Luster Photo & Digital Inc

I'm disappointed that I'm posting this review because I went consistently to Luster for a year and encouraged my photographer friends to go there as well. But I recently got some film developed there, and the film scans looked really bad. Luster offered to rescan them, but the rescans weren't much better. I went to get some of my money back and the manager wasn't very understanding. He tried to convince me that I just wanted the scans to be more contrasty, while I tried to show him that the coloring was off, the pictures were hazy, the contrast was barely there, and the cuts were inconsistent. The scans looked like they were from a disposable camera and seemed rushed. Luster did eventually give me some of my money back for the scans, for which I’m grateful, but it was NOT a pleasant experience going back and forth with them. I hoped it could be a more peaceful and mutually understanding experience than it turned out being. The scans are not acceptable for a pro film lab. I took the film to a different lab and this is the difference.

I had 2 dispo cameras developed here, it was a very easy process and since I had a usb I didn’t have to pay for the link. They had it ready by the next day. Overall very pleasant experience and I would come again

Sam is absolutely the nicest person ever. I’m very new to photography literally just started today and he was able to help me recover my new film that I rewound by accident, he explained to me the different mechanisms on the richo camera I’m currently using, and even adjusted this other camera I’m using by switching up the batteries and didn’t even charge me when I asked how much I owed him. No one is ever kind anymore or patient with me. After the day I’ve had with my character constantly under scrutiny or subjected to the miserable state downs that I get from random strangers. Thank you Sam for everything I’ll be sure to develop the film with you guys . Happy holidays

They have managed to handle every ancient or obscure sized negatives I have won on ebay and delivered crisp prints regardless of the state of them. The owners are very kind and patient with non photographers such as myself trying to describe what I wanted

I recommend this place if you care about your film! Their scans are done well and the turnaround is super fast. It's pricey but at least I can trust that my film is taken care of.

I went to Luster early afternoon on 12/31 and I thought the turn around time would be longer, since it was a holiday, however, they sent me the scans less than 3 hours. Thank you. Pictures are wonderful and the cost was reasonable.

Friendly, high quality, fast, and reasonable prices!

Went into Luster yesterday in an impromptu visit. Staff was incredibly friendly, and the turnaround time on developing 35mm film was literally 5 hours! Super fast, superior quality scans, but you definitely pay for that. A bit pricey, but super worth it!

Great local photo lab. In addition to printing they sell and process BW film and instant cameras.

Highest recommendation for Luster. All my experiences here have been courteous & helpful with a quick turnaround & great results. Love the old-school feel of the place. So glad it's here!

A great spot for film development and scanning -- they're a well-oiled joint and offer a good value for their pricing. I've gotten several disposable cameras and film rolls developed here -- never had to wait more than 24 hours. They either upload onto a USB you bring or you can pay a few bucks extra to get a WeTransfer link. I love supporting this local neighborhood shop, and will continue doing so!

dropped off 4 rolls of film around 4:30 pm and received the WeTransfer with my scans about four hours later at 8:30pm. Literally the fasted turn around EVER in the past 14 years that I have been processing film in NYC. It is a little pricey but the scans are fantastic and delivery is speedy (not to compare with other film labs that literally lost my film completely ::bushwick darkroom::). Also, friendly service. They have a good system and crew here! Very trusted.

Fastest turnaround I've experienced with a photo lab. Great quality every time. Highest marks!

Needed help with a couple of disposable cameras, super fast developing to prints! Quality work. Nice guys. Would definitely recommend!

The price is fair, the staff can be a little rude. I can look past that as it's in a convenient location close to the park. I like that they are open 4 days out of the week. I've had my film developed with a contact sheet and I was impressed with the quality and quick turnaround. I will visit again next time I'm in the area. This place seems reliable for the most part

$26 to get 1 roll of black and white is outrageous. No wonder people aren't shooting film anymore.

