"Glad to see someone is still shooting film"

[healyzh]

"Originally Posted by barnwulf
I was at a photographic store here in Salt Lake City a few weeks ago and I asked one of the salesmen about how black and white film sales were. He said that they have had to start stocking more black & white film because the sales had increased a quite a bit in the last year. It was really great to hear."

Someone needs to tell Kodak. Their film sales have continued to drop over the last year. I keep hearing camera stores are stocking, and people are buying, more film now. Yet, film sales aren't increasing. Doesn't make sense.

When you talk about B&W you have to wonder how much of the time people are buying Ilford rather than Kodak. For C-41 B&W I definitely prefer Ilford. For traditional B&W I'm not sure. Besides, I'm pretty sure B&W film has been a "drop in the bucket" for Kodak for a very long time. The problem that they and Fuji have is the drop in colour film sales.

Another interesting thing to note is that sales of used 4x5 gear is apparently accelerating. At least this is what a salesman at my favorite local store told me.

 

[JohnTF]

Another interesting thing to note is that sales of used 4x5 gear is apparently accelerating. At least this is what a salesman at my favorite local store told me.

Have heard the same, even up to the point of 4x5 and larger enlargers in demand, but ever hard to stock and ship due to the size.

20 years ago, Agfa tech people told me that B&W was less than 1% of their sales then.

Regards, John

 

[rbsinto]

I was at a yard sale this morning. I didn't see
anything that interested me and I asked the gentleman,
an apparently well-off middle aged guy, if he happened
to have any cameras he wanted to sell.

"What kind of cameras?" he asked.

"Oh, I like all kinds but I especially like the older
film cameras," I said.

This seemed to put him into something of a confusion
and he said hesitantly, "Glad to see someone is still
shooting film."

Then he mulled over my question with a confused expression
on his face and after a while he disappeared into the house.
He came out with two cameras: a P&S and a near-mint
Pentax MX with 50/1.4 which I ended up buying for very
little money.

Later, after I left, his comment kept coming back to me:
"Glad to see someone is still shooting film." It was the
way he said it-- like "Glad to know people are still
riding horses" or " ... still using candles to read by."
Like it was some ancient, arcane technology.

I figure the guy must be something of a serious photog
if he had an MX. So, was he surprised to learn that
people still shoot film? It sure seemed like it. His
apparent confusion and dazed expression when I asked him
about film cameras seem to indicate that the thought
never occurred to him that someone might still want to
shoot film and the low price he placed on the MX seemed
to indicate that as well. The funny thing was the batteries
in the MX were still good so it couldn't have been sitting
idle for too long.

This is not by any means the only time I've gotten a
reaction like this from people I ask about selling their
cameras (I'm a yard sale junkie). Are we dinosaurs or
has the world gone into a state of sudden photographic
amnesia? It seems like the "digital revolution" has only
been with us for about a decade yet so many people these
days, even middle-aged ones who were once serious film
shooters, suddenly seem completely clueless about film
photography!

Who cares?
Frankly, I've grown really tired of defending my choice of equipment and capture medium to my Digital friends, who all preach to me as if I'm an idiot because I don't do what they do.
I'm happy with the results I get and really have no interest in changing, so why should it bother them so much?
Truly one of Life's Great Mysteries.

 

[Fujitsu]

I can still walk into just about any store in town & buy a roll of film

True. And that although everyone knows "film is dead" since 2000. (Ok, actually anyone I´m talking to outside of photo forums tells me "You´re still shooting film? Wow, thats cool.").

but it's those darn batteries I have a hard time finding.

If you´re looking for 1.35v mercury cell replacements look for an MR-9 adapter on Google. That will fix the problem once and for all. (And you dont even have to mess with the camera meter or sth. similar).

 

[Fawley]

If you´re looking for 1.35v mercury cell replacements look for an MR-9 adapter on Google. That will fix the problem once and for all. (And you dont even have to mess with the camera meter or sth. similar).

We're getting a little off topic here, but I've never had a problem simply using the 1.5V alkaline 625 replacements. I set my film rating a touch lower than usual, that's all. It may not be bang on accurate for all things, but after all, many people on this forum (including me) also use sunny 16 a fair amount.