Buying film in SE Asia

[itf]

So, I'm off to Southeast Asia in a month and I don't know how long I'll be there 😀. I'll be taking 36 rolls of 36 with me but this will almost certainly not be enough. I'm thinking about getting some more before I go, but I'm also considering just trying to get more there.

So the question; is it easy enough to find BW (like HP5 or anything similar) in Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, and Burma/Myanmar? And is it reasonably priced?

Also, does anyone know of shops in Ho Chi Minh that might sell lenses (something like CV wides)? I'm looking to get one but thought maybe it would be worth waiting.

 

[Austerby]

I'm interested in this too - anyone have any current information?

 

[oscroft]

So the question; is it easy enough to find BW (like HP5 or anything similar) in Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, and Burma/Myanmar? And is it reasonably priced?

I really don't know about B&W, but I'd expect Thailand to be your only serious hope out of those countries, and then probably only in Bangkok (I've bought a lot of colour transparency film there myself, but no B&W).

One thing to watch out for is the climate. Using film that has been stewing on shop shelves at 30C and hotter is asking for trouble - you really need to be confident that it has been stored in cool conditions.

 

[itf]

I just noticed this old thread of mine back up, so I thought I'd answer my own question. I didn't really look for film at all in Vietnam, so I can't help there. I looked in Phnom Penh, Cambodia and only found Lucky and it wasn't going that cheap, I wound up giving up.

In Bangkok I found Foma Fomapan 400 in 36's and got it for 82 baht (around $US2.50) when I bought 60 rolls. I only got about 2 baht off per roll for this quantity because they said it was on a low margin. Eventually I believed them because I contacted the dist and said I wanted 100 rolls, and they said 81.5 baht/roll if I bought through them (which wasn't worth the trouble).

I'll have to get back with the shop details, I have a card but not on me. It took me an afternoon of wandering Chinatown to find and going into every photography shop there to find something B&W and 400. If anyone is interested in trying the Foma dist there, their details are on the foma website.

I also went into a photographers gallery in Pai (North Thailand), the photog wasn't there but the attendant (a student of his) said he got Tri-X in bulk rolls somewhere in Chiang Mai, so if you sniff around... but the rolls of Tri-X in Bangkok seem expensive; around 200 baht/roll ($US6).

I'm still in SEAsia so I'll let you know if I see more.

 

[Rayt]

I have no problems finding Kodak and Fuji b/w in BKK but the other countries mentioned are pretty tough aside from the usual consumer color films. Why not just have B&H ship them to you since you are there it seems for the long haul?

 

[Simon Larbalestier]

Most of the b/w films are stocked here in Bangkok prices not so cheap when i compare to UK prices. TX400, HP5, FP4, Tmax 100 and 400, Fuji SS and Neopan 400 and 1600 Delta 1600 can all be accessed without too much problem. (average prices 155-175 Thai Baht per roll of 36) I've also seen XP2 (175 Thai Baht) and the Ilford Pan series: 100 and 400 (80 Thai Baht) 120 sizes are available but not in all brands plenty of TX400 in 120. And its kept in temp controlled cabinets at the pro shops. I know for a fact Siem Reap stocks Fuji SS and Neopan 400 but not kept in controlled cabinets.