Great film but cheap?

jaimiepeeters

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Jan 4, 2012
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Hi guys

Since the prices of Portra (in Holland) are going through the roof, I was wondering if there are other cheaper films that can do a decent job if use properly.

I like the Jurgen Teller style and to be honest, although he uses Portra, most of his images kind of look grungy. I like that. I am not after that sharpest film, but after decent colors for shooting models, especially skintone.
 
I have no idea who Jurgen Tiller is but most films will give OK results, especially if you scan where you can adjust to taste.
I think the best cheap film I've found is Agfa Vista (Made by Fuji) which in the UK retail at £1.00 for a 36 exposure.
You can probably find it on the internet if no one stocks it near you.
Only a snap but it looks like this colour wise (rough idea)
127002040.jpg
 
Buy outdated film. The potential color shift adds a bit of serendipity to the result or you can adjust it out in the printing.

I recently bought 25 rolls of 220 Portra 400 dated 2008 for $1/roll. The same film new at B&H Photo is over $12/roll. It looks great processed.
 
Fresh film they make this days is great. This is first part of equation. Now choose which is cheap, that's another part. Well, maybe except some aviation films and similar stuff, but just because they need specialist processing not always substituted by standard C-41.
 
I suggest Fuji Superia as well. Great cheap film.

I just bought 4 rolls of 24, asa 200 superia at walmart for 6.97 cheers. Thats pretty good. CVS develops and gives me 1 long strip of negatives for 2.34. All total thats only 17 cents a picture. If you find it cheaper let me know.
 
I just put in a big order at BH (They now have a cheaper international shipping options, so I got my package shipped to Canada for $10, where Adorama and Freestyle both wanted $30). I've got some Porta in there specifically for a wedding I'll be attending in the spring. I also got five rolls of Ektar 100, which was about $2/roll cheaper. I've never used either. I normally shoot the cheaper Superia/Gold because I'm cheap.

Looking through Flickr, I expect Ektar will become my go to colour film, but I'll have to shoot those five rolls first to know. I'm not really impressed with either the Fuji Superia or Kodak Gold I have been using before (neither are very good for capturing strong colours).
 
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