Film prices might go up

[xayraa33]

The very recent trend of silver jumping in price will have an effect on film prices if the price-jump of the metal soars and is sustained for a while.

This could be like what happened in early 1980 and the Hunt brothers cornering the silver market.

If any are available now to buy on the market worldwide (like lumber these seem to be in short supply these days and pricey if available ), solar EV panels might also jump much higher in price, as some do use silver in their manufacture.



https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...he-week-s-open-as-reddit-hordes-pile-in-again

 

[charjohncarter]

I was in a business in 1980 that used silver. It was a mess for us silver consumers ($50+ an once from $6). Luckily the Hunt brothers lost. After this hedge fund mess who knows what will happen.

Todays price $26.00~

 

[agentlossing]

Hopefully not the case. As someone pointed out to me today, the market cap on silver is a tad bit higher than on Gamestop stock, making the likelihood of a real squeeze pretty unlikely.

 

[raydm6]

Wow! Just this morning, I was doing a search on a particular vintage camera and landed on an Amazon page which had color film advertised. I was surprised at how much both B&W and color film have risen! Geesh. I haven't been shopping for film in awhile as I still have a little stash in the fridge but boy, over $10/roll for 135 Portra 160 at Freestyle and Tri-X 135 (36exp) approaching $10/roll at B&H.

And, lot of film out of stock but due in soon. Not sure it's due to analog photography resurgence and/or supply-chain related?

 

[Ko.Fe.]

Why this doom and gloom is in the rangefinder subforum... Anyway...
Film prices will continue to go up and up. No news, it just happening over and over the years now.
Now it is trend on anything, if you haven't noticed.
Except digital cameras, which are still produced as mass product, but soon to be realized to be just as film. Niche market.
Humanity consumption of images has degraded to IG on the mobile phone. No film, no dedicated cameras needed for masses on IG content. Dump cheese, over processed landscape, sexy bimbo or some dopy rap dude. This is what they eat these days.

 

[raydm6]

Just a little sticker shock for me that's all. 😎

Good news is my organic peanut butter is still holding steady at $4.99/16.oz. 🙂

 

[pushto1600]

oh please no... hp5 being $8.12 is already bad enough.

 

[rfaspen]

Kostya hit on a trend......sexy bimbo and dopy rap dude are by far the most abundant photo subjects on the internet. I'm so happy my son is just starting to outgrow this phenomenon.
I'm also very happy my BW film stash is reasonably large. By the time I need to start buying film again, it will be in the $20/roll range.
And....I have a pretty big stash of silver ☺️...might offset film costs?
Life is good? Adequate for sure.
​​​​

 

[Danny D]

Here in Germany, the prices for especially C-41 films have shot up in the last year. If you look at the most popular stocks, Kodak Gold 200 for example - it went from 7,95 in drugstores for a three pack before summer, to 19,99 now. More than double in 6 months. Portra line costs now what slide film was a year ago. Ilford bulk rolling is the same as prerolled rolls last year. The fact is, film prices are really shooting up and we're not just talking 5% to 10%.

I am cutting some corners, creating my own dev, stop & fix from scratch and splicing 1000ft rolls.. but I feel that if I ever get the urge to shoot color again in a serious way, it will be digital.

 

[markjwyatt]

Let's put this in perspective. TriX 135-36 in 1950s, say $0.50/roll. Two quarters. Quarters were silver. Today, a silver quarter (1964 and previous) is worth about $5.70 in silver value (Google junk silver, $1000 face). So Tri-X in the 1950s was > $11/roll in today's money. At Freestyle today it is is about $9, so actually a little cheaper.

 

[Saganich]

I just went back to bulk loading with two 100' rolls of HP5 for a reasonable price ($90 or about $5 per 36 exp). I bulk-loaded years ago and don't particularly like it, but now that I have some pandemic Barnacks I can use those FILCAs I've had in a drawer for 20 years! I suspect a single roll of 36 exp TriX or HP5 will be > $10 by the time I need more film, which will be this time next year.

 

[das]

Bulk loading is the way to go. I wish that Fuji and Kodak would offer their color C41 film in 100-foot rolls. You would think that would be easier for them. Pro Image 100 and Fuji Xperia 400 remain cheapish in packs. Kodak B&W prices are generally insane and so is Portra 400/800.