I went here to get a roll of 35mm film developed and was super pleased! I had prints and scans ready in less than 24 hours which was an incredible turnaround time, and I thought the price was pretty reasonable especially for NYC. Staff was really helpful too.

Have been going here since I was a photography student in undergrad- has allllllways been super speedy and does thorough work. Never had any issues or complaints (knock on wood) and will continue to use them out of their consistency and quality

Fast & stellar quality for developing film. My new favorite go-to. Very reliable and great service!

High morale Black and white developing Family run They know what they are doing I would go back there I have confidence in them

I went in to ask a question about missing files on my digital camera, the man working actually saved my life, worked through finding them for me for 30 minutes and asked for nothing in return. So smart and nice! Will be coming back for all my questions, business, and developing film. Thank you so so much!

Luster really is a gem. Fast service, very professional and helpful. The quality of work is consistent and high. I don't go anywhere else for 35mm film development.

I've been coming to Luster since my old lab in midtown (Sunshine Color Lab) shut down. I've developed rolls here and had a few prints done over the years. I went by today to purchase some film, and thought I heard the woman say one price, but when I looked at my itemized receipt and saw that my total was almost $50 for 4 rolls, 2 of the rolls being $14. It wasn't a situation where I got home and realized, I wasn't even halfway down the block before I turned around and got back in line. I wanted to ask for a refund because I've never paid that much for a Kodak Portra roll, anywhere, ever. And I figured $30 for 2 rolls i'd spend another $20 to get the 5 roll pack. When I got to the window, I was met with instant rejection, and rigidity on their no refund on film policy. I let them know that I understand the policy, but it hadn't even been a full 2 minutes since I made my purchase and was back at the window. I told them that I misheard the total, and that the cost of the film was way too high. I let them know that I didn't ask for the price of the Portra before purchasing because I've never paid more than $9/$10 and assumed it would be around that price. I hoped that they'd make an exception since I JUST purchased. I went back and forth with one of the guys who works there, the whole time the woman who sold me the film said nothing. I asked for the manager, and they made a call and I was informed that I could only return film that was packaged in a box, Portra isn't. I'm not to trying to be above the law or break the rules of any business, but I do believe in being reasonable with customers. They didn't have to be that strict about it not issuing me a refund given that I just bought the rolls. If it was an issue of exposing or damaging the film and returning it which he tried to make a case for, again, I was back in less that a MINUTE. They've always been super kind, but today made me feel different about spending $ there. So many other places to buy film.

Poor service and quality. I have been a customer of this photo place and the quality of the pictures have declined over the years. They seem to be using outdated technology. Just another place where their concern is charging you, but not delivering quality.

This is really not a review about their service, but about the lining up rule, I didn't come here often but every time ppl are lining up along the building next to the store, not blocking the sidewalk (see my pics below). And today this lady maybe came here for the first time, and completely ignored me, who is standing there waiting for my turn as the next person waiting to be serviced, and started forming her own line in the middle of the sidewalk, I thought she will figure that out soon so I cotinue looking at my phone for a while, and then when I check again, to my anger, other ppl all stand behind her ....... I just want to describe what I encountered today but I don't really think there is any solution to this.

Great scans from a knowledgeable staff. I've used this lab for 5 years and always get great results.

Hands down the best place to get you film processed in manhattan. Incredible turn around time and unmatched professionalism. Thank you Luster Photo.

Best in the business. Amazing quality, high res scans, fast turnarounds, and very knowledgeable staff. I just wish they were open on Sundays :( My loyalty lies with them and I'll be coming here from here on out.

Definitely a place I would reccomend quality wise. It was my first ever time shooting film and I wanted to see if this place was as good as the other reviews claimed. I was not disappointed at all! The service was quick and easy; I bought another film roll (portra 400) for a decent price; I got the scans later on the same day (paid extra for email delivery). If you've never been here, I'd say give it a shot and see if you appreciate it as much as I did!

