Film is getting expensive

[kuzano]

I'm with you on this....

I'm with you on this....

I think film photography is an amazingly cheap hobby.

The amount of money I see spent on digital is frightening. I build and consult on computers, and I have an active client base, many of which are shooting digital equipment.

The biggest myth, in the "digital is free camp after you buy the camera" is where the fault lies.

I won't go into it, but almost every digital shooter I see, is spending far more money than I am on film photography, and daylight processing. I shoot digital as well, and was exclusively digital from 2003 until 2010.

Expense drove me back to film, where sanity in shooting prevails for me.

 

[kuzano]

Film prices....

Film prices....

120 color negative films have essentially doubled in the past two years. I'd been avoiding digital MF backs as prohibitively expensive for my clients (and personal projects on it are getting unreasonable) - but that might change soon, if this pattern continues.

Film prices in the US.... Like gasoline, was always too inexpensive compared to the rest of the civilized countries in the world.

And just like gas, the playing field, pricewise for film has been leveled. Also so commodity and inventory prices prevail.

Until digital wears out, or down, as it will when the bombs drop and the EMP* pulses do away with computers, film will "seem" to be expensive. (*can you say Iran and North Korea, not to mention WWIII courtesy of Russia, Syria and ISIS)

Films comeback will moderate film prices, even if we are forced to set up "dark tents" and crack eggs over glass plates, as Carleton Wilkins used to do in the late 1800's along the Columbia river and gorge.

 

[John Bragg]

RK Photographic has a great range of films at a very reasonable price. I get my HP5+ from them.

http://www.thedarkroom.co.uk/traditional/black-and-white/film/ilford-hp5-36-exposures-400asa.html

 

[Ko.Fe.]

Exactly my thought when I read the thread!

Is someone still using Speed Graphic as reportage camera? Bang-Bang-Bang!!! 😱

I left LF because I almost stopped taking pictures. I wasn't limiting myself, but I didn't finished two packs of film within two years. 😀

 

[DominikDUK]

Depends on your Definition of reportage but Steve Burnett used it to cover the Olympics and other Events. Here`s a link to his Speed Graphic Work http://www.davidburnett.com/gallery.html?gallery=Big Camera#/0
You can also work pretty fast with a Graflex and a Grafmatic back.

I also agree with Kuzano archiving digital files is much more expensive in the long run than archiving film. With film shooting you have higher upfront costs with digital the costs come later and Boy does it get expensive.

 

[13Promet]

Yes, I agree but I wouldn't buy a specialised film like HP5+ in a High St. shop. You can shop around in your own country but it's difficult as a tourist. Luckily RFF can help...

Regards, David

I ended up getting the XP2 at an anonimous shop in an anonimous street of Edimburgh for... 9 Pounds 😀
Unfortunaltely, I was not in RFF at that time, otherwise I could for sure ask for some useful advice.
Next time I just left my country with more film, bought at reasonable price 🙂

 

[GarageBoy]

A used D7000 is like $300 and will last a while longer -
35mm Portra is $.20 a shot for the film itself and another $.22 a shot for development ($8/roll at LTI Lightside) - still gotta scan
700 shots and you just paid for your body -

 

[Bill Clark]

For color I capture 100% digital.

Black and white I still use film. I process it myself and print with my analog darkroom. Still like the look to a darkroom made black and white print. When I used to take a black and white digital file to get a print, color paper was used. To me, maybe it's just me, the black and white print looks better from my darkroom made with black and white paper. I don't make digital prints but send them out.

 

[Ko.Fe.]

Depends on your Definition of reportage but Steve Burnett used it to cover the Olympics and other Events. Here`s a link to his Speed Graphic Work http://www.davidburnett.com/gallery.html?gallery=Big Camera#/0
You can also work pretty fast with a Graflex and a Grafmatic back.

I also agree with Kuzano archiving digital files is much more expensive in the long run than archiving film. With film shooting you have higher upfront costs with digital the costs come later and Boy does it get expensive.

I remember reading the article about covering of Olympics in Berlin. In Leica magazine. It was interesting read in terms how Leica was more versatile comparing to larger formats. Deeper DOF was mentioned as one practical advantage and creativity tool.

We have about 7K family pictures as JPEG1 files. Good for large screens and A4 prints. I have most of them of memory cards. One memory card which costs $20 could hold all 7K images. If I have to restore those images from memory card at another computer, picasa free software will recognize and tag faces in couple of days.

