According to our experience, the main reason why some labs are estimating their developing costs based on high-end DSLRs is that most of their customers own either Nikon D800/D810 or Canon 5DS/R cameras. If you have any of the above-mentioned cameras, then it is very likely that your lab will estimate film development based on expensive models of these cameras. The film is more expensive in black and white than in color The film is more expensive in black and white than in color. That's because taking a picture in color costs much less processing than taking a film in black and white. Unfortunately, most labs do not provide the price difference between both types of film development.