I cannot emphasize enough how amazing this place is. Had my prints ready in 24 hours, while I'm used to waiting weeks to get my film developed. The prints are also the best quality Ive ever had, and they let you bring in a USB for them to upload the digital scans of the photos, which is amazing. Their staff is so nice and this will definitely be where I get my film developed in the city from now on.

this place is simply the BEST! I will never ever take my film anywhere else. Maximum quality, and fast service. I usually wait max 24 hours for my scans to be emailed to me. And to top it off every single person I've spoken to who works here is super nice. Only downside is they're closed sundays :/

I've called on Luster twice in the past month for photo printing and processing. I love that this place exists. You walk in, and the place smells like fixer, like real film being developed and real pictures being printed. How I miss this smell! They have a great lab right there. They develop disposable cameras in less than a day! But even for 21st century processes, this place is the bomb. I emailed a bunch of wedding JPGs and ordered a selection of 5x7 and 8x10 pics and they were ready in an hour. I have done the cvs photo printing thing and this is much better quality. They care about pictures!

I've just switched to Luster recently after bouncing around other local labs. Not only is the quality amazing in my film scans, but they also offer the quickest service of anywhere I've been! (Same or next day). Every time I've been in, I've been helped with respect and friendliness. I could not be happier with my experience here, thank you!

Amazing, fast service. Happy to see a small business thriving and I will gladly bring all of my film here.

Luster turned my crappy Holga photos into wonderful prints! They were very friendly, and willing to help me pick out exactly what I wanted. Luster is not cheep, but the results are really really worth it. For four rolls of 120 film to be processed, printed, and scanned was $120. But like I said, it was worth it! This is my new lab of choice.

Save your money and don't come here. Costs $20 per roll to get scans "onto a CD" and when requested a WeTransfer file instead was charged $3 more per roll! Walked out of there spending $50+ on 2 rolls. Could've went to good ole Eliz and gotten 4 rolls developed for the same price. I would've been less upset with the service if I received my scans the time they were supposed to arrive. Got my color film roll back same day which is why I gave 2 stars, however, I called back about my B&W roll the morning after they said it would be ready by 6pm and all I get was a "they meant to say ready by today not yesterday." And then 2 hours later I received the scans aka the typical sign of your film being uncared for and forgotten. Film is costly as it is, go elsewhere for your developing needs.

I had some C-41 and E-6 processing (without prints or scans) done here on a recent trip and thought they did a great job at a reasonable cost. The slide film was mailed back to me at home and the C-41 was ready the next day. They also have a selection of films at reasonable prices per roll, fresh from the fridge.

First and foremost, great service and reasonably priced. Had a roll of 35mm/24exp film developed, and all was great. Quick turnaround, about an hour. Will definitely be back for my 35mm developing/printing needs.

Luster came to the rescue when I needed a rush job to have negatives digitalized . Not only was the job done well, but they were kind and accommodating and despite being on a busy Monday, did the job quickly. They were efficient and reassuring. I never have to worry when dealing with Luster on Ave A, they are intelligent and competent.

I had pictures developed from very old negatives. They did a great job! Treasured memories!

It's hard to find brick and mortar stores that print photos these days but Luster is professional, friendly, and reasonably priced. They reviewed my digital files with me (I had my files on a drive ready for printing) and gave me options and suggestions to place my order. And then they turned around my order within an hour. I got matte photos with a white border and the photos came out looking real classy. Thanks Luster!

I used to go to this lab once a week because I lived down the street and never had a problem with them. I still get my film processed at Luster pretty often and most of the staff is super friendly and they work quick. I didn't give five stars because the last time I went in there the younger guy at the counter was very rude and impatient with me. He was not respectful at all. I've never had a problem with them other than that though...

My brother recommended this place because I wanted to develop some ancient negatives (literally from my senior year of high school). He takes a lot of photos and has been using them for years. Great recommendation. The people here were really helpful and professional, and the photos came out perfectly. (Except for my terrible teenage photo taking abilities, but that's not their faukt.)

