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Community darkroom Part of The Darkroom
The Darkroom
946 Calle Amanecer, San Clemente, CA 92673
A community darkroom for developing and printing your own film.
Film-development lab boasting mail-in and online ordering options for 35mm and other formats.
Film developing at The Darkroom
The things film shooters actually ask before handing over a roll. A blank line means the lab hasn't published it — not that the answer is no. Always confirm before a special trip.
| Developed in-house | Not stated on their site |
|---|---|
| Returns your negatives | Not stated on their site |
| Scanner | Not stated on their site |
| Turnaround | Not stated on their site |
| Cheapest develop price found | No price published |
What The Darkroom offers
Every line is evidence-backed — pulled from what customers wrote in their reviews, or from the lab's own website.
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Darkroom 21 mentions
“I've tried a smaller developing spot online once thinking they'd put more care but the photos weren't exposed as well as I've seen with darkroom.”
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Develop & scan 4 mentions
“After all the trial and error that went into understanding my camera, I wanted to be sure that I got scans back that would show off those results.”
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Film scanning 4 mentions
“Going on ten years of having them develop and scan my film, and I have been satisfied with every single roll that they have handled.”
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E-6 / slide 1 mention
from customer reviews
What film shooters highlight
The themes that come up again and again in reviews of The Darkroom.
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Fast turnaround 2 mentions
“I got a notification that it entered production the following Monday and I got my scans in the app the next day.”
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Returns your negatives 2 mentions
“Recently, I had 5 rolls shipped to them, developed, scanned, and negatives returned to me all in one week exact.”
What customers say
So excited to get my first photos back from The Darkroom, they are officially my new go-to! I was looking for an alternative since my local Walgreens where I used to send in my film went out of business, a friend recommended The Darkroom and I wish I had been doing this sooner!
On a recent trip to my parent's house, I found my dad's old Yashica MG-2 lying around. Got myself a Kodak color film and took it on a trip. Heard very good reviews about The Darkroom from my colleagues and friends, so decided to use their development and scanning (enhanced) service.
Absolutely thrilled with my first two orders from The Darkroom. I’m a relative newbie to film and only began really taking my photography seriously within the last year, but have sent a handful of my earlier rolls off to different labs with mixed success (mostly due to my own inexperience in capturing the photos to…
So glad I found the Darkroom! Their service was relatively cheap (~$20) which included digital scans of 35 photos and shipping from FL to CA. I sent my roll on a Tuesday, it got delivered Saturday of the same week.
Hours & location
Opening hours
| Monday | 9 am–5 pm |
| Tuesday | 9 am–5 pm |
| Wednesday | 9 am–5 pm |
| Thursday | 9 am–5 pm |
| Friday | 9 am–5 pm |
| Saturday | 9 am–2:30 pm |
| Sunday | Closed |
Getting there
Other places for film near The Darkroom
San Juan Photo & Digital
Film lab 4.7 ★★★★★ 24
Pix & Dubs | Video Transfers | Photo Scan & Restoration
Film scanning service 5 ★★★★★ 2
The M Film Lab
Film lab