Buying 35mm film on ebay help please

ongakublue · Jul 15, 2016

Hi guys,

So I don't have a big amount of experience with 35mm film. I have used Ilford and Fomapan a few times. I am only interested in black and white film right now. Could someone recommend a cheap but good film to use and even a seller too via ebay? Maybe you know of some package deals that work well.
I am in Europe and would prefer not to have to wait a very long time for it also.

Ricardo Miranda · Jul 15, 2016

Which country?

darkosaric · Jul 15, 2016

http://macodirekt.de/
http://fotoimpex.de/

Michael L. · Jul 15, 2016

https://www.nordfoto.de/ is also worth a glance.

Ko.Fe. · Jul 15, 2016

Cheap, but good? Ain't going to happen. Cheap and not so bad, for sure.
Ebay, why you have to?
But if you have to, the only ebay sold cheap but not so bad film in Europe I'm aware of is Polypan F.
Search for Polypan F on ebay. It was only one seller from Germany. He might have it or not anymore.

mehguy · Jul 15, 2016

All the film on ebay is expensive. Buy from maco direcy or fotoimpex.

ongakublue · Jul 15, 2016

thanks for all the advice. i found something

Don Promillo · Jul 15, 2016

So far every single film offer at eBay which I have seen was a ripoff. Usually double the price you pay at a normal shop. If not triple...

A nice cheap film is Fomapan Classic, which is not very fast, but nice for bright situations.

In Germany Macodirect has a lightning fast delivery (The support on their website is the opposite though, at least in my experience).

summicron1 · Jul 15, 2016

If you aare in the US it is hard to beat the prices of the new york ordering houses -- adorama and B&H. Ilford 120 for $4 a roll is a bargain, for example.

neilt3 · Jul 15, 2016

Not knowing what country your in makes it hard to best advise .
Europe's a big place .
One thing's for sure , don't bother with ebay . It's pot luck with the date on it , and you pay more than a decent firm directly .

The three firms I deal with for film , depending on what I want ,all ship within the EU , and no doubt internationally .

http://www.discountfilmsdirect.co.uk/
http://www.firstcall-photographic.co.uk/
https://www.silverprint.co.uk/

All three firms carry a good range of emulsions and are all fresh stock .
Each order that I have placed has been dispatched and received very quickly .

ongakublue · Jul 16, 2016

Thanks everyone. I am in Ireland. I checked some of the links and in the end found an Irish one that also does processing. Seems fine.

Mark Tate · Jul 16, 2016

I am in Australia and find eBay to be an expensive option when it comes to buying film. I get some film, mainly Kodak and Ilford from BH-Photo in the US and there shipping is very cheap ( at least to Australia ) and other film like Rollei and Adox and even some chemicals from Fotoimpex in Germany.

One eBay seller in Israel who I trust is blumar , got film of him a few times and all very good.

Gerald C Koch · Jul 16, 2016

Polypan F, despite the name, has absolutely nothing to do with Ilford or any of its products despite what the seller might want you to conclude. It is repurposed surveillance film without an anti-halation coating and therefore badly suilted for general purpose photography. It may seem a bargain until you cannot get descent prints from your negatives. Avoid it like the plague.

I would also suggest not dealing with ebay. There are just too many crooks and idiots ready there to take your money. I would suggest looking into the Foma films. They are not on par with Ilford and Kodak but do produce good film.

blockend · Jul 16, 2016

Don Promillo said:
A nice cheap film is Fomapan Classic, which is not very fast, but nice for bright situations.

I agree, and bulk loaded it works out about £1.70 per 36 exp roll in the UK, so nothing else comes close in price. The instructions say it can be can pushed 2 stops, which I always took with a pinch of salt but having tried it it's absolutely true, contrast and grain hold up at 400 ASA. I've even pushed it to 800 ASA and it's still useable, though shadow detail takes a hit and contrast is high.

Fomapan 100 also has a classic tonal feel and grain structure.

ongakublue · Jul 17, 2016

thanks all. i am ordering fomapan 200.

Arctic amateur · Jul 17, 2016

Polypan F is no longer the apparent bargain it once was. There's much less of it around so prices have risen to the level of other films. Right now there doesn't seem to be any bulk Polypan on Ebay at all.

My recommendation for cheap 35mm film is Kentmere or Fomapan.

FrancoisM · Jul 17, 2016

http://www.fomafoto.com/

Great communication, fast shipping ab=nd very low shipping prices

andrewf · Jul 28, 2016

Not sure how it will work given you're in Ireland but I use films-festival on eBay and am pretty happy with them. They're based in Thailand and I've only ever bought Ilford and Fujifilm B&W films from them but they are able to do a better deal than my local bricks and mortar stores.

dale116dot7 · Jul 28, 2016

I think eBay film is not usually that much of a bargain, especially after adding shipping. I do sometimes grab films from eBay but it is to get odd-duck expired films like SO-279 or Tech Pan (I love that extreme-contrast Tech Pan look for some things). Otherwise I buy from Freestyle or my local camera store.

Buying 35mm film on ebay help please

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