One other thing..... the "proper" use of black and white films IMO, is meant to be customised to each particular photographers style, and exposure techniques, allowing the most control possible out of any film. color included. When you take a roll of black and white to be processed at your local one hour photo hut, or even a well respected custom lab, you are giving up a CRUCIAL part of that control. I mentioned earlier that development plays a key role in things such as contrast, grain, and even sharpness. You know what your intentions were when you took the shot. Your friendly lab attendant has NO idea of what your final vision is intended to be, so they merely do a generic development. It's tiny little differences in temperature, time, agitation,etc. that can make or break a roll of b&w. A difference of just one or two degrees, or a couple of seconds here and there can DRAMATICLY change the final look of the negs. improper agitation during development is a sure fire way to ruin a roll. hope i made some sense. I encourage EVERYONE to try to develop some b&w on there own some time before it has gone the way of the daguerreotype?