Once again I am here to cover developing film, this time we will develop film in Bali! Taking undeveloped film through airport scanners and travel, in general, can wreak havoc on pictures, so when you can, you should develop the film where you are. Though it initially surprised me, one of our most popular posts is about developing film in Chungmuro, the photography district in Seoul. Since I have received just great feedback about it, and seemingly such high demand, I am happy to provide you with information on how to develop film in Bali – paradise!

Develop Film in Bali – Color Digital Photo Lab

So Hard to Find the Right Place

Considering there is a general lack of information available in many countries regarding where to develop film, I should not have been quite so surprised to find others needing help as well. So far I have developed film in Seoul, Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok, Bali, Belgrade, and Budapest. I nearly got film developed in Ho Chi Minh, but we had some last minute plan changes there. In my search for a place to develop film in Yogyakarta, I did not find any information which left me feeling entirely uncomfortable and I didn’t want to have the same experience I had in Bangkok – where I lost an entire roll of film!

Develop Film In Bali

For Bali, I found a single Trip Advisor thread that left me reassured: one man who claimed to have success at Color Digital Photo Lab. I was convinced because:

1. The location was in Kuta, just 10km from our Airbnb.
2. The guy also mentioned that they put his photos on a USB stick he provided, which is my preference.

I found some positive information about another lab in older threads, but it had since closed down – so off to Color Digital Photo Lab it was.

Information for Colour Digital Photo Lab:

Address:

Jl. Letnan Dua Made Putra No.45, Dangin Puri, Denpasar Tim., Kota Denpasar, Bali, Indonesia

Price:

51,000 (~$3.75) per roll for processing and high-quality scans. It cost me 153,000rupiah (~$11.25) to get 3 rolls of film developed and scanned. If you don’t get high-quality scans it should be a little less. I did not buy film but it did look like film was available for purchase.

Time to develop:

Expect 1 full day. I dropped off my film late morning on a Sunday and was told I could pick it up the next day around the same time. I actually did not go back until Tuesday because we needed to do other things on Monday.

Hours:

8am-10pm everyday

Method of delivery:

USB stick. It is not surprising that they don’t do web upload considering the speed of the internet in Bali, but it’s okay because it ensures you go back and get your negatives. And while you could probably get them burned to a CD, that is quickly becoming if not already obsolete. Just as the man in the Trip Advisor review did, I provided a USB stick of my own and they scanned the photos onto it. Consider that if you get high-quality scans, the size of the files/folders will be large. My 3 rolls took up over 2 gigs, so be sure you have space.

Quality:

I was pretty happy with my film, considering I likely was shooting expired film and I am also pretty sure I shot a roll set to the wrong ISO – but forgot about it and which roll when I went to develop. The last photo in each roll has evidence of being film but sometimes that makes for a pretty fun photo!

Results

I guess the only slight issue was that when we arrived the photos were not yet transferred onto my stick. It’s good they checked – though that seems pretty standard – before giving it to me. They seemed surprised so it was probably a simple mistake. They found my photos on the computer and we waited for them to transfer.

I sometimes like to compare my phone/digital and film photos because it is fun to see the quality difference. These are few phone vs. film comparisons from photos developed here:

 

Need Film?

Part of what I love about using film instead of just sticking with our DSLR is that I don’t know what I’m going to get. It gets me excited to take the pictures and wait in anticipation to see what comes out. So much can happen when it develops, that you never quite know what you’re going to get. Unfortunately, the ease of digital cameras has left the art of film photography to be forgotten a bit – but I say it’s making a comeback! For those who don’t know exactly how to begin, I’ve got a few recommendations for you.

*Note that we are members of the Amazon Affiliate program and that we receive compensation for all valid purchases made through our site.

• Fujifilm instax mini 9 Instant Film Camera – One of my favorite purchases I’ve made, and I bring it everywhere now with me is my Instax Mini. It is so easy to use, and you get feedback immediately. It is also really portable, so it doesn’t take up too much room to carry. It’s basically just a modern Polaroid! Now it isn’t a professional camera by any means, but that’s not the point – it’s fun to use! What I really like about this bundle is that it comes with 80 shots, batteries, a travel case, and accessories.
• Fujifilm INSTAX Mini Instant Film 2 Pack– If you love your Instax like me, you’re going to run out of film sooner rather than later. It can be a pain to suddenly realize you’re out of film right when you want to take another photo – so be sure you have more film on hand.
• Canon AE-1 35mm Film Camera w/ 50mm 1:1.8 Lens – Now I am using a Pentax camera from the 70s, it was a gift from Kyle’s dad and I am pleased with it, however, you’ll probably never find one as they’ve long since been discontinued. If you want to get into using film, but you don’t have a camera already, you can’t go wrong with Canon. They’ve been in the business for a long time and know what they’re doing. This bundle is nice because you’ll get two options of lenses which will let you really have fun with your shots.
• Camera Film –  there’s a lot of different camera film out there, and a fair bit of it is old. While on the road, I often didn’t get to choose from many good options – just what was available. Because of that, I got some expired film which meant it didn’t always develop properly – one of my rolls didn’t develop at all (you have any idea how sad that made me). So with that in mind, you’re going to want to make sure you have the best film on hand. Kodak has been in the game a long time and I trust their stuff. – Kodak UltraMax 400 | Kodak Colorplus 200
• Altura Photo Rapid Fire – Regardless of the type of camera you’re carrying, we’ve since come to realize that a good over the shoulder neck strap is a blessing for shooting photos. It is no fun to pull out your camera, and put it away again, and the straps that come with the camera technically work but aren’t that comfortable or secure feeling. With a good strap, you can quickly grab your camera when you need it, but also feel secure with it hanging at your side.
• SanDisk Ultra Flair 128GB USB 3.0 Flash Drive – You need a place to put those photos once they’re developed. Back in the day, you would get the photos on a CD or – gasp! – actually printed! You, of course, will get back your negatives, but you probably don’t want to carry around prints, and who has a computer that can even read a CD anymore? Enter the USB stick, easy to carry, hold plenty of space, and reusable. This saved my butt a bunch of times, and with USB 3.0, the files will transfer a lot faster.

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