Interesting Trip to Walmart Today

[Gray Fox]

I made a visit to a local Walmart on Atlanta's southside that has had the floor plan completely updated, and it took me a while to find the Photo Center. Once I did I was pleasantly surprised. The 3 packs of 36 exp Kodak UC 400 are back for $9.50, and 3 packs of 24 exp BW400CN are $8.50. I did find something I had never seen before, however, a bin of Kodak Easy Share one time use cameras loaded with BW400CN! Perhaps it is something I've missed since such cameras are nothing I've ever needed, but it might be interesting to get one just to see what kind of photos it can make. Has anyone tried one of these and if so, what were the results?

 

[erikhaugsby]

I suspect they'd turn out just like other disposables with C-41 film. That is, low contrast, flare, pronounced distortion, and atrocious "sharpness."
But it's faux-B&W, so it might appeal to consumers hoping for that nice olde-tyme look for their pictures on the cheap.

 

[sbug]

Nice find. The Walmart near me got rid of their 400UC and I really miss it. That price is very good. I'll be on the lookout for it again after reading your post.

 

[shadowfox]

I suspect they'd turn out just like other disposables with C-41 film. That is, low contrast, flare, pronounced distortion, and atrocious "sharpness."
But it's faux-B&W, so it might appeal to consumers hoping for that nice olde-tyme look for their pictures on the cheap.

Wow, Erik, hold on a second. BW400CN is a *very good* b/w film. It's not faux just because you can develop it in C-41.

I find it to have a good contrast, sharpness, and enough smoothness (looks like 100 TMAX in my eyes). Moreover, it can be developed by a machine, which means it's more consistent than by hand (not better, just more consistent), so I can learn/experiment more effectively because there's one less variable to compensate for.

 

[erikhaugsby]

I was more referring to the disposable camera concept, not the film itself.

I've never used either of the C-41 B&W films, but I've really only heard good things about them, and the faux-B&W statement was just that: even though it renders film in an apparent B&W (by hyper-desaturation), it isn't a "true B&W" silver-halide film.

 

[mascarenhas]

BW400CN is a great film if you have a good lab to develop and print the pictures, it has great tonality and I made really nice 13x18s from it. But if you are going to scan it at home then pay a *lot* of attention to exposure, even one stop over and it scans badly on my Epson 4490. Go to a lab with a Fuji Frontier and it becomes a very forgiving film, though (I have seen a Frontier get an acceptable print from a five-stops overexposed shot I did as an experiment).

 

[venchka]

Buy it ALL!

Buy it ALL!

I made a visit to a local Walmart on Atlanta's southside that has had the floor plan completely updated, and it took me a while to find the Photo Center. Once I did I was pleasantly surprised. The 3 packs of 36 exp Kodak UC 400 are back for $9.50, and 3 packs of 24 exp BW400CN are $8.50. I did find something I had never seen before, however, a bin of Kodak Easy Share one time use cameras loaded with BW400CN! Perhaps it is something I've missed since such cameras are nothing I've ever needed, but it might be interesting to get one just to see what kind of photos it can make. Has anyone tried one of these and if so, what were the results?

Go back and buy it all. There isn't any in the Wal-Marts I've been in as recently as Monday. I scored 7 boxes of 400UC back in April or May. I should have bought the BW400CN also. Both of Kodak's Professional films are gone from every Wal-Mart I've been in since.

 

[ChrisPlatt]

I made a visit to a local Walmart on Atlanta's southside that has had the floor plan completely updated, and it took me a while to find the Photo Center. Once I did I was pleasantly surprised. The 3 packs of 36 exp Kodak UC 400 are back for $9.50, and 3 packs of 24 exp BW400CN are $8.50. I did find something I had never seen before, however, a bin of Kodak Easy Share one time use cameras loaded with BW400CN! Perhaps it is something I've missed since such cameras are nothing I've ever needed, but it might be interesting to get one just to see what kind of photos it can make. Has anyone tried one of these and if so, what were the results?

I looked but couldn't find the mentioned UC400 at Walmart while on vacation. 🙁

BW400CN can give great results if printed on real BW paper.

Those BW disposables have "RFF project" written all over them...

Chris

 

[rover]

Those BW disposables have "RFF project" written all over them...

Sounds like a good idea.

I had trouble finding the 9 rolls of BW400CN I recently bought, it did seem to disappear in those 3 packs from Walmart all of a sudden.