" If you want some technical information about pixels, or about how best to arrange and display ten framed photos at an exhibit, Photolab staff will be glad to provide advice. The staff are smart, technically savvy, and they are dedicated to their work. RELIABLE. Typically, I devote one year to learning how a particular state park or national park will perform for me, and here I use about ten rolls of Ektar color 35 film. Once I know how a park will cooperate with me, I return with my 4x5 camera, and re-do the best images using 4 inch x 5 inch Ektar color film. I get the exposed negatives processed at Photolab. Attached are some examples of the landscapes. When I lived and worked in southern California (for 4 years), and when I did large format photography, I ALWAYS mailed my 4x5 inch negatives to Photolab for processing. Also, I've photographed kids at birthday parties in my back yard. Sometimes I'm nervous about whether the processing will occur without a glitch. If something goes wrong with processing a landscape negatives, you can always drive again for 20 hours to the park and back, and re-do your job (time-consuming and expensive). But if something goes wrong with processing negatives of kid pictures, it will be impossible to ask the kids to return and make all of those cute, spontaneous poses. Photolab has always done a perfect job at processing my negatives. RISK WITH OTHER FILM PROCESSING LABS. I worked in southern California for 4 years. During that time, I got my 35mm film processed at a lab in San Diego called . . . forgot the name, but it starts with a "G." The "G" lab demolished a roll of black 'n' white TMAX100 film. Each negative was an indistinct mass of gray tones. The "G" lab also did a bad job with 3 rolls of Ektar color film. All of the scans were too light for posting on YELP. I worked in O'ahu for 3 years and, at that time, I got my 4x5 negatives processed at two different places in Honolulu. The processed negatives from one of these places had horizontal streaks. Yuck. When I asked about it, they responded, "That's an internal issue." In contrast, Photolab has proven itself, during the past 22 years, to be a do-it-perfectly-every-time-film-processing-laboratory. SCANS. In the past year (it is now June 2020), I've had about 800 color slides, black'n'white negatives, and color negatives scanned at Photolab. Typically, I come in with box of about 100 negs that need scanning, with each strip of film in a separate envelope. Once I said, "I hope this won't be too much of a bother for you." The reply was, "Not at all, this is what we do!" 600 LIKES. It is fun getting "likes" in response to the above-mentioned scans, after posting them on YELP and Facebook. Mainly these are pictures from Death Valley Nat'l. Park, Joshua Tree Nat'l. Park, Bean Hollow State Beach, and Salt Point State Park. These posting typically get 40-200 "likes" on Facebook. One set of my photos was of the "Boom Box Parade" in Madison, WI, and I posted them on the "Lost Madison" Facebook page, and within one week I got 600 "likes." And so, I thank Photolab for enabling me to practice my fetish for receiving "likes." read more

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Great lab been using them for years. Only complaint is they no longer mount slide film, but that is a minor issue as I hardly ever shoot transparencies. read more

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE THE EMPLOYEES!!! Not only are the employees some of the sweetest people you could ever meet, but the quality of my pictures are so good too! A bit pricey, but overall, the best place in the Bay Area to develop your pictures! I've visited them since I was a freshman in college and now that I'm graduated, I still go to Photolab! LOVE THIS PLACE! read more

Feel so lucky that the East Bay has a few actual photo labs. Photolab is spectacular in their work: high quality, all scans and prints I've received are just perfect. Been going here since 2010 at least. The folks who work there are kind and generous in their knowledge. They clearly know what they're talking about. I've been able to receive great advice in photography as well as printing. Long live film!!! Long live small film developing studios! read more

Dropped my film off for the first time here yesterday and received my scans just a couple hours later! If you want absolutely stunning scans of your photos very quickly, this is your place. I'm a snob from NYC, so trust me! read more

AMAZING customer service! Helped me u til it was perfect. Then the final product had a slight mistake. They redid them and drove them to me in Friday traffic! Absolutely amazing! read more

Wanted to find a new go-to film shop and I think this is the one for me! I went to get some 35mm film developed and the process was quick and easy -- I just filled out a form at the front desk and dropped off my film. At the same time, I was also able to pick up a new roll of Portra 400. The turnaround for digital photos of my film on WeTransfer also only took 2 business days! I was very satisfied with my experience at Photolab and will definitely be coming back to develop more film. read more

I've been going to Photolab for a while now, and I have a great experience every time! They send pictures over extremely quickly (within maybe one or two days), and the employees are always so kind! read more

Photolab are the best developers I have come across in California and in Australia for 35mm film developing. Their quality is beautiful, their online/inperson/mail services are so handy and quick, and the team are so knowledgable. I'm moving cities, and they suggested a few places close to my new home which is so kind. But I will probably still mail them film to be developed as I love their quality so much! read more

I have to admit, one of my biggest fears about coming back to the Bay Area was.....the cost of getting film developed & scanned. It's a amazingly expend habit to keep up to begin with and... And then there's the lovely, prompt and professional crew at Photolab. They don't outsource their processing like some other locals and the pride in their work shows. Love the fact that they offer file transfers or CDs, oft beat their own given deadline and the high quality of their work as well. They're a little gem tucked in the flats of Berkeley for film nerds. read more

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Love that this is not a chain and that you can get real film developed! My daughter was anxious to get her disposable camera photos developed after camp and they was able to do it quicker than anyone else, they were able to give them to us the next morning. They were great and personable everyone there was very helpful. read more

Photolab is the place! While living in the East Bay, Photolab was my go-to for all of my 35mm film development. The folks are so knowledgeable, and just all around nice to deal with, which I so appreciate. If you aren't sure where to go for film services, PLEASE try them out! read more

Good service, fast turnaround! The people are friendly and knowledgeable. I will be back.

I had a few disposable cameras from my birthday developed here and the process was so painless! (The last time I had disposables developed at CVS they somehow "lost" the digital files.) I didn't get any prints this time and only requested the digitals. I believe I paid around $50 to cover three disposables which was very affordable compared to other places I've checked out! The person who helped me was kind and patient explaining their process and assisted me in starting my account. It seems like after your account is created, the drop off is conveniently available 24 hours since they'll have your email and payment method on file already, which is great since their hours are limited. Will definitely be coming back here! read more

......I am pleased to say that I received a very encouraging message from the owner not 5 hours after my initial post. Even better yet, the owner didn't take the criticism leveled towards her business personally, and instead is trying to remedy the issues raised regarding the website. She even issued some serious refunds on the past orders! That's what customer service is all about! read more

Photolab - Photography Stores & Services Near Me - Berkeley, California

Exceptional quality prints. Loved their matte finish. Quick service - did pickup service. Very fair prices for the quality! Will use for printing wedding photos. Nice that they have the collage options. Website easy to upload photos and choose options to purchase! read more