Good value film in the UK

[sjgslack]

Hi All,

I have been buying fomapan 400 from here: https://www.jackthehat.co.uk/film-c-77.html - if you buy 20 rolls it comes in at £59. And fuji colour 200iso film is £23 for 10 rolls.

Does anyone else know of anywhere offering such good value at the moment? I like the Foma stuff, but a bit of variety may be good...

Silas

 

[bonatto]

Hey Silas,

Check out your local pound land, they sometimes have Agfa Vista Plus 200 (which seems to be same as fuji superia 200 by some accounts, made in japan). 24 frames for £1

 

[sjgslack]

Hi Fred,
Yes! I forgot to mention that one. I was aware of that too. It used to be 36exp, but still good value for £1 🙂
Silas

 

[ravilamir]

Well, I prefer to buy Foma in bulk. it is still cheaper: £40.87 for 100ft. That will be about 18-19 rolls.
See Process Supplies: http://www.processuk.net/FOMA_FILM/cat740598_2510309.aspx

 

[sjgslack]

That IS good value. My problem with that is that i barely have time to develop the film with kids around the place. I'd never get around to rolling it too.

 

[wblynch]

What about Ilford Pan-100 or Pan-400?

 

[ravilamir]

What about Ilford Pan-100 or Pan-400?

They are a very nice film.
They are on sale in a couple of retailers in the UK. The cheapest I see is about the same price as Kentmere.
There are also bulk 100ft rolls. They retail at about £39 with the Imaging Warehouse (UK, formerly Nova darkroom).
When I add the P&P charges it gets a bit more expensive for me than buying Foma from Process Supplies. But, I'm in London. For others it might be worth it. Anyway there's only a couple of pounds in it.

For you in the US, the PAN 100 and 400 films aren't normally available, but it seems they are via Ebay. Just not as fresh as I would get here.

 

[David Hughes]

Agfa Vista Plus

Agfa Vista Plus

Hi,

Just a minor revival of this thread.

I tried some in the Leica mini 3 and was pleased and so managed to buy and hide a dozen rolls in the fridge. They were dated April 2017.

A long way from home I found a camera in a charity shop and bought a roll in Poundland to check it. The roll was dated October 2017.

So I guess it's a success and they are re-stocking. On the box it says "Made in Japan" and there's an interesting disclaimer from Agfa-Gevaert GMbH and AgfaPhoto Holding GMbH.

So my guess is Fuji's C200 in fancy dress.

Anyway, it's a decent film and for a quid I'm very happy with it. I hope you all buy some and keep it on sale for as long as possible. And doesn't it make a mockery of others' prices?

Regards, David

 

[Fotohuis]

To be more precise:

36 exposures: 1634 mm/64.33 inch. So 30,5m:1,634 = 18,6 135-36 films.

Foma is still offering good prices for their bulk films: FP100/FP200/FP400 and Retropan 320 Soft.

 

[ian_watts]

Anyway, it's a decent film and for a quid I'm very happy with it. I hope you all buy some and keep it on sale for as long as possible. And doesn't it make a mockery of others' prices?

I quite like the Poundland film but, with only 24 exposures per roll, it is only significantly cheaper if you do your own C41 processing.

Most labs I know charge the same for a roll of 35mm film irrespective of the number of exposures. The calculation varies, depending upon how cheaply you get your film processed, but say you pay £5 for processing.

Poundland film: £1 per roll + £5 for processing. 24 processed exposures = 25p per exposure.
Kodak Portra: £5 per roll + £5 for processing. 36 processed exposures = 28p per exposure.
🙂

 

[David Hughes]

I quite like the Poundland film but, with only 24 exposures per roll, it is only significantly cheaper if you do your own C41 processing.

Most labs I know charge the same for a roll of 35mm film irrespective of the number of exposures. The calculation varies, depending upon how cheaply you get your film processed, but say you pay £5 for processing.

Poundland film: £1 per roll + £5 for processing. 24 processed exposures = 25p per exposure.
Kodak Portra: £5 per roll + £5 for processing. 36 processed exposures = 28p per exposure.
🙂

Hi,

Mine's a lot cheaper; process and scan for three quid (6p each) or D&P to 5"x7" for £7. At 25 to the roll that's 28p but I can get Poundland's stuff nearby and there's no other decent lab nearby.

At £5 per 36 cassette and £8 for 5x7" I make that 35p each. In terms of the total it's a choice between £8 and £13 using your Porta price. And handing over £18 for a 18 rolls or £60 for Porta (same number of frames) just to fill the fridge again worries me as I think the timing of spending comes into it.

Regards, David

PS Are we both talking about 5" x 7"?

 

[ian_watts]

PS Are we both talking about 5" x 7"?

Hi David, no I was talking just development and scans. I can get a roll developed and scanned at my local Asda for £3 (I think it is actually £2 plus £1 for the CD so it is even cheaper per roll to have more than one roll dev/scanned) but the scans are a little small (1800px on long side) and I'm not so keen on getting my negs back loose in a small freezer bag rather than a proper neg sleeve.😀 I get my C41 developed and scanned by mail order and the going rate seems to be around £4-7 per roll depending upon scan resolution plus postage costs (my current favoured lab charge a reasonable £4 per roll for dev and 4,500px scans but I pay postage to and from the lab so it all adds up). All in all, the cost of film ends up being the lesser part of the equation for me and the difference between Poundland film at £1 per 24 exposures and something more expensive like Portra at £5 per 36 exposures becomes less marked. That said, I still rather like Poundland film and somewhat prefer the colour across a wider range of light scenarios. I do take your point though about stocking up the fridge and the cashflow advantage of buying the Poundland Agfa stuff.🙂

 

[David Hughes]

Hi David, no I was talking just development and scans. I can get a roll developed and scanned at my local Asda for £3 (I think it is actually £2 plus £1 for the CD so it is even cheaper per roll to have more than one roll dev/scanned) but the scans are a little small (1800px on long side) and I'm not so keen on getting my negs back loose in a small freezer bag rather than a proper neg sleeve.😀 I get my C41 developed and scanned by mail order and the going rate seems to be around £4-7 per roll depending upon scan resolution plus postage costs (my current favoured lab charge a reasonable £4 per roll for dev and 4,500px scans but I pay postage to and from the lab so it all adds up). All in all, the cost of film ends up being the lesser part of the equation for me and the difference between Poundland film at £1 per 24 exposures and something more expensive like Portra at £5 per 36 exposures becomes less marked. That said, I still rather like Poundland film and somewhat prefer the colour across a wider range of light scenarios. I do take your point though about stocking up the fridge and the cashflow advantage of buying the Poundland Agfa stuff.🙂

Hi,

Interesting as at 1800 pixels you'd be able to print 9" long at 200dpi. So A5 paper would be OK, perhaps.

Anyway, I asked in a local Asda and they can do it for £3 as you say but also they can still do APS, which I have stuffed in the fridge. I only asked in Asda as I was waiting for a car repair and had wandered into a charity shop and found a Konica Revio Z2 which I remember as a neat and nice APS camera.

Amazing what these threads start isn't it?

Regards, David