Online Source For Film?

[jyl]

My wife has gotten into photography, so between the two of us we are burning up a fair bit of film. I had to place an order for Ilford FP4+ and HP5+ today. My usual online place, Freestyle, didn't have very good prices this time (in 50-roll bricks, FP4+
was >$4.50 per roll. B&H turned out to be a good bit cheaper, so I ordered there. A 50-roll brick of each.

But this got me thinking - does anyone know of another good, economical and reliable online source for film?

(Someday, I'll have my own darkroom so I can bulk load . . . )

 

[rover]

Adorama

I usually buy from them or B&H.

 

[ray_g]

Someday, I'll have my own darkroom so I can bulk load . . .

There has been some recent interesting discussion here about bulk loading, and about how the only thing that need be done in the dark, or in a changing bag, is the initial placement of the roll into the bulk loader.

Might be something to consider... I for one would be interested in how bulk loading is working out for some of the forum members who got bulk loaders of ebay recently.

 

[T_om]

Dang, $4.50 a roll is pretty painful.

I bulk load Tri-X and HP5+ WAY cheaper than that. You don't need a darkroom, just a cheap changing bag. And then only for putting the new bulk roll into the loader. You reload all your shooting cassettes in daylight.

I just bought a couple of 100' rolls of Tri-X for 32 bucks a roll. I get about 18 or so 36 exposure rolls out of the 100 foot spool.

Bulk loading is dead easy and really quick.

Tom

 

[phototone]

I use Unique Photo, and while I telephone my orders in, the do have a website that accepts orders. www.uniquephoto.com.

They seem to have every film you might want, Agfa, Ilford, Fuji, Kodak, perhaps some others, and their prices are about the best you can find, and they ship same day. I use them for most of my needs for my studio. They often have deals on short dated film also.

 

[BrianPhotog]

Yeah, I buy hundred foot rolls of HP5+ and load in the same bag as I use to load dev tanks. I use an AP bulk loader & screw-cap type cartridges...don't use the 'snap' type, they'll pop off on ya! 🙂

 

[o0dano0o]

bulk roll

it's the only way

or get crazy deals on ebay, or camera shows

 

[cp_ste.croix]

So i think i'm going to start bulk rolling too...do you guys develop your own too? It's been about 10 years since i developed and that was in a working darkroom. How hard is it to develop at home? My old darkroom had a temp reg on the faucets, do i need something like that for home use?

 

[o0dano0o]

i dev my own

temp control isn't really needed, just make sure you have a thermometer and a temp conversion chart

or use diafine 🙂

don't hesitate with questions - i love darkroom stuff

 

[phototone]

Developing at home

Developing at home

How hard is it to develop at home? My old darkroom had a temp reg on the faucets, do i need something like that for home use?

If you are going to develop b/w film negatives, then absolute temperature control is not needed. B/W film can be developed just fine over a range of temperatures, you just adjust the time in the developer to match the temperature of the developer. The worst case would be if your room is quite warm, and you would need to chill your developer first. (Put in fridge). Once the film is fixed in a hardening fix, such as Kodak Rapid Fix & Hardener, then you can even wash the film over an even greater temperature range safely.

Even modern E-6 color slides can be successfully developed at home, as well as C-41, and several manufacturers market developing kits specifically for the amateur who would need small quantities and less precise temperature control.

Basically, the standard E-6 and C-41 (transparency and color neg chemistrys), require a developer temperature of 100f, which is relatively easy to maintain, by putting your bottles of chemicals into a deep tray (such as a dishwashing tray), in a sink with the faucet running continuously keeping the tray full of tempered water, allowing the tray to constantly overflow into the surrounding sink or bath-tub.

In my opinion, color film developed with "FRESH" chemistry is better than having the same film developed at mini-labs with their machines and "replenished" chemistry, which often does not get replenished correctly.

The best results from your film will be achieved when you learn to develop the film yourself, rather than rely on mini-labs, as (even with color) you can tailor your developing to fit your style.

Now, with the advent of extremely high quality scanners at reasonable prices, the the whole process of developing and printing at home can be quite a fun task, and not take up nearly as much room as it did when the only way to get prints was to make wet prints with an enlarger.