The Price of Film

[Topsy]

I just noticed that my favourite film (Provia 100F in 120) is now £127.00 for a box of 5 rolls (Amazon UK), that makes it over £2.00 per frame (6x6), add to that the processing and scanning costs it makes shooting film an expensive hobby. Better be more careful with my metering so I don't have to bracket or duplicate.

So glad I stocked up when it was less than £100.

 

[soupdragon]

I'm not overly bothered about price (yet) it's more a question of availability for me.
I have about 2 years worth of 120 colour film (and chemicals( but it's nearly impossible to get 4 X 5 in neg or pos.
When I say that I mean Velvia, E100 or Ektachrome.

 

[Sangoma]

It has gone up a lot recently, but as we are not using the high priced films, can still enjoy it.

I have enjoyed this year, my daughter has really taken to film, and developing B&W, and the youngest (just 13) has genuinely enjoyed film with his FED 4 (his choice, he could have had a more modern Canon or Pentax)

For my part, I have really enjoyed realising that we CAN develop at home, and repairing dozens of film cameras, and most of all being able to get the kids interested before it is no longer possible.

The cost may have slowed things a little, but thankfully not stopped it.

Been a good year film wise so far

 

[sirch]

I think I heard that Fujifilm have stopped taking orders for film supplies so expect the price to carry on rising. I suggest finding a new favourite film

 

[CheshireCat]

As Sangoma has mentioned, the cost of film has slowed things down…it has forced me to walk more with my eyes open and be more selective in what I photograph.

 

[Plain Nev]

Trouble is we'll become so selective that we won't actually take any photos.

 

[steve_lyt]

Shop around amazon has gone really expensive. On most items. The people on amazon shopping are just profiteering.

 

[Topsy]

The cost isn't going to stop me from shooting film (at least not for the forseeable) but I was just surprised at how the cost has risen recently. I think I have at least a couple of years worth of stock in my freezer, my most urgent issue to solve is where to get it processed and scanned since my local lab downsised and no longer does E6.

As it happens I am just puting a "test roll" of Provia in 35mm through 2 old Leicas and will be sending it to another newly found/recommended lab for process and scanning. That'll be £20 for the film and £20 for the process & scan just to "test" the cameras and the lab. Hey-Ho.

As long as I can still get Provia and get it processed and scanned to my satisfaction I'll keep on using it as my favourite (for my own photography) film. I use Portra 160/400 for my project work as it is more flexible to difficult lighting conditions and gives me a consistent look across the projects.

Bottom line is as long as I can get (and afford) film I'll continue to use it but these days in MF only as I really think my digital FF (Leica M9s) and APSC (Fuji X-T2s) is better for my smaller format stuff.

 

[excalibur2]

History is repeating itself when B/W film was much cheaper and colour was expensive. Still can be fun for newbies shooting in B/W (and maybe dev at home to reduce the cost) and of course can always shoot in colour with their digi
Gone are the days of cheap colour film when if you get your film dev you got a free film in return.

 

[AndrewFlannigan]

The people on amazon shopping are just profiteering.

It's easy to write things like that but far more difficult to provide supporting evidence.

Do you know how much the film costs them? Do you know what their overheads are? Do you know how much they need to sell to support themselves and their families?

 

[Topsy]

Shop around amazon has gone really expensive. On most items. The people on amazon shopping are just profiteering.

I just did a quick search and found it at £79 for a box of 5 at Park Cameras but awaiting stock expected Dec 23. There were a few on eBay cheaper but all long expired, not a risk I would take with slide film.

 

[excalibur2]

It's easy to write things like that but far more difficult to provide supporting evidence.

Do you know how much the film costs them? Do you know what their overheads are? Do you know how much they need to sell to support themselves and their families?

Who knows but ignoring shipping US Amazon for Portra 400 120 for 5 when coverted is £52 and UK Amazon for same £70...when you consider the US has higher wages etc it is cheaper for them.

 

[AndrewFlannigan]

...when you consider the US has higher wages etc it is cheaper for them.

On the face of it, you're quite correct.

Struggling through the various figures though, it looks as if the proportion of low paid people in the US is somewhat higher than in the UK but I'm happy to be put right on that.

Also import and sales taxes in the UK are higher, which skews the numbers.