I started to use BW film in 2012. Now I have two or three binders with sleeves and several boxes with negatives. I have many archived rolls with attached description. But it is not so easy to find and re-print exact portrait for me.

Computer does it for me, but with film I have to do it 🙂

 

[Pioneer]

I personally like using film but...

Film can be expensive if all you are doing is going out and buying a few rolls every now and again.

It gets less expensive if you watch for sales and then buy in bulk.

Likewise, developing can also be costly if you are asking a pro lab to develop all your film.

But, with a very small, up-front, investment you can start developing your own. Cuts the cost quite a bit.

Digital is also a great option if you don't want to pay for film and developing...

But digital can also be expensive if you get yourself caught up in the unending upgrade track.

New cameras, new lenses, new software, new computers, new memory storage...

Of course, that is only necessary if you believe the manufacturer's hype. I often use my old, original, Canon 5D that now is coming up on 175,000 shutter actuations.

Technically it has been obsolete for years but practically it is still a terrific camera.

 

[jsrockit]

I guess it is true that no matter which you choose, film or digital, it can be as cheap, or as expensive, as you want it to be.

 

[HHPhoto]

In our local dm store, I can get two or three different types of colour negative film if at all, no b&w, no 120, no slide film.

120?? You're kidding. 120 has never been sold in the drugstore chain shops in the last 30 years. Drugstores are targeting at consumers and snapshooters. 120 has always been considered as professional film. Just these last years in which 120 format has become much much more affordable for consumers because of increasing incomes and extremely low prices for the camera gear more 'normal' hobby photographers are using 120, too.
But nevertheless 120 is still a niche compared to the 135 sales volume.

Perhaps in SOME dm stores the availabilty is better but that's not the rule.

I've visited more than a dozen dm and Rossmann stores in the last months. Almost all offered their full film line.
dm: AgfaPhoto CT Precisa twin-pack, Gold 200 3-pack, AgfaPhoto Vista 200 and 400, AgfaPhoto APX 100 New, normal house brand single use camera, underwater house brand single use camera.
Rossmann: AgfaPhoto CT Precisa single roll, Gold 200 3-pack, Gold 200 twin-pack, Ultramax 400, APX 400 New, house brand single use camera, house brand underwater single use camera, Kodak Fun Saver underwater single use camera.

Cheers, Jan

 

[mdarnton]

I remember flipping out when 100' of Tri-X went from around $10 to $12. Have prices ever gone down? Ever?

Film is just the cost of doing business.

 

[LeicaFoReVer]

I never thought of this thread becoming film vs digital discussion 🙂

Well film is almost dead for slides. I have enjoyed slides and projecting them more than anything but it is almost entirely dead. It is harder to find films and processing labs in this part of the world. Even if you develop slides and find films, it is definitely became the most expensive branch of film photography compared to B/W and color.

I personally continue to do film photography for B/W only as I develop them by myself. I clearly see the increase in the prices compared to the past due to the decreasing number of users in this era. I dont shoot much to buy bulk film so I need to keep buying rolls...

 

[Hatchetman]

What are some cheaper hobbies than B&W photography?

 

[LeicaFoReVer]

It used to be cheaper with more possibilities...I am afraid of the future of the film photography...

 

[mani]

I am afraid of the future of the film photography...

I'm only afraid of "the future of film photography" when I'm indoors reading all the doom on these forums. When I actually do something like go get film developed at my local lab, I have to stand in line behind all the kids.

 

[phatnev]

Meh. It's my favorite thing to do to pass the time so it's not so bad. I think I spent about $500 total for 80 rolls of Portra 400 and another $400 to get 60 rolls processed for my Myanamar trip. Totally worth it.

 

[B-9]

Im bulk rolling expired GAF Super Hypan, with cassettes, im at about 1$ usd per 36 exposure roll. I purchased a large lot, and got a great price on 1200ft.

Patience and a deep wallet ready to open at a moments notice, is all I can recommend.

I watched a lot 40x rolls of expired Tri-x go for about 300$ recently... thats over 6$ a roll...

The rising prices have been good to me, as ive been selling off some of my unused films at a profit, which has allowed me a few new things for the darkroom! (Recently a Noritsu dark box to make loading a little easier)

 

[Out to Lunch]

I suppose that in Europe it's hard to beat www.macrodirect.de price wise but it's still good to compare prices with the local competition. In Bucharest, Romania, for example, www.f64.ro -a large photo retailer, sells film and other gear often at lower prices than offered by online sellers within other EU countries and the USA.