I finished a roll of film yesterday.

[oftheherd]

Hi,

B&W* or Colour Print or Slides for six quid? And where?

BTW, it could be worse; I often pick them up in charity shops and they've a half used film (Boots, Truprint, Photo Porst etc) and a dead battery in them. I guess they think they are broken; and give it to a charity shop...

Regards, David

* I keep looking at bulk loading but can't be bothered to do all the developing and scanning. Not that the scanner (and a printer) work under Windows 10.

Can you elaborate on that? I have been thinking of doing the upgrade. I have gimp on my Windows 8.1 Pro labtop, and it works. I sure would have to upgrade and find it wouldn't work.

 

[grouchos_tash]

If only I was developing a film today. I shot my niece's first steps this week...no film in the camera.

BTW I dev my own B&W but I get colour done for £3.50 a 25min drive from home 😉

 

[David Hughes]

Can you elaborate on that? I have been thinking of doing the upgrade. I have gimp on my Windows 8.1 Pro labtop, and it works. I sure would have to upgrade and find it wouldn't work.

Hi,

Well, I plugged them in and nothing. No "we are looking" message, no nothing.

In the end I depressed myself by dong a search for a Windows 10 driver for the scanner and laser printer and found others looking and asking the same question and despairing.

So it might be an idea for you to search for whatever you have for W10 before you need it. FWIW, I search for manuals before buying expensive stuff. It often pays off.

I'll wish you luck.

Regards, David

 

[Huss]

The saga continues...posting the film...Royal Mail now.

A cassette in a container is roughly 32mm in diameter, a cassette by itself is roughly 25mm (not measured across the mouth).

Put a 'naked' cassette into a padded bag and it exceeds the 25mm maximum thickness for second class large letters.

So it has to go via parcel post. The 2nd class costs jumps from 74p to £2.80.

This is now becoming a film vs digital thing! Sorry...

Which is why I only ship multiple rolls at a time.
But you are obviously a digital shooter and that makes far more sense for you. Unless you either shoot lots of film , mailing out film for processing does not make much financial sense.

I recently shipped 9 rolls. It would have been $1.81 each ($16.29 total) or $2.35 all together. And then the cost to ship it back to me - $7.50 each ($67.50) or $7.50!
So I'm looking at either $83.79 or $9.85 for shipping and receiving 9 rolls of film depending on whether I send them individually or all together!

 

[David Hughes]

Well, unless you have a trusted lab you can walk/drive to, outsourcing dev/scan/print by shipping will be expensive for sure.
Moreover, during my recent trip in Scotland, I've discovered that everything related to phoography is quite expensive in the UK: buying a roll of Ilford XP2 (which is made in the UK) at Jessops in Inverness or in a Kodak Store in Edimburgh would costs about 10GBP, while I pay 6€ for it in Milan. It's nearly 3:1 cost, unbelivable!

Developing & scanning BW at home is the last (relatively) cheap way to do film photography.

Hi,

I think the problem is being in a strange land and not having the local knowledge. Especially in a tourist area it's easy to pay far too much for film.

OTOH, recently I left my spare roll of film in the hotel in York (ultra touristy) and bought one (Agfa labelled Fuji C200) for a pound because I knew the shop to look for.

As for B&W XP2*, a lot of us would be shocked at the price you paid at home...

There ought to be a forum telling people where the locals shop and so on.

Regards, David

* A lot use http://www.silverprint.co.uk/ for example.

 

[David Hughes]

Which is why I only ship multiple rolls at a time.
But you are obviously a digital shooter and that makes far more sense for you. Unless you either shoot lots of film , mailing out film for processing does not make much financial sense.

I recently shipped 9 rolls. It would have been $1.81 each ($16.29 total) or $2.35 all together. And then the cost to ship it back to me - $7.50 each ($67.50) or $7.50!
So I'm looking at either $83.79 or $9.85 for shipping and receiving 9 rolls of film depending on whether I send them individually or all together!

Hi,

The problem is/was that they changed the sizes and prices a while ago. Once a roll of film could be sent in a padded bag as a 2nd class letter, then they imposed the 2.5cm restriction on large letters and so the next step became expensive for small items as the next step was £2-80 for up to a kilogram. So good news for some but bad for others.

Regards, David

 

[Dralowid]

Now...I wonder what format of film WILL fit inside the 2.5cm restriction???

OK, apart from sheet film and a roll of Standard 8 which is just under 2cm.

 

[Ko.Fe.]

...
This is now becoming a film vs digital thing! ...

Nope. Self vs paid service. Once you'll start it as self, the whole film vs digital will become nounsense.

 

[13Promet]

Hi,

I think the problem is being in a strange land and not having the local knowledge. Especially in a tourist area it's easy to pay far too much for film.

OTOH, recently I left my spare roll of film in the hotel in York (ultra touristy) and bought one (Agfa labelled Fuji C200) for a pound because I knew the shop to look for.

As for B&W XP2*, a lot of us would be shocked at the price you paid at home...

There ought to be a forum telling people where the locals shop and so on.

Regards, David

* A lot use http://www.silverprint.co.uk/ for example.

You're right, that 10 GBP was partly "tourist fee", but... besideas silverprint being an e-shop, the costs are still crazy compared to what I pay for over here for single rolls at an ordinary shop.

Let's stay on XP2
36 Exp roll over here: 6.50€ (4.67 GPB)
Same roll @ Silverprint: 5.66 GBP

I'ts 22% difference, physical shop Vs. online, and this film is made in the UK.
Also, take in account that VAT is 20% in the UK Vs. 22% in Italy.