My first experience has been pretty unfortunate and I don't think I'm going to repeat it. I took eight 120 rolls for developing here and two 35mm for developing and scanning. When I dropped them I made clear to not cut the negatives. I know that for some weird reason, photo labs tend to cut strips of 4-frames and my archival pages are designed for 6 frames stripes which is the common format in Europe. And also that is a format that works for me better when it comes to scanning. Despite my request they cut the 35mm negatives into 4 frames stripes. When I told them that that wasn't what I wanted they just said that there wasn't any note saying that... They never offered me any compensation. I hate to say this but I won't go back here and I will keep looking for another photo lab which listens to their clients requests.

I was looking for a place in the city to get a roll of film developed fast. I dropped it off in the early afternoon and they emailed me the digital scans later that day-i was so impressed! I definitely recommend this place if you're in need of fast developing and good quality!

I am a SmugMug member and am generally happy with their better printers' output, but I had a deadline that precluded me from going that route. So I started researching printing options in NYC. There are many great options, but I was turned on to Luster by Yelp reviewers' emphasis on attentive, friendly and professional customer service in addition to general agreement on the high quality of their prints. I am glad that in this case the Yelp reviewers were right. I showed up 10 minutes before their opening time, but was invited in by the proprietor, Xiang, who is a very professional and good-natured person. Xiang and I discussed the best way to proceed with my JPEG files, given that I wanted to fit them into the atypically (European) sized Ikea frames. I printed pictures that were15.75"x19.75", 11.75"x15.75", 9.75"x20", and 7.5"x9.5", as well as a number of straightforward sizes (8"x10" and 5"x7"). Xiang let me make some crop corrections to my files right there on his Mac, showing me quickly how to set them up so that they would be easy for him to cut to fit my frames exactly. And he told me my prints would be ready for pickup the next morning. I ended up picking up the completed job /that night/. I was presented with each of my prints and given a chance to review the work. I am truly pleased with the results. The color pops, has real energy to it, and best of all I feel that I'm seeing (and feeling) that these prints convey what I saw and felt in the images. The color QUALITY is excellent. Coming home and placing the art in the frames confirmed that Luster's staff were careful about cutting my prints. Everything fit perfectly. The next morning I submitted a second job digitally around 10:15am and the job was ready for pickup at 1am. Wow! I would never expect that kind of service on a regular basis, but it seems to me that this is a shop focused on delivering the best possible turnaround times it can, which I very much appreciate. I would have paid a steep premium and still only received prints in 3-4 days from most online vendors, and in many cases I'd still have to tackle the cutting. I would say Luster's pricing is competitive with high quality online vendors and very competitive with other printers in the city. I am thrilled to have discovered Luster Photo and Digital and will certainly return, especially to print larger and atypically sized photographs. Such a positive experience! I highly recommend that you put this place at the top of your list.

Yes they're reliable and consistent but profoundly overpriced. $30 for scanning and develop, not even prints. It's ludicrous. Also forget about 1 hour, they usually take 2-3 days for color and sometimes more for black and white. Unfortunately there's nowhere else I know yo go that does quick turn around for fine art/high quality film developing. If you are developing disposable or non-art photos I would recommend 77 Elizabeth for actual 1-hour processing at half the price. Another annoying thing is how unfriendly and brusque they are even with regular Customers. I come here almost every week and not once have they cracked as much as a smile. Luster is all business.

Overpriced with completely robotic and cold customer service. Unfriendly to regulars, with no understanding of nuances in customer service or human behavior. Nice prints but not worth the pricing and somewhat friendly service sometimes. I stopped going to them months ago, but I doubt things have changed.

The Staff man. The staff is so goood! They really do their best, i'm so impressed at how they handle such high demand. They really just want to help :) Thank you Luster Photo!

