Highly recommend this place! Turnover is about ~1 week, scans are amazing quality, and on top of that their prices are so affordable. No complaints!! read more

Went a couple weeks ago. Guy at the front was super friendly to a beginner, walked me through all of their options, and gave me good recommendations (when I double checked later). Prices are reasonable and they did rush order faster than expected. They have a lot of cool gear there too. Would recommend checking them out. read more

My favorite place to get film developed! Their pricing is fair and I appreciate that they offer rushed film development for an extra charge. Their quality is amazing and everyone who I've interacted with has been extremely kind and helpful. They also offer a 24/7 Dropbox which I love using! Thank you for the amazing service. read more

Been going to develop my film here. They have a drop off box to make it easy to go at any time which is really convenient especially during holidays. The staff is very friendly and informative. They have a wide selection of camera equipment and film rolls. The turn around time is about a week. read more

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Went here to get some film developed and scanned. The lady working at the store was very friendly and knowledgeable. The shop offers a few different options for scanning the negatives at different price points. This is great because customers don't need to pay more for services they don't actually need. Turnaround to get my negatives and film scans back was about a week. The scans were delivered digitally for download. read more

Just stopped in on a whim to look. Ended up impressed by not only the sensible prices, but by the variety of selections as well. Mostly I really appreciated the guy behind the counter who was not only helpful and ready to lend a hand, but also extremely versed on all the product he was selling. That kind of service keeps people coming back. read more

Amazing experience! The staff is really friendly and helpful. I dropped off some 20 year old disposable cameras and they recovered photos of some late family members. Means so much to me and I got em back quickly too. My new spot!!! I'm so stoked :) read more

A great, dependable camera store. The sole reason I am a client is because of the film development service. I dropped off my film, pay the fee, and in a few days I have my prints back. I think they are great at being efficient and dependable. read more

This is a great local lab that also sells used camera equipment. They do an excellent job in developing black and white and color. Plus they also handle E6 slide film. read more

I'm new to SD and had a really hard time finding a lab that develops film in store- I found safelight labs and immediately drove over to drop my film off. Their pricing is super fair for developing film and I wanted my film rushed (double the price)- it took maybe 4 hours (they said 1-2 days so I was over the moon when I get it sooner). The photos turned out fantastic (I'll attach a few because they're so great)! Staff were lovely and super helpful and the store was super cute. I highly recommend Safelight for film development! read more

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Safelight Labs is a small, locally owned business where they have a serious passion for all things film photography. They have a darkroom so you can make your own prints. They have equipment to scan print film. They have a studio you can rent by the hour for your modeling, product advertising, or just because you need an hour to yourself. They are also a gallery (for photographs obviously). They also host workshops. The owner, Rob, is very knowledgeable and approachable. If you're ever bitten by the shutterbug, stop into this space in the Cortez Hill neighborhood. read more

Professional staff and amazing work with a quick, efficient turn around for film development. Safelight Labs is a locally owned business run by native Californians established on the outskirts of downtown San Diego. During these pressing times, Safelight have adjusted themselves to a specific drop-off/to-go process in order to successfully stay busy while maintaining the best COVID-19 precautions to ensure safety of their staff as well as their clients. I visited Safelight Labs for an inquiry in pricing and left an extremely satisfied customer. Parking is right in front of the door at convenient metered spots (being downtown) and walking up the owner, Caitie, had set up a very safe "limit marker" to allow separation and proper distancing for COVID safety. This method was great for still interacting and asking questions. As a failsafe, they've even taken the opportunity to have a drop-off slot for film development afterwards, using their online processing system on their site to track the orders. Looking inside, the show room is extremely open and clean with a professional demeanor and tidy look. I saw well placed hand sanitizer and cleaning products over which looked well used. The pricing itself was fair and total turn around being rather quick, within a week. Speaking to the staff was great, again as an amateur, Caitie the owner was extremely knowledgeable and answered all of my questions respectfully with honesty. It was an absolute pleasure and I plan on frequenting this store again for any future film processing. Would highly recommend! read more

I have to say I love this place. The owner is extremely non pretentious and helpful if you have questions and aren't an expert. In any world of niche hobbies, that's rare. Stop by and pick Rob's brain about any topic. He'll speak freely and encourage you to pursue what stimulates you while helping you figure out the intricacies of an art. You can develop and print on your own or he can do it for you for a fair price. He offers classes on photography and development and if you buy your film here, it's always straight from the fridge. read more

This place is great. You can (during normal times at least) process all of your own stuff for a pretty low price. They offer classes on photography, printing, and processing I think. There is also a fully equipped studio with low rates, so newbies can practice studio photography without losing their life savings. Great place. read more

Welcome to the center of the San Diego film community. Rob puts his heart and soul into this place and it shows. Whether it's developing your film, printing in the darkroom, or just picking up some film... safelight is such a wonderful space. I'm so happy to have it exist. read more

At quite literally every opportunity, the staff here provided me with poor customer service. I believe I spoke to the same person three times (once to ask if I could pay for expedited development, once to ask for an update on my order after the order took twice as long as promised, and once when I was accidentally charged twice for my order). I would have had a much easier time accepting the poor quality of service if the person on the phone wasn't nonchalant, unhelpful, uninformed, and generally unpleasant to speak with. I have not yet received my photos, so this is no reflection of their work as photo processors or developers, but if you are looking for a halfway decent customer experience, it would be worthwhile to look elsewhere. read more

He did a great job developing my disposable's film. He had is done in less than a day. His dogs are a wonderful touch and you can tell he really cares about his work! read more

This place is amazing. I love the concept of a community photo lab and if you ever wanted to own your own dark room but didn't have the space for it this place is that. You can go in and do your thing or sign up for a refresher class. read more

This is such a great addition to the San Diego business community. The owner is very engaged and knowledgeable. I love that I am able to find rare film that is hard to find at other places. I also love the fact that I can not only learn at one of the workshops but also use the skills I learned to put them to immediate use by developing my own film on site. Their pricing is great and their business hours are convenient. I definitely recommend that you check them out! read more

Great place to get back in to developing your own film. They are wonderful to work with. Making b/w developing film easy to do. Check it out. read more

Small business in downtown, owner super friendly. Developed my roll same day and price wasn't bad at all. Definitely coming back.