Slide Film

[JeremyLangford]

I live right next to a Wal-mart and a Walgreens and today I was very disappointed to find out that neither of them sell slide film. This is very annoying because I am used to buying my negative film whenever I take rolls to get developed at Wal-mart. Now I will have to make two trips, and one will be to a pro-lab that is about 25-30 minutes away from where I live. I am very eager to stop shooting negative film and start shooting slide film and trying some cross-processing here and there, but I didnt know how hard it would be to buy it. Although I guess I could try ordering from the internet.

Will film eventually stop being sold altogether? Will Wal-mart and Walgreens and other 1 hour developing stores eventually stop developing and printing film due to not enough film-using customers? I always feel wierd when I buy a new film camera or lens because I know that it is becoming so unpopular, and I wonder if I will eventually run out of places to buy or get film developed.

 

[venchka]

Some CVS stores I was in 1-2 years ago were stocking the odd roll of Ektachrome and even Tri-X. That may or may not help.

Online is probably your best source of slide film. Call your pro lab first to see what they stock before wasting gas.

Get some Velvia 50. Do not cross post. You might like it.

 

[bmattock]

I live right next to a Wal-mart and a Walgreens and today I was very disappointed to find out that neither of them sell slide film. This is very annoying because I am used to buying my negative film whenever I take rolls to get developed at Wal-mart. Now I will have to make two trips, and one will be to a pro-lab that is about 25-30 minutes away from where I live. I am very eager to stop shooting negative film and start shooting slide film and trying some cross-processing here and there, but I didnt know how hard it would be to buy it. Although I guess I could try ordering from the internet.

Probably your best bet at this point.

Will film eventually stop being sold altogether?

Yes. The only real question is when.

Will Wal-mart and Walgreens and other 1 hour developing stores eventually stop developing and printing film due to not enough film-using customers?

Yes. See above answer.

I always feel wierd when I buy a new film camera or lens because I know that it is becoming so unpopular, and I wonder if I will eventually run out of places to buy or get film developed.

Doubtful, although the convenient places may dry up and you'll be reduced to processing your own or sending it out.

I have virtually stopped shooting color negative film, although I still use it for testing my newly-purchased vintage cameras - one hour processing is easy and cheap when I only have it processed and then scan the resulting negs.

I have a bunch of expired slide film, probably won't ever shoot it. Not much point to it. What am I going to do, buy a slide projector and have a slide show in my 9x12 room? I scan slide film, but again, not sure why I'd want to keep doing that at this point - more trouble than its worth.

Now B&W I shoot a lot, but even there I'm moving more towards medium format, as it is highly superior to digital and I can process it myself and scan it.

My guess is that B&W film will continue to be available for a long time yet. Color slide film is next on the chopping block, to be followed by color print film.

The only real question is when, not if.

But don't let that stop you from shooting film. Enjoy it - I do.

 

[bmattock]

Some CVS stores I was in 1-2 years ago were stocking the odd roll of Ektachrome and even Tri-X. That may or may not help.

Me too, but the local CVS stores here in Michigan no longer stock either. They are, however, the last convenience stores I've seen stocking APS film - not that I've ever used APS.

I was in a new Walgreens the other day in Livonia. A new mini-shopping center, you know the kind. I was shocked to see NOT ONE ROLL OF FILM in it. They did have single-use cameras - not one roll of loose film for any format or in any type.

Online is probably your best source of slide film. Call your pro lab first to see what they stock before wasting gas.

Get some Velvia 50. Do not cross post. You might like it.

Velvia is very nice - I like it for landscapes.

 

[Rhoyle]

I think slide film gives you your best color. Try both the Fuji and Kodak varieties. You can take it to a pro lab or you can send it out. A lot of the mailorder places sell the processing envelopes. You put the exposed film in, drop it off in the mailbox and a week later it shows up at your door. I'm lucky enough to have a pro lab in town that gives me 2-hour sevice at a good price.

 

[JeremyLangford]

I just bought an Olympus XA off ebay last night for $50.

I just wonder if in a year, that $50 will be a complete waste because there will be no way to use it. Are we just wasting our time and money. This is really starting to bug me because I have put a lot of money into my SRT-101 to get it refurbished and I also bought my 16mm f/2.8 fisheye for $240.

 

[Pherdinand]

even then, you may use it for a whole year. Is that a waste?

 

[bmattock]

even then, you may use it for a whole year. Is that a waste?

I think that is a good answer. I haven't quit buying classic (and cheap) fixed-lens rangefinders, although I won't spend $50 on one anymore. And I have probably the most negative (sorry for the pun) outlook on film of any of us here.

Use it while it is here - for however long that might be. I disagree with those who think it will be around forever as a boutique item, but we've had that argument until all of us are ready to throw up, so I won't rehash it. But whether or not film manages to survive in some niche market, it is going away as a consumer product, and that's pretty much that.

So what? It's here now. Use it, love it.

Of course, that's easy for me to say. I buy a lot of Pentax KA mount lenses these days - they work on film or digital. Oh well.

 

[bmattock]

I just bought an Olympus XA off ebay last night for $50.

I just wonder if in a year, that $50 will be a complete waste because there will be no way to use it. Are we just wasting our time and money. This is really starting to bug me because I have put a lot of money into my SRT-101 to get it refurbished and I also bought my 16mm f/2.8 fisheye for $240.

I put a lot of money into my Canon FX to get it refurbished, and I don't regret it one bit. But if you're buying thinking that the one-hour quickie mart will be processing color film in 10 years, then no.

 

[venchka]

The film you buy today, slow speed & properly stored, will be useable 2-4-6-8-maybe more years from now. Faster speed film goes off sooner, still several years if kept frozen. Rodinol lasts almost forever.

