Any inexpensive B&W film?

alanrockwood · May 26, 2018

With the discussions on the availability of Shanghai gp3 in 120 size and the recent price increases in film generally, are there any bargain brands for B&W still left? Even Arista Edu Ultra is priced the same as Fomapan at Freestyle, and Fomapan itself is actually more expensive than Kentmere in 36 exposure rolls.

I have to admit that the cost of film is one factor that reduces my motivation to shoot film these days.

howardpan · May 26, 2018

I still think buying from overseas is a good option. If you buy in sufficient quantity, say at the size of your annual consumption, the cost of shipping is spread across many items. I also buy together with my friends and we share the shipping cost. Friends who are even more entrepreneurial will also resell the film to recoup their cost.

alanrockwood · May 26, 2018

howardpan said:
I still think buying from overseas is a good option. If you buy in sufficient quantity, say at the size of your annual consumption, the cost of shipping is spread across many items. I also buy together with my friends and we share the shipping cost. Friends who are even more entrepreneurial will also resell the film to recoup their cost.

Which films do you buy overseas, and where, Europe or Asia?

removedacct3 · May 26, 2018

Have a look at this: https://fomaobchod.cz/blackwhiteneg...0-6x9cmroll-set10kszacenu9ks[11007]?ItemIdx=1

GLS · May 26, 2018

MrclSchprs said:
Have a look at this: https://fomaobchod.cz/blackwhitenegativefilms/rollfilms/fomapanset-roll/fomapan100120-6x9cmroll-set10kszacenu9ks[11007]?ItemIdx=1

Thanks for the link. I didn't know Foma had a webshop. Having said that, the price is very attractive but shipping even within the EU is close to the cost of the film itself. I could buy a brick of Ilford film for the same overall price...

removedacct3 · May 26, 2018

GLS said:
.. Having said that, the price is very attractive but shipping even within the EU is close to the cost of the film itself. ...

If you buy a single pack of 10 rolls ... yes, the price of the film equals the price of the shipping. However, the difference with other webshops is not that big and if you buy more film .... Well, you know more is less in this case.

Paul Howell · May 26, 2018

If you are in the US then Ultrafine from Photo Wearhouse extreme 100 and 400 in 35mm and 120. Best buy is 100 foot roll around $35 us. There has been a lot of debate about who coats the film, my guess is that is rebranded Kentmere, I have early rolls of both 100 and 400 with KM and a code on the edges, current rolls have Ultrafine on the edge.

Ko.Fe. · May 26, 2018

Are you in USA? Check BH bulk prices for 135 film. Buy two, three bulks and get it free shipping. It is 200-300 ft of BW film well under 200$. As long as it is not from greedy management brands (Ilford, Kodak). Kentmere, Arista will do it.
If you want it cheapest way, buy expired ECN2 film and develop as BW. I have very cheap Kodak 50D from nineties and it is even enlargeable. Just takes extra time for exposure. If you search, you could get ISO250 and ISO800 films.

jim appleyard · May 26, 2018

Paul Howell said:
If you are in the US then Ultrafine from Photo Wearhouse extreme 100 and 400 in 35mm and 120. Best buy is 100 foot roll around $35 us. There has been a lot of debate about who coats the film, my guess is that is rebranded Kentmere, I have early rolls of both 100 and 400 with KM and a code on the edges, current rolls have Ultrafine on the edge.

Interesting, Paul. I did not know that Kentmere made a 120 film, it's not listed at B&H, Adorama, or Freestyle. Perhaps it's an exclusive to Ultrafine?

R.Gould · May 26, 2018

According to the Ilfford website list of products Kentmere film is ONLY available in 35mm, it could be a film Harman coats for ultrafine to their specds, harman do a lot of that, but it is not kentmere in 120

destroya · May 26, 2018

i find that the ultrfine xteme is very similar to rollei rpx 100, which is made in 120 and also finished by harman.

John Wiegerink · May 26, 2018

alanrockwood said:
With the discussions on the availability of Shanghai gp3 in 120 size and the recent price increases in film generally, are there any bargain brands for B&W still left? Even Arista Edu Ultra is priced the same as Fomapan at Freestyle, and Fomapan itself is actually more expensive than Kentmere in 36 exposure rolls.

I have to admit that the cost of film is one factor that reduces my motivation to shoot film these days.

If you're going for 35mm only then Ulrafine Xtreme bulk 100' is the cheapest way to go. You can get bulk loaders on eBay for peanuts and a half dozen 35mm re-loadable cartridges and your set to go. Oh, their 120 Xtreme is pretty cheap also. JohnW

Paul Howell · May 26, 2018

jim appleyard said:
Interesting, Paul. I did not know that Kentmere made a 120 film, it's not listed at B&H, Adorama, or Freestyle. Perhaps it's an exclusive to Ultrafine?

