Color film in a drooping economy

[David Nardi]

It is getting more difficult to get my hands on color reversal films for my 4x5. Guaranteed there is less demand for the stuff here in Canada. Smaller formats are more accessible but for how long? Gas prices will influence the cost of film production and transport, so how will it affect our long term love of film? (black and white included)

Before digital those that wanted pictures had to pay for film and processing. This is no longer the case. Film is gearing itself towards the fine artist and/or to those that appreciate what the medium offers. Film has definitive characterisitics that make it so appealing to me (compared to digital).

Make no mistake, I am no digital slouch either. I work in the motion picture industry as a Camera Assistant and Director of Photography and use both formats all the time. Use the product best suited for the job. When shooting digitally we still back up most footage to film. Film is the ultimate archiving device. When properly preserved it can store memories for generations and is much more cost effective than digital storage.

I'm just a little concerned by the habits of the general consumer. Everybody loves instant gratification and I feel it will affect those that appreciate something a little different. You can't blame them, the economy pushes it on us to make profits. It's just "the system" at work.

When my 8x10 arrives I hope I can still get film for it.

David

David S. Nardi Photography
(647) 444-4959
david@davidnardi.com
www.davidnardi.com

 

[srs5694]

Before digital those that wanted pictures had to pay for film and processing. This is no longer the case.

I disagree, at least a little. Getting hardcopy from digital images still costs money, whether you upload the files to a remote service, take them to a 1-hour lab, or print them on your own inkjet printer. Even if you don't get hardcopy, storing them costs money in the form of hard disk space and/or optical discs.

Granted, these costs are probably less than the costs of using film, but they aren't nonexistent, and they could be a significant fraction of those costs, depending on personal choices and habits.

 

[eddym]

It is getting more difficult to get my hands on color reversal films for my 4x5. Guaranteed there is less demand for the stuff here in Canada. [/url]

I feel your pain. I have a once-a-year job to shoot 4x5 transparencies of a painting that will be on the cover of the annual Puerto Rico visitor's magazine. I have always done it on Ektachrome EPN. It's the perfect film for the job, as it is designed for neutral, accurate colors without the excessive saturation that is so much in fashion today. In reproducing art, you want the colors to be true to the original, not "enhanced."
Unfortunately, EPN is no longer available, and I don't know of any similar film made by anyone else. I still have enough film on hand for another year or two, but I guess I will have to shoot something else when that runs out.
We have tried shooting it digitally, but the results were far inferior to the 4x5 EPN.

 

[Christopher Walrath]

In Delaware, as with most other locales I'm sure, the films readily available through retail locally are getting closer and closer to whatever will process through a one hour machine and put out pictures. That pretty much limits it to C41. I haven't seen anything else in a retail place selling film, be it a Walgreen's or 1st State Photo, for a LOOOOOOOOOOOONNNGGGGGGGGG TIME! Mentioned 4x5 to the clerk onceand got a response along the lines of 'Isn't that used in one of those old cameras?'

 

[David Nardi]

I disagree, at least a little. Getting hardcopy from digital images still costs money, whether you upload the files to a remote service, take them to a 1-hour lab, or print them on your own inkjet printer. Even if you don't get hardcopy, storing them costs money in the form of hard disk space and/or optical discs.

True, there are printing costs and hard drive costs but many people that I know don't even bother to print anymore. Besides, if they did print every frame it would cost more than film because they shoot 1000's of pics at a time. Editing in camera is a lost art for many. I guess a stored digital file must be as safe as a print/neg in a shoe box right? (I'm trying to be sarcastic).

 

[PHOTOTONE]

I am still using 4x5 Ektachrome EPP in fair quantities. (50 to 100 sheets per month) Process it myself. I have a couple of clients that can see and appreciate the vastly greater resolution when compared to a digital camera of under 39 mp. Plus, they like the archival qualities of the images, as they make products that images of can be used for years in some cases. I have found it is harder to get 4x5 transparency film overnight, though, as some of my vendors don't stock much of it. In some cases Fuji transparency films in 4x5 are easier to get.

 

[Kilgallb]

Here in my town, there are only two professional labs doing C41. Several dropped C41 but still do E6. I think they simply could not justify the expense of replacing an old C41 processor when the return on investment is better for an ink jet printer or cymbal printer.