Keith
The best camera is one that still works!
Les Porter (the photographer's best mate) has been around for a long time so I'm told ... his web site tells you he runs a twenty hour per day business and invites you to ring him virtually any time. He operates out of Newcastle not far from Sydney.
I rang him monday night at around 8pm needing a couple of bottles of fixer, some stop, a couple of ink cartridges for the Epson and some Ilford Smooth Pearl paper all of which he had in stock. We chatted for about twenty minutes about photography, climate change etc etc and eventually discussed how I was to pay for the order before it was sent.
"No no ... don't you worry about that yet, I'll just slip the invoice into the box and you can organise that side of it when you get it ... my banking details will be on the invoice ... I'll get it in the post to you first thing in the morning!"
I generally go where prices are cheapest which means 'off shore' a lot of the time which can be a pain as my last order from Freestyle had a pretty high freight component considering how little I actually got which can take the price advantage away to a certain extent. Les's prices are very competitive considering the arm and a leg you can pay in Oz for film and chemicals etc and although he doesn't carry a huge range of stock he generally has what you need most of the time.
It's really refreshing to deal with someone like Les who's absolute enthusiasm for what he does just bubbles out ... I think he's in his late sixties from memory. I'll definitely be giving him a little more of my business in future and it's nice to support an Oz business for a change when a dollar here or there is not so important.
I rang him monday night at around 8pm needing a couple of bottles of fixer, some stop, a couple of ink cartridges for the Epson and some Ilford Smooth Pearl paper all of which he had in stock. We chatted for about twenty minutes about photography, climate change etc etc and eventually discussed how I was to pay for the order before it was sent.
"No no ... don't you worry about that yet, I'll just slip the invoice into the box and you can organise that side of it when you get it ... my banking details will be on the invoice ... I'll get it in the post to you first thing in the morning!"
I generally go where prices are cheapest which means 'off shore' a lot of the time which can be a pain as my last order from Freestyle had a pretty high freight component considering how little I actually got which can take the price advantage away to a certain extent. Les's prices are very competitive considering the arm and a leg you can pay in Oz for film and chemicals etc and although he doesn't carry a huge range of stock he generally has what you need most of the time.
It's really refreshing to deal with someone like Les who's absolute enthusiasm for what he does just bubbles out ... I think he's in his late sixties from memory. I'll definitely be giving him a little more of my business in future and it's nice to support an Oz business for a change when a dollar here or there is not so important.
Krzys
Well-known
I always praise Les Porter whenever I can. His invoice system is great and shipping is lightning fast.
shyoon
Well-known
Les Porter sounds like a great guy to deal with. Glad to see that we still have small businesses around Australia providing great, honest service.
Despite the relative lack of interest in film photography in Australia, you occasionally find some great stores which provide excellent service. I've personally dealt with Mainline in Sydney and Vanbar in Melbourne, both of which are highly recommended. I source all my chemicals from Vanbar - they have an amazing array of stock and are very competitively priced as well.
The only 'outsourcing' I do is for bulk film purchases from Freestyle. Purchasing film from within Australia is daylight robbery.
Despite the relative lack of interest in film photography in Australia, you occasionally find some great stores which provide excellent service. I've personally dealt with Mainline in Sydney and Vanbar in Melbourne, both of which are highly recommended. I source all my chemicals from Vanbar - they have an amazing array of stock and are very competitively priced as well.
The only 'outsourcing' I do is for bulk film purchases from Freestyle. Purchasing film from within Australia is daylight robbery.
lynnb
Veteran
Thanks for this post Keith
Keith
The best camera is one that still works!
One interesting thing that Les told me during our chat was that a contact he has within Fujifilm swears that Freestyle's Legacy pro is not Neopan. ???
My goodies arrived this morning ... perfectly packed!
My goodies arrived this morning ... perfectly packed!
mgd711
Medium Format Baby!!
People like Les are still out there but they are a dying breed.
On the Neopan, my contact in Freestyle would not confirm that Legacy Pro is Neopan but he did point out that Legacy Pro is made in Japan, how many film manufacturers are there in Japan, he would say no more than that.
On the Neopan, my contact in Freestyle would not confirm that Legacy Pro is Neopan but he did point out that Legacy Pro is made in Japan, how many film manufacturers are there in Japan, he would say no more than that.
Mablo
Well-known
I wish we had someone like Les here too.
Having shot a lot of both Neopan and LegacyPro recently I'd say the emulsion is the same as far as I can tell but the film base definitely feels different in your fingers.
Having shot a lot of both Neopan and LegacyPro recently I'd say the emulsion is the same as far as I can tell but the film base definitely feels different in your fingers.
Have you got a link to his website, Keith? I remember finding it once before, but can't find it now :bang:
benno
Hack.
Yeah, link please Keith?
Vanbar have screwed my last two orders up and I'm not going to deal with them any longer.
Vanbar have screwed my last two orders up and I'm not going to deal with them any longer.
tomalophicon
Well-known
Beaudy mate, thanks for the link!
Leigh Youdale
Well-known
I'm another fan of Les's - for the same reasons as Keith listed. Vanbar have a wider range of stuff but Les gives a very personal and fast service. He also seems to have a lot more stuff than his price lists on the web site suggest so it's worth asking if you don't see it there.
Ilford seem to be screwing their film prices up and their main distributors don't seem to be doing much to help, but Les has great deals on Fuji and I believe is also talking to Adox about stocking their film soon.
Ilford seem to be screwing their film prices up and their main distributors don't seem to be doing much to help, but Les has great deals on Fuji and I believe is also talking to Adox about stocking their film soon.
cnphoto
Well-known
Thanks for the link Keith. Chris at Blanco Negro operates on the same invoicing system, a good source for Fomapan film and checmicals AND Rodinal - i've also rented time at his dark room a few times and will be doing again soon.