Don't worry. Be happy. The end is not near.

 

[shadowfox]

Will film eventually stop being sold altogether? Will Wal-mart and Walgreens and other 1 hour developing stores eventually stop developing and printing film due to not enough film-using customers? I always feel wierd when I buy a new film camera or lens because I know that it is becoming so unpopular, and I wonder if I will eventually run out of places to buy or get film developed.

Get a hold of a copy of Freestyle catalog (free). Your whole outlook will brighten considerably about the future viability of using film. Who knows, it'll give you some ideas at the least.

🙂

 

[Socke]

Our wall mart closed down last year, the new owner does not carry film and closed the minilab. But they have memory cards and inkjet supplies 🙂

August 2006 a local photo studio closed down it's E6 processor, even the biggest local photo chain with lots of minilabs wasn't interested in the processor, too big and too expensive to maintain.

We still have a photographer who does E6 in a Jobo but that's too expensive for me, so I more or less stopped shooting slides. Still some 25 rolls Fuji and Kodak in the fridge, processing paid in advance 🙁

Bulkloaded B/W on the other hand, that's my passion at the moment. Just developed two rolls, got another two I'll soup tomorrow. Hopefully I find a store with ID-11 or D76 in stock, Ultrafin Plus would be even better for me.


I don't buy new film cameras any more, when my G1 and G2 give up, I'll give up on film, too.

 

[kuzano]

I am buying film cameras as fast as I can

I am buying film cameras as fast as I can

and as much as I can afford. 35mm, medium 120 format, large format... anything I can get my hands on that's a good deal or a steal.

When digital dies, which is what is going to happen when the bomb goes off and the EMP totally destroys all computers and digital camera's I plan to be one of the major suppliers in the market. And the market won't be eBay because the computers won't be working. It will be on street corner. Street photography will be the primary theme as almost everybody will be living on the street. Darkrooms will abound due to the lack of electricity to light any room. A wood fire and a still like device will suffice to warm the chemicals to proper temperatures.

Fantasy..... I think not. At least no more of a fantasy than pondering the disappearance of film.

Life would be simpler and there would be ample shooting time for all.

 

[rtphotos]

Will film eventually stop being sold altogether? Will Wal-mart and Walgreens and other 1 hour developing stores eventually stop developing and printing film due to not enough film-using customers?

Hi Jeremy,

Yes, your local drugstores and supermarkets will probably stop developing, printing, and even selling film in the near future. One local "pro-lab" in my neck of the woods has even stopped chemical processing of slide film, but that's another story.

I'm crossing my fingers that film will stay available for my lifetime and that there will be other pro-labs who will process and print for me. In the meantime I don't worry about it too much, as I don't do photography for a living. I enjoy what I can shoot with what is still available.

As for a source of slide film, support your favorite local camera stores, but if they don't have it, order in quantity from B&H (and refrigerate).

Good luck! 🙂
rt

 

[bmattock]

and as much as I can afford. 35mm, medium 120 format, large format... anything I can get my hands on that's a good deal or a steal.

When digital dies, which is what is going to happen when the bomb goes off and the EMP totally destroys all computers and digital camera's I plan to be one of the major suppliers in the market. And the market won't be eBay because the computers won't be working. It will be on street corner. Street photography will be the primary theme as almost everybody will be living on the street. Darkrooms will abound due to the lack of electricity to light any room. A wood fire and a still like device will suffice to warm the chemicals to proper temperatures.

Fantasy..... I think not. At least no more of a fantasy than pondering the disappearance of film.

Life would be simpler and there would be ample shooting time for all.

I wonder how those enlargers will work with no electricity? Oil lamps, I guess.

And people dressed in fur skins of their former pets will trades cans of beans for matted prints of rusting cars in the town square.

Egads.

I suggest you construct a Faraday cage, which is known to stop EMP, out of alumunim foil, and wear it on your head. Don't forget to cut eyeholes, or you'll be bumping into the furniture again.

 

[rtphotos]

I wonder how those enlargers will work with no electricity? Oil lamps, I guess.

heh heh!!😀

Better go dig out my contact printing frames and cyanotype chems! Solar power! Talk about "old school"! 🙂

rt

 

[Socke]

When digital dies, which is what is going to happen when the bomb goes off and the EMP totally destroys all computers and digital camera's I plan to be one of the major suppliers in the market. And the market won't be eBay because the computers won't be working. It will be on street corner.

What film will you use? Must be something very unsensitive to radiation. And how will you protect yourself against radiation?

Another question, how will you bargain with rats and cockroaches who have the best chances to survive a nuclear war?

 

[JeremyLangford]

All I really need is for Wal-Mart to keep developing C-41 film in 1-hour. The truth is, once they stop doing that, all my film equipment that I have bought will sit somewhere and gather dust. I am worrying about this every day.

However, If a digital camera is able to match 35mm film with a full-frame sensor, no more blown highlights (dynamic range) and resolution I will not mind the conversion as long as there is a super-small, pocketsize digital camera with manual focus and a 35mm f/2.8 lens, or something around that.

 

[venchka]

Good grief. I gave up on Wal*Mart C-41 processing. Too many variables. Too many hassels. Too many ruined negatives.

You can develop any film, except Kodachrome, yourself. It's easy. C-41 & E-6 processing may cost more in D.I.Y. form. That is the beauty of $2.00/roll C-41 processing. B&W is WAY cheaper and easier to D.I.Y.

 

[mikeseb]

Hopefully I find a store with ID-11 or D76 in stock....

Even better, spend a few bucks/euros on the bulk chemicals and mix a fresh batch of D76, a liter or two at a time, when you need it. Always fresh that way, and cheap as sand.