Pherdinand
the snow must go on
azo 18, 21 and 24 din... not sure how much it did cost, but cost wasn't an issue- availability was...
Film in the 80's: what was available, and how much did it cost?
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user237428934
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When I think back, development and prints were really expensive in the 80s and print quality was not really good. Lab Quality in the late 90s was much better.
shawn
Veteran
I worked at a camera store/lab in the late 80s, early 90s and C41 film processing was $2.99 for processing and $0.33 a print and done in an hour. That was all done in Noritsus. As I recall the record was around 500 rolls in a day.
B&W was done by hand in a darkroom. I think E6 was shipped out.
Shawn
plummerl
Well-known
On the other hand, Tri-x 4x5 was $16.60 for 50 sheets. Inflation factor price is $38.60. Price now is $115. 😉
skucera
Well-known
When I was in college in the early Eighties, I shot what was cheapest. I had two cameras, well, after a while I had two cameras. My first camera was my Pentax Auto 110, and I shot both Kodacolor II slides (lots of rolls) and Kodak VR when I could find it in the expired film basket at my local camera shops. I got expired 110 film for as little as 50¢ per roll, but even when I had to pay full price I bought slide film because it was cheaper to develop... no cost to make prints. Kodacolor slides have unbelievable color, and VR did lovely skin tones, yellows, oranges, and pinks.
Later, I bought a used Olympus XA at a pawn shop, and took a photography class, and my dad sent me a 10-pack of Tri-X, his favorite film. That $20 lab fee for the darkroom was a great investment. I also used a lot of Fujifilm Superia because of its intense greens and purples, which was handy here in Oregon and later in the Navy when I was stationed in Florida. I also used Kodak Max later, after college, when money wasn't so tight. Like VR, it did skin tones really well, both for my lily white side of the family and the "new" Filipino side that married in back then. I don't remember exactly what I spent on film back then, but I'm pretty sure it was under $2 per roll.
Later, in the Nineties, Costco had great deals on Agfa film, with 10 rolls for $14-15, and developing and printing at about $2 per roll with two sets of 4"x6" prints. For a guy without a darkroom, the Nineties were perhaps the best time to own a film camera, ever.
Scott
Later, I bought a used Olympus XA at a pawn shop, and took a photography class, and my dad sent me a 10-pack of Tri-X, his favorite film. That $20 lab fee for the darkroom was a great investment. I also used a lot of Fujifilm Superia because of its intense greens and purples, which was handy here in Oregon and later in the Navy when I was stationed in Florida. I also used Kodak Max later, after college, when money wasn't so tight. Like VR, it did skin tones really well, both for my lily white side of the family and the "new" Filipino side that married in back then. I don't remember exactly what I spent on film back then, but I'm pretty sure it was under $2 per roll.
Later, in the Nineties, Costco had great deals on Agfa film, with 10 rolls for $14-15, and developing and printing at about $2 per roll with two sets of 4"x6" prints. For a guy without a darkroom, the Nineties were perhaps the best time to own a film camera, ever.
Scott
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