Is Neopan 400 bulk still available?

[DGA]

Recently I find myself using the same film more and more and I would like to cut costs.
I considered switching from single 36 exp. rolls to 100' bulk spools.
But, alas, I cannot find my favourite emulsion in bulks anywhere.

Recently I received B&H's catalog and the Neopan 400 bulk is listed there, but when I referred to their site I couldn't find it.

Has Fuji stopped manufacturing Neopan 400 in 100' bulks or it is just a temporary shortage on the market?

Thanks for your help.

 

[Keith]

Aparrently Fuji no longer does 100ft rolls ..... 🙁

I love my Neopan 400 and find this a very sad state of affairs!

 

[infrequent]

i think it has stopped. or atleast megaperls doesn't store any. there is some neopan acros bulk rolls listed and apparently fuji is discontinuing them as well.

 

[srichmond]

Out of interest can you get bulk Ilford Delta or Kodak Tri-X?

I often find 36 exposures too much for what I want to shoot at an given ISO.

 

[DGA]

Out of interest can you get bulk Ilford Delta or Kodak Tri-X?

I often find 36 exposures too much for what I want to shoot at an given ISO.

Yes you can.
At B&H, for example:
Ilford Delta
Kodak Tri-X and T-Max

Only Fuji films are gone...🙁

 

[feenej]

I have not been able to get bulk Neopan for a year, so I switched to HP5.

 

[Keith]

Out of interest can you get bulk Ilford Delta or Kodak Tri-X?

I often find 36 exposures too much for what I want to shoot at an given ISO.

I find the same thing ... 36 exposures is overkill generally and being able to load 24's is ideal and makes it far easier to use a roll of film without having brain fade and wasting shots to get it over and done with so you can see your results!

I suspect I'll probabaly have to find another type of film after I finish the 100ft roll of Neopan I have currently. Tri-X would seem like a good alternative but I've never used it and it's taken me dozens of rolls of Neopan to appreciate it's qualities so I'm reluctant to switch! 😛

 

[srichmond]

Thanks for the info DGA! That's really useful to know. I need to get some of the loaders too.

Keith, yea - with 36 exp, I end up wasting shots just to get to the end of the roll. I've bought quite a lot of 24 exp film, but it's pretty bad value when you compare the price with 36 exp. My idea would probably be 15-17 shots per roll. Changing a roll isn't such a big deal.

 

[Bob Michaels]

Film is cheap so why worry? I buy 35mm Neopan 400 at B&H for US$2.99 a roll. The savings in bulk loading are just not there any more like they used more like they used to be.

I developed 5 rolls last night. Two of them had 35 exposures. The others had like 12, 20 & 30 exposures. But I'd never consider 24 exposure rolls because I never know how much film I'm going to shoot when I load the camera. I don't need another decision.

The roll with 30 exposures was probably where I saw a break in the action, rewound and reloaded fresh film. My photo ops come and go in the time you are reloading. I hate finding a good one and realizing that I only have a few exposures left on the roll.

It seems I make better photos when I never think about the amount of film I am using or conserving it. And that is what counts for me.

 

[pfoto]

Difficult to compare because Neopan is no longer available in bulk. That's an "imported" price, but US$2.99 x 19 = US$56.81. A 100ft roll of bulk HP5 from Freestyle costs $43.99, that's a savings of 22.5%. Not bad. I think the savings are definitely still there.

 

[Nokton48]

I bought from Megaperls, eight 100' rolls of Neopan 400, and six 100' rolls of Neopan 1600, when I heard that Fuji Japan was discontinuing them early last year. Actually, Dirk ran all over the place, helping his customers snag the very last of it. This went on for quite a while, but now, it's gone. 🙁

 

[ItsReallyDarren]

Difficult to compare because Neopan is no longer available in bulk. That's an "imported" price, but US$2.99 x 19 = US$56.81. A 100ft roll of bulk HP5 from Freestyle costs $43.99, that's a savings of 22.5%. Not bad. I think the savings are definitely still there.

Another price to factor in is the cost of the film cassets.

Everyone who bulk loads does so in a different way, some buy a 100ft roll and load until the spool is gone, other roll film on a need by need basis. I fall under the need be need basis.

Assuming the average price for an empty film cassete is $.50 cents, a couple bucks might be added to represent a better total value.

Unless you get used film cassets from a lab, then the cost is only for the film.

 

[DGA]

Assuming the average price for an empty film cassette is $.50 cents, a couple bucks might be added to represent a better total value.

Unless you get used film cassettes from a lab, then the cost is only for the film.

Speaking of cassettes: which are better, metal or plastic?
And how many times can I use the same cassette?

 

[grainhound]

The only bulk Fuji left at Megaperls is 100' of Acros. If you're interested, I wouldn't delay. There won't be any more, unless we can influence Fuji...

 

[rich815]

Some time last year Dirk at megaperls mentioned that Fuji was discontinuing bulk B&W film and what he had was all that was left. I nailed a few bulk rolls each of 400 (Presto!), Acros and 100SS. All awaiting in a freezer, in the safe deposit box at the local bank!! 😛

 

[drewbarb]

Thanks to a heads up here at RFF, I picked up a few bulk rolls of Neopan 100 and (Presto) 1600 films from Dirk last year before they disappeared. Before that, when I first started hearing that Fuji was ceasing production of bulk rolls of film, I got as much Neopan 400 as I could from B&H and Adorama and other places. I still have a few rolls in my freezer. It's a shame it's gone.

I never noticed much difference between the types of re-loadable cassettes. I'm careful to inspect them before I load them, and if they are dirty or damaged, they get trashed or recycled. Taken care of, they can last a while, but when they go, I don't buy more; I get old empty ones for free from mini-labs who would otherwise throw these away. I re-load them once and then recycle them.

 

[PhotoJim]

I like the plastic reloadable cartridges better myself. They seem to have slightly higher resistance than the metal cartridges do, but seem more durable and harder to have accidentally open. I also find they are easier to deal with in the darkroom (I like to reassemble each cartridge after I remove the film, so that I don't have such a huge mess of cartridge parts).

The thing I like about the metal cartridges is that it's fairly easy to find them with ISO 100 and 400 DX coding on them. With plastic cartridges, you have to set ISO manually or buy ISO labels (which are available but not that cheap).

For most rangefinders, obviously, DX coding is a non-issue but since I shoot everything from a Fed 2b to a Nikon F5, DX coding is advantageous to me.

So... I use both. 🙂

 

[rich815]

.....I like to reassemble each cartridge after I remove the film, so that I don't have such a huge mess of cartridge parts).

The spool, canister and two end-caps.....huge mess?

 

[JeffGreene]

Cambridgeworld (CW) lists 100 foot rolls of Neopan 400, but knowing those guys they are probably buying Freestyle student bulk rolls at around $20 and relabeling them as Neopan and reselling them at 100% margin. You have to say that CW never let integrity get in the way of profit! 😀

 

[rich815]

Cambridgeworld (CW) lists 100 foot rolls of Neopan 400, but knowing those guys they are probably buying Freestyle student bulk rolls at around $20 and relabeling them as Neopan and reselling them at 100% margin. You have to say that CW never let integrity get in the way of profit! 😀

No, I'd be willing to bet they do not even have them at all:

http://photo.net/neighbor/view-one-about?id=2&about=Cambridge+Camera