Mapping supermarket/drugstore color films

[bmattock]

What a nice person. Never missing a chance to piss someone off.

Sometimes I miss the opportunities that life gives me. Sad old world, innit?

 

[Roger Hicks]

The point is that it changes, completely unpredictably. "Supermarket 200" can be Ferrania this year, Fuji next, and Kodak the year after, though admittedly that degree of frequency would be unusual. Which is in stock at a given store will depend on how recently the chain changed suppliers and how fast the outlet (and its central warehouse) turns over film.

The only way to find out is, indeed, to look at the box, and make an informed guess. It is also entirely possible that from time to time "Supermarket 200" is a previous-generation emulsion, sold on as an own-brand special deal where the manufacturer has incorporated improvements in their own latest manufacturer-branded films.

I know there are people who hate the phrase "You get what you pay for" but one of the things you pay extra for is a fair degree of certainty about exactly which film, and which generation, you are getting.

Cheers,

R

 

[batterytypehah!]

I largely agree, Roger, but I'm trying to keep an ongoing list. Which worked fine at the start of this thread with some informative contributions, and broke down today after I added my own recent observation. Thus bumping it out of obscurity and onto the radar of some people with more time on their hands than relevant information. ^shrug^

Why not make the immediacy of the web work for us here? So what if supermarkets keep changing brands? Someone could post a heads-up when they notice.

What surprises me is being told to look at the box. If not meant as an insult to my intelligence, at the very least it amounts to a "I couldn't care less, why don't you waste your own time and gas finding out?" Fine community, this.

 

[wgerrard]

I'm not sure there is much to be gained by these mappings. The firms that make drugstore and supermarket film can easily change every time a contract expires. While it is a very reasonable assumption that "Made in Japan" film comes from Fuji, we don't know if it is, in fact, a rebrand of a film Fuji markets, or if it comes from cold storage or from a line Fuji kept open specifically to make third-party film.

Just use the film. Don't worry about its lineage.

 

[climbing_vine]

I largely agree, Roger, but I'm trying to keep an ongoing list. Which worked fine at the start of this thread with some informative contributions, and broke down today after I added my own recent observation. Thus bumping it out of obscurity and onto the radar of some people with more time on their hands than relevant information. ^shrug^

Why not make the immediacy of the web work for us here? So what if supermarkets keep changing brands? Someone could post a heads-up when they notice.

What surprises me is being told to look at the box. If not meant as an insult to my intelligence, at the very least it amounts to a "I couldn't care less, why don't you waste your own time and gas finding out?" Fine community, this.

I really don't think it's either of those, it's a combination of "it changes, so it may not be that useful" and "there are only three options and you can tell by looking at it, so it doesn't really *need* a community effort."

I'm all for community... but...

 

[batterytypehah!]

I'm not sure there is much to be gained by these mappings. The firms that make drugstore and supermarket film can easily change every time a contract expires. While it is a very reasonable assumption that "Made in Japan" film comes from Fuji, we don't know if it is, in fact, a rebrand of a film Fuji markets, or if it comes from cold storage or from a line Fuji kept open specifically to make third-party film.

Very true. We'd know the manufacturer, but not to which specifications that batch was produced. I contend, though, that "Made in Japan" could theoretically be cold-stored Konica, for example. I don't know this, someone on the forum surely does (and that someone tends to be bmattock) -- is this somehow not worthy of discussion?

Just use the film. Don't worry about its lineage.

You will worry if you find out after the fact you were shooting that wedding on Ferrania 🙂

Folks, I never intended this thread to be more than a quick reference for those of us who love a bargain. I used to buy roll after roll of Walmart film -- which was Agfa -- until it disappeared. I don't think I would have found out about it without the Internet (not sure where, but I wasn't on RFF yet, back then) and so I'd like for this sort of info to be available, preferably from an independent group of actual users.

 

[wgerrard]

Of course, there's nothing wrong in discussing it or chasing things down. That's entertaining and, potentially, useful.

The use of store brands is commonplace in supermarkets. A can of Kroger crushed pineapple might be from Dole one month, and from elsewhere the next month. Store brand film probably changes OEM at a much slower rate.