 

[Marino]

I think last year i bought ilford hp5 liked it a lot (close enough to tmax 400) and this year it’s up by £2 pounds. That is insane, especially considering how expensive film is anyway.
Good thing is that there is still other reasonably priced b&w films like kentmere and fomapan.


With the prices going up then it makes sense to buy a lot and just store it.
So do you just put it in the freezer, what does it do? Does it extend it’s life?

What happens if you keep it outside the recommended storage temperature?
I wasn’t aware of that until recently.

 

[Topsy]

I think last year i bought ilford hp5 liked it a lot (close enough to tmax 400) and this year it’s up by £2 pounds. That is insane, especially considering how expensive film is anyway.
Good thing is that there is still other reasonably priced b&w films like kentmere and fomapan.


With the prices going up then it makes sense to buy a lot and just store it.
So do you just put it in the freezer, what does it do? Does it extend it’s life?

What happens if you keep it outside the recommended storage temperature?
I wasn’t aware of that until recently.

I store mine in a freezer, it slows the chemical deterioration to almost a stop therefore the use by date becomes irrelevant, however, if I take it out after the expiry date I use it straight away and get it developed asap. This way I see not difference between in data and out of date film.

 

[soupdragon]

I store mine in a freezer, it slows the chemical deterioration to almost a stop therefore the use by date becomes irrelevant, however, if I take it out after the expiry date I use it straight away and get it developed asap. This way I see not difference between in data and out of date film.

All my film stock is in the freezer. I anticipate it will outlast me with no discernable detriment to image quality.

I'm surprised you are not home processing (unless you are running professionally)
I'm purely a hobbyist but make good savings on sink souping and home scanning.
My Epson V850 poduces astonishing results (wet scanning) at fairly high resolution. The files are massive though.
That said, anything below 6 X 4.5 produces, at best, mediocre results.

 

[Plain Nev]

I don't have a lot. And what I do have is stored in a biscuit tin. Even so I think I might scale back. If only because I'm not using it that quickly. This is where the psychology of using film kicks in. It's a bit of a vicious circle, I think. It could be applied to film use in general. You don't use a lot because it's so expensive. And it's so expensive because you don't use a lot. Ideally I think I'd like to always have film to shoot, but on a reduced scale.

 

[Topsy]

All my film stock is in the freezer. I anticipate it will outlast me with no discernable detriment to image quality.

I'm surprised you are not home processing (unless you are running professionally)
I'm purely a hobbyist but make good savings on sink souping and home scanning.
My Epson V850 poduces astonishing results (wet scanning) at fairly high resolution. The files are massive though.
That said, anything below 6 X 4.5 produces, at best, mediocre results.

TBH Tony I don't shoot enough film to make it worthwhile home dev/scanning. I go out once a week to photograph but don't always use film, I have digital MF that I like to use and often when exploring new areas will just take my Fuji X-T2 kit or my Leica M9s so I can cover more ground. I did use to do my own dev & printing (B&W) back in the film only days so I'm not afraid of it just it's more practical for me to get the films dev/scanned in a good lab.

 

[zx9]

It's easy to write things like that but far more difficult to provide supporting evidence.

Do you know how much the film costs them? Do you know what their overheads are? Do you know how much they need to sell to support themselves and their families?

Easy: Kodak Colour plus 200 135 36exp. Amazon = £16 Analogue Wonderland £8 , CineStill 800T Amazon £25 AW £18 could go on like this for a while and AW are not exactly the cheapest for film they just have a good range to compare.

 

[AndrewFlannigan]

Easy: Kodak Colour plus 200 135 36exp. Amazon = £16 Analogue Wonderland £8 , CineStill 800T Amazon £25 AW £18 could go on like this for a while and AW are not exactly the cheapest for film they just have a good range to compare.

You haven't answered my question at all.

What's more, you can't because you don't know what his costs are nor how much profit he needs to make to support himself.

 

[soupdragon]

TBH Tony I don't shoot enough film to make it worthwhile home dev/scanning. I go out once a week to photograph but don't always use film, I have digital MF that I like to use and often when exploring new areas will just take my Fuji X-T2 kit or my Leica M8s so I can cover more ground. I did use to do my own dev & printing (B&W) back in the film only days so I'm not afraid of it just it's more practical for me to get the films dev/scanned in a good lab.