I used to work at a record store, so I feel like I understand the mentality of a niche stronghold like Luster. It can't be easy competing in a tiny, competitive marketplace like photo finishing; the big names on the west side are tough to make inroads against. That said, I go out of my way twice a week to drop off at this place. What makes Luster special is their attention to small details in your experience with them--how many negatives in a strip, the cut and finish of your prints, the time you arrive to pick up, the time they spend with you on prints--and their consistently friendly service. It makes you almost take for granted that their work is outstanding. Walk into one of the midtown labs (or a record store, for that matter) and see what a siege mentality will do to people who run specialty shops. Then take a step back and check out Luster.

Printed two rolls of 120 and they were perfect. I even got a cute little box to put them in. I also bought two rolls of ektar (120) in store and they were a little expensive - but I was too lazy to walk anywhere else and they were fresh in the fridge. Guy in the store was super nice, will go again!

Super nice folks that do a stellar job. I've only been here once so far - just moved to the city and needed to find a place to get film developed and scanned - but based on this first experience alone, I'm pretty sure I'll be back for my next few rolls. It costs $13.99 to develop and scan a 35mm roll of 36 exposures, which is on par or slightly lower than I've paid for the same service in Chicago, so I'm happy with that. Still not super cheap, but ironically film is probably the only business that gets more expensive as demand declines. I brought my film in on a Monday and they said they'd have it ready by Saturday, but they did ask if I needed it back in a hurry (to which I said no), so I imagine that if you specified it as a rush job, they would be happy to try and turn it around more quickly. I picked up my film and CD of scanned images today and am happy with the results. I'll be back!

I mostly shoot medium format and do cross-processing with my film, so my review is mostly based on my experiences with those services. Luster have handled every order of mine flawlessly. They do all of their developing, including cross-processing in-house, which is almost unheard of in this day and age. And to top it off, same day pick-up is available for regular processing when they are not too busy. I've dropped off a few rolls 2 hours before closing time and gotten them back the same night. They do B&W processing once a day, so if you miss the deadline then it will have to be next day pick up. For printing, I've only gotten c-prints from them so I can't comment on it too much, but galleries get $10k+ prints from them, if that indicates anything. I used to use their scanning service too before I got my own dedicated film scanner. Film scanning is an art itself, a great scan takes a lot of time and attention. There's only so much can be done when bulk scanning, so don't expect too much if you are not getting a drum scan. Their pricing is not on the cheap side, but is definitely reasonable for a pro lab.

What a secret treasure. Ran in to get some last minute large scale stuff printed. Someone sat down with me and did the sizing. I couldn't believe the service and end result. Really helpful, nice, quick. They delivered a stunning product at a reasonable price for NYC printing. Love love love!

I developed film here few time..fast print. good service however a little bit misleading. they keep asking me if i want this and that and all of these cost additional fees. I'm not sure if i would come here again for film.. maybe digital !!

Over the years I've had over 25 prints done at Luster Photo ranging from small to banner size. All of them are fantastic and they take great pride in their work. They are always patient when helping me decide where to crop an image and they use photoshop to pop the colors out more. They spend a lot of time advising me which medium to print on as each one has been for a different purpose or location. I have 10 prints hanging in my building's lobby that range from 20 by 20 inches to 5 ft by 2.5ft.

I normally develop my own film at home but I needed to develop some test 120 rolls while in town and ended up here since they had the best rates and time frame. This is a lovely, small business that I am happy to support anytime I'm in NYC. One day turn around for my negatives (which is great compared to some places I called who were quoting me at minimum for 2 days??) which turned out great, except for one roll that I ruined but the guy was able to tell me how I ruined it! Ah so helpful. Developed mainly 120 film but also a roll of 35. Prices are reasonable, cheaper than back in Portland. 8.00 for negatives only B&W 120 film, which is cheaper than any place in Portland. Highly recommend for B&W developing. We'll see how they do on color when I pick them up tomorrow!