I have a Canon EOS film SLR that I never used, but I want to try to use it for black & white photography. What's the best way to work with the negatives so I can experiment with post-processing without having to use the standard enlarger and chemical darkroom? In other words, how can I work with the images digitally?

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The best way that I can think of would be to shoot using black & white film, then take the film to a store to be processed. Then you can scan the prints into your computer and edit them using Photoshop or a similar program.

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Most comercial developing labs also scan your pics into digital files. Have you considered renting a dark room? Most high schools in newer schools have dark rooms. Most school systems are strapped for cash and will be more than happy to rent it to you on a Sat or Sun, assuming you pass back ground checks or whatever they want to run. You can also do other post processing on paper such as hand painting and coloring. Air brush. If it is taken on film, it just simply is not going to look as good on the comp, or photoshoped as it would printed in the dark room.

Well, there are a few options, but here are two that I regularly use. The first is to get your negatives processed and printed at a commercial printers, and ask for them to put copies of your images onto a cd for you. You can then take this cd home and work on them. Commercial printers can give images a colour cast though, one place I went to had a lot of green in the images, making them look a bit faded and dull. This can all be corrected by you, but it's a tad annoying. The second is to buy a negative scanner, either a flatbed negative scanner or a scanner specifically designed for 35mm film. You can then scan your negatives directly into your computer. This option gives you a lot more control over the initial scanning process, meaning you have a greater input as to what your final images will look like. Recommended editing software is Adobe Photoshop CS2 or 3, though I use Photoshop Elements 6 because I can't afford a copy of CS! Also make sure your moniter is properly calibrated, otherwise your images will look different on the screen to when they are printed.

First of all, use Ilford XP-2 Super or Kodak TMAX-400CN film. Both of these are what are know as "chromogenic" black and white films, meaning that they can be processed along side color negative film at any drug store/supermarket minilab. Take the film to the lab of your choice, and request "process only." The cost should be very low-I think that Walmart charges about $2 to do this at their in-store 1 hour lab. What will be returned to you is a strip of negatives. Then, invest in either a film scanner, or a good flatbed scanner which can scan negatives. Once you've scanned the images, you are free to post process/edit them in Photoshop or any other editing program of your choice.

Send the film to a lab to be developed and have them scan the images on a disk for you. You can then work with the pics just like files from a digital camera. Ask at your local camera store to see who they recommend. V