That's cool, I thought you were a pro.
We are different by virtue of me being film only.
It's clear we all do what works for us.

 

[Marino]

I store mine in a freezer, it slows the chemical deterioration to almost a stop therefore the use by date becomes irrelevant, however, if I take it out after the expiry date I use it straight away and get it developed asap. This way I see not difference between in data and out of date film.

Good to know, i think I’ll buy a lot of film then and put it in the freezer.
My wife is prob going to think I’m nuts..

stored in a biscuit tin. Even so I think I might scale back. If only because I'm not using it that quickly. This is where the psychology of using film kicks in. It's a bit of a vicious circle, I think. It could be applied to film use in general. You don't use a lot because it's so expensive. And it's so expensive because you don't use a lot. Ideally I think I'd like to always have film to shoot, but on a reduced scale.

The way i see it if i make 2-3 good pictures out of a roll I'm happy, unfortunately it's not always the case.
When i say good pictures i mean good enough to hang on a wall.

 

[soupdragon]

Good to know, i think I’ll buy a lot of film then and put it in the freezer.
My wife is prob going to think I’m nuts..

The way i see it if i make 2-3 good pictures out of a roll I'm happy, unfortunately it's not always the case.
When i say good pictures i mean good enough to hang on a wall.

I'd love to take a picture that was wall worthy.

 

[Deleted member 95430]

Come join us on the LF darkside, only £7 a frame + dev

 

[Topsy]

That's cool, I thought you were a pro.
We are different by virtue of me being film only.
It's clear we all do what works for us.

Not a Pro Tony, I did do photography as a job and for money in my spare time (Portraits, group shots and weddings) all back in the film only days but now I just do it for myself. I am working on a couple of books of Dartmoor Photos which are on film but they are long term projects.

 

[zx9]

You haven't answered my question at all.

What's more, you can't because you don't know what his costs are nor how much profit he needs to make to support himself.

I would say if they are buying retail and drop shipping that would be around 15 to 20 % margin with little to actual cost for premises or staff.

From Amazon.

"
Amazon dropshipping can be profitable. The average dropshipping margin is between 10% to 30% margins. Amazon takes around 15% off your top line revenue. So if your margins are around 30%, that means you'll have a new margin of 15% after selling a product via Amazon store dropshipping.21 Nov 2022"

If they are buying from an importer they will be making more.

Back in the late 80's to mid 90's I could have told you what margin we were making from Kodak, Fuji and Polaroid, theoretically it would have been around 30 to 40 points. Most of 'my' customers were buying tens of cases of Fuji Superia or Kodak Ektapress every week and took a massive discount, I doubt we made much more than 10 points but the turnover was huge. We did not do a lot of amateur film but I remember Kodak would often do offer like buy a case of 35mm Kodacolor gold and get a case of AA batteries which you would then sell at £2.99 a card.

So you are right only one person will know how much they are actually making.

I do know one of my lad's friends actually brags about how much the likes of CineStill costs, his photography must be good if it costs almost a pound a 35mm frame before developing and scanning. Not a world you, I or most here live in Andrew but a world that exists and is both keeping traditional photography alive and at the same time driving up the price of film and used film equipment.

 

[Kevin Allan]

Come join us on the LF darkside, only £7 a frame + dev

Or you could shoot large format paper negatives for about 4 pence a sheet. The paper I'm using most at the moment is very old Orwo paper; I bought 4 boxes of 100 (5x7) on eBay for £16 in total, hence 4 pence per sheet. Oh and there's a bit left over for a test strip after I cut it down to 4x5. I've also been fortunate to be given some paper by kind people here and elsewhere. Even new paper, eg Ilford MGV RC, would be 32p per sheet.

Of course, there is the fact that it's ISO 2 - 8 to contend with ....

Once I got used to using paper negatives, I found I liked the results, but the economy is an important factor which has enabled me to experiment much more than I would otherwise.

 

[zx9]

Of course, there is the fact that it's ISO 2 - 8 to contend with ....

Once I got used to using paper negatives, I found I liked the results, but the economy is an important factor which has enabled me to experiment much more than I would otherwise.

Thank you, I have been going to ask you what speed you rated the paper at each time you have posted.

I am very impressed by the results of your paper negatives and happen to have quite a lot of paper leftover from when I had a darkroom, I think I need a bigger changing bag to fit in the guillotine.