 

[raydm6]

Recent SivergrainClassics article:

Film Prices Analyzed: Is Film Too Expensive?

An In-Depth Look at Film Prices, Price Hikes, and the Real Cost of Film.

by Ludwig Hagelstein

The following article is an excerpt from SilvergrainClassics print issue 13 that will be available in stores from November 26th 2021. In light of the recent price increase for Kodak films, the article was made available early.

https://silvergrainclassics.com/en/2021/10/film-price-analysis/

 

[John Bragg]

An interesting read. All I know is that Ilford HP5+ is my go to for film as I really can't justify the higher cost of Tri-X. My photos are just as consistent and my wallet is healthier. That is based on UK prices. The inverse may be true in the US.

 

[markjwyatt]

Recent SivergrainClassics article:

Film Prices Analyzed: Is Film Too Expensive?

An In-Depth Look at Film Prices, Price Hikes, and the Real Cost of Film.

by Ludwig Hagelstein

The following article is an excerpt from SilvergrainClassics print issue 13 that will be available in stores from November 26th 2021. In light of the recent price increase for Kodak films, the article was made available early.

https://silvergrainclassics.com/en/2021/10/film-price-analysis/

Nice article- consistent cost analysis with my estimate to my "film cost in silver analysis" on the Tri-X, ... https://www.rangefinderforum.com/fo...film-prices-might-go-up?p=4754409#post4754409

 

[Retro-Grouch]

There is death. There are taxes. And film prices will rise. In a world of dizzying change, it's nice to have some certainties!
And Ko.Fe., please don't ever fall into the trap of Political Correctness. Your posts are a breath of fresh air!

 

[raydm6]

Head's-up... Kodak film price increase March 2023... ...although I can't find the press release/announcement on their web site.

The price rise will affect all films, with the overall rise across all products working out to 17%, Kosmo Foto has learned.

Discussion on Reddit.

 

[ptpdprinter]

Shocking to hear that film prices might go up. They have been so stable for the past few years.

 

[Disappointed_Horse]

An interesting read. All I know is that Ilford HP5+ is my go to for film as I really can't justify the higher cost of Tri-X. My photos are just as consistent and my wallet is healthier. That is based on UK prices. The inverse may be true in the US.

Nope, Tri-X costs 50% more than HP5 here in the States. Personally, I like Tri-X a little better than HP5—but not that much better.

 

[x-ray]

It’s guaranteed that prices will continue to climb. I know everyone loves hearing this again but when I started shooting 120 in my dads Rollei in the mid 60’s I bought imported B&W 120 for 26 cents a roll. I think it was Czech made and actually very good. I don’t know about 35mm since I didn’t get one until around 1967. I have a couple of rolls from that period and need to see if the have a price marked but just off the top of my head I’d say a 20 exposure roll of TX would have been under a dollar. But then a dollar would buy you a Big Mac, fries and coke and you’d get change back. Then again a dollar was worth much more.

About 15 or so years ago, might be a little more or less, Fuji and Arista branded 100 & 400 120 and 35 were on sale at Freestyle. I don’t remember the price but it seems like 120 was around $2 a roll and 35 around $3.50 for a 36. I may be off but it was super cheap. I bought about 600 rolls and bought another batch and bought a freezer to keep it in. Am I ever glad I did! I’ve used a lot but still have a bunch of 35 100 & 400 and a fair amount of 120 400. I was down to 6 rolls of 100 in 120 and bought a bunch of the new 100 but haven’t gotten into it yet. I also have a pretty good stash of 120 and 35 Adox / Efke 25, Delta 100 120, HP5 35 and Pan F.

In a few years we’ll all look back on current prices as the good old days. So, if you can swing it buy as much film as you can right now and freeze it.

One final comment, in the 90’s I had a retail department store client that is shot all their ads. I did all on 120 Agfa 100 and Provia 120. I shot on average 300-600 rolls of Provia a month and about the same in B&W. I was buying Provia for under $3 a roll at that time.

Times have changed and will continue changing.