So, taking this case for good, film photography is definitely much more expensive in UK than over here.

 

[farlymac]

I usually finish a roll on one shoot, but there have been times I took a week to one month to do so. I never load multiple cameras unless my intention is to use them both at the same time.

My problem is loading a camera, then not using it for one reason or another. I pick it up months later and can't for the life of me remember what I put in there. When I do determine what is loaded, it's usually not what I need at the moment, so it either gets yanked out, or set back for another time with a note attached as to the contents.

PF

 

[Huss]

I usually finish a roll on one shoot, but there have been times I took a week to one month to do so. I never load multiple cameras unless my intention is to use them both at the same time.

My problem is loading a camera, then not using it for one reason or another. I pick it up months later and can't for the life of me remember what I put in there. When I do determine what is loaded, it's usually not what I need at the moment, so it either gets yanked out, or set back for another time with a note attached as to the contents.

PF

That's why I use filmtrackr.com
It's free and excellent. From my Lomo 120 review:

 

[David Hughes]

You're right, that 10 GBP was partly "tourist fee", but... besideas silverprint being an e-shop, the costs are still crazy compared to what I pay for over here for single rolls at an ordinary shop.

Let's stay on XP2
36 Exp roll over here: 6.50€ (4.67 GPB)
Same roll @ Silverprint: 5.66 GBP

I'ts 22% difference, physical shop Vs. online, and this film is made in the UK.
Also, take in account that VAT is 20% in the UK Vs. 22% in Italy.

.So, taking this case for good, film photography is definitely much more expensive in UK than over here.

Hi,

If you can get the Agfa Vista 200 (Fuji C200) cheaper than a pound in Italy then my family over there will be getting an order for some from me...

Regards, David

 

[13Promet]

Hi,

If you can get the Agfa Vista 200 (Fuji C200) cheaper than a pound in Italy then my family over there will be getting an order for some from me...

Regards, David

I've called for you the shop where I usually buy BW film (I very rarely shoot colour film): unfortunately, they doesn't sell C200 (Superia 200 only).
The lowest price I've found for it in Italian online shops is 2€ (1,44 GBP).

Sorry not to be able to make your family happy 🙂

 

[grouchos_tash]

That's why I use filmtrackr.com
It's free and excellent. From my Lomo 120 review:

I just use a notes app with a list of my cameras and what film is in each one. When I use up a roll I label it as 'Empty'. It works great...aprt from the one time it didn't haha. It also stops me from opening a camera with a film still in it.

Untitled by Gary Harding, on Flickr

 

[Andrea Taurisano]

Just the other day, man in his 70s came to my newly opened, little photo gallery for a chat. He asked me if I, having a darkroom, could develop old BW film. I told him that I rutinely do that for my own photography, that I however do not offer that service to others but maybe could make an exception and help him with a roll or two. It's only at that point that he revealed how much undeveloped Tri-X he was talking about: A whole plastic bag (of the size you get at grocery stores) full of 35mm rolls, mainly from the 1970s but also 80s. Unmarked, so he had no idea what was in each roll.

Now, even though I'm a 99% analog photographer and appreciate the slowness of silver based photography, I wonder: how can someone possibly expose so much film over nearly two decades, without bothering to develop it? Who did he shoot all that film for (I mean, for posterity, since no one can take for granted that they'll still be alive decades later)? I can find possible answers, but this thought fascinates me immensely..

 

[johnnyrod]

Asda (Wlamart but in the UK) are doing overnight or 1-hour 35mm processing. process and print for 24 exposures is £5/£6 for slow/fast service, 36 is £6/£7. I used them once, prints were okay, they don't do any corrections. I was also using the Poundland film!

Despite not having a very good record of technically acceptable pictures (partly down to the crappy old cameras I've been buying and fixing), I do also enjoy the anticipation of opening the envelope to see the latest set of prints. 120 is the tricky one, do I get all 12 printed at 5x5" or at 8x8" on the assumption they're worth the extra money instead of going back for enlargements?

 

[David Hughes]

Hi,

What's worse than leaving a film in a camera for ever is leaving a battery in it until it decays and takes the camera with it. They ruin cameras, flash units and winders.

So I bought some of that screaming pink card and made up some large labels with "Battery Inside" written on them to fix to the camera. That way I don't forget and then, once I've put a film in it, I then hang a label on the camera made from the side of the film carton. I've made the film ones double sided for obvious reasons and glue the sides together before punching a hole in the corner for the bit of string. (Or, of course, fine 22ct gold chain for the Leicas... )

Regards, David

 

[Dralowid]

Well, the film came back from Hull today which is excellent service by both the processors and Royal Mail.
Monday: Post
Tuseday: Process
Wednesday: Post
Thursday: Delivered

It was all worth it for this one:

83600024 by dralowid, on Flickr

 

[David Hughes]

Nice and I like the little touch of red in the background.

Regards, David

 

[Huss]

Now, even though I'm a 99% analog photographer and appreciate the slowness of silver based photography, I wonder: how can someone possibly expose so much film over nearly two decades, without bothering to develop it? Who did he shoot all that film for (I mean, for posterity, since no one can take for granted that they'll still be alive decades later)? I can find possible answers, but this thought fascinates me immensely..

Vivian Maier did that. They found lots of shot but undeveloped film when her legacy was discovered.