There is no reason that Harman would not cut a roll of Kentmare 100 or 400 and finish to 120 for a large enough order. In the past Harman stated it would not sell rebranded Ilford emulsions, have not made any such statements about Kentmare or other Harman products. It's a good product at a good price. Some may prefer a Foma, Ilford, or Kodak product. I still use Tmax 400 when I need to push, and will get a roll or two of Tmax 3200. For general shoot around film, so far no issues. The 400 can be grainy, I develop in MCM 100, grain is similar to TriX 80 or 70 vintage. Photo Warehouse has not published any real data, I don't have a densitometry so don't know how it compares to others 400 or 100 speed films.

faberryman · May 26, 2018

John Wiegerink said:
If you're going for 35mm only then Ulrafine Xtreme bulk 100' is the cheapest way to go. You can get bulk loaders on eBay for peanuts and a half dozen 35mm re-loadable cartridges and your set to go. Oh, their 120 Xtreme is pretty cheap also. JohnW

Although the thread is geared to 120, with 35mm you can shift to bulk rolling and save 30% without having to change emulsions. I understand that some people enjoy trying different films and developers, so looking for a cheaper film can be a fun adventure. I shoot fewer than 100 rolls of film a year, so I am not really impacted much by Ilford's price increases. And film is a drop in the bucket compared my other costs of processing and printing. YMMV.

Sirius Glass · May 26, 2018

howardpan said:
I still think buying from overseas is a good option. If you buy in sufficient quantity, say at the size of your annual consumption, the cost of shipping is spread across many items. I also buy together with my friends and we share the shipping cost. Friends who are even more entrepreneurial will also resell the film to recoup their cost.

alanrockwood said:
Which films do you buy overseas, and where, Europe or Asia?

Remember that this is an international website. It depends on which country one is in and from which country one is ordering. Look at the usual suspects: FreeStyle, B&H, ... and then do a thorough search.

AgX · May 26, 2018

GLS said:
Thanks for the link. I didn't know Foma had a webshop.

They even had brick&mortar shops.

Vaughn · May 26, 2018

A sponser of this forum is having a 10% off sale. https://www.photrio.com/forum/threads/10-off-site-wide-memorial-day-weekend-sale.160005/

Before the sale and thru this forum, they have 100ASA 120 film for $3.39 each if you buy 100 rolls, or $3.69 each.

mshchem · May 26, 2018

In US all Foma 4.29 USD , Ektar 5 bucks ,Tmax 400 5 bucks, HP5 $5.20 . Free shipping, no tax. All B&H mail order. Local figure about 40% higher cost ,state and local taxes 7% in Iowa. Why does Jeff Bezos who started Amazon own the Washington Post newspaper and is worth 70 billion dollars? No taxes on Internet purchases from out of state and bulk costs. Retail has been destroyed in the US. I'm as guilty as the next person.
Bottomline I can order 10 rolls of TMY2 FOR 50 BUCKS . To me that's cheap The days of $1.79 rolls of Tri-X are gone.

MattKing · May 27, 2018

Paul Howell said:
There is no reason that Harman would not cut a roll of Kentmare 100 or 400 and finish to 120 for a large enough order. In the past Harman stated it would not sell rebranded Ilford emulsions, have not made any such statements about Kentmare or other Harman products.

Paul:
Back before he left, Simon Galley explicitly said that Harman would not rebrand any of the films that Harman sold under any of the brand names they owned, including in particular Ilford or Kentmere.

Agulliver · May 27, 2018

MattKing said:
Paul:
Back before he left, Simon Galley explicitly said that Harman would not rebrand any of the films that Harman sold under any of the brand names they owned, including in particular Ilford or Kentmere.

Yep...the word from Harman has consistently been that no Ilford or Kentmere product will appear under a private label name.

However, they may well offer to coat something similar to those products. The best bet is that some private label films such as Ultrafine are not dissimilar to Ilford Pan and Ketnmere products....but they won't be identical.

mgb74 · May 27, 2018

Agulliver said:
Yep...the word from Harman has consistently been that no Ilford or Kentmere product will appear under a private label name.

However, they may well offer to coat something similar to those products. The best bet is that some private label films such as Ultrafine are not dissimilar to Ilford Pan and Ketnmere products....but they won't be identical.

IIRC, I believe that the statement was that no Ilford product would be private labeled. No mention of Kentmere. But to some degree it's a distinction without a difference as I would think that some very minor change could be made to an emulsion to make it different (as you have said). Or be the previous "non-plus" version.

I've always wondered why Kentmere was not offered in 120. It's my guess that Ilford believes it would cannibalize it's HP5 and FP4 offering. In 35mm, there's other budget offerings so less of an impact on their top line.

MattKing · May 27, 2018

mgb74 said:
IIRC, I believe that the statement was that no Ilford product would be private labeled.

IIRC, the original statement was as you say, and then much later Simon confirmed that it applied as well to Kentmere and, again IIRC, the Harman badged products (direct positive paper being the only one that comes to mind).

Paul Howell · May 27, 2018

With new owners who knows if the statement still applies. Who ever makes it, it is a decent film at a good price. That said it is not in the same league as any Tmax or Delta, grain and latitude is not as good a new Trix or HP5, but not much more so than Foma 400. I think in 35mm the 400 is good to 11X14, but with Tmax 400 I can print up to 16X20 with out issues. When shooting 6X9 the shear size of the negative out weights any issues with grain. The 100 seems much closer to grain and contrast to Foma 100, have not used PF4 in a very long time so can't comment. In terms of just best buy, it is really hard to beat a 100 foot roll of 35mm for $35.

Any inexpensive B&W film?

alanrockwood

howardpan

alanrockwood

removedacct3

GLS

removedacct3

Paul Howell

Ko.Fe.

jim appleyard

R.Gould

destroya

John Wiegerink

Paul Howell

faberryman

Sirius Glass

AgX

Vaughn

mshchem

MattKing

Moderator

Agulliver

mgb74

MattKing

Moderator

Paul Howell

Any inexpensive B&W film?

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