Color film suppliers

[spiceminer]

Hi all,

this ist my first post to this forum, hopefully this is not already discussed and clarified in hundreds of pages....

A few days ago I found some of my old cameras and decided to start again with film fotography. I have lab tools (still working, already verified) for
black&white processing but I also like to use color negative and slide films.

It looks like that many films I have used 10-15 years ago are no longer existing and new ones appeared on the market. But are the new ones really new or are they just rebranded and expired "old stock" that will dissappear soon, to mention anly a few:

Line of Lomography films
Adox (Color Implosion)
Rollei ...

Regarding slide films, Fuji is the only one left on the market, right?

Are there any recommendations regarding purchase of color films in 2015? I suppose it would be the best to buy a film from a company that produces new and fresh film and not just rebranding the carrion of failed companies....

Best regards
Stephan

 

[rbultman]

See (there was a url link here which no longer exists) for a recent discussion on favorite color film.

And post (there was a url link here which no longer exists) for a list of color negative films available from B&H Photo Video.

You might also try the search feature of this web site. You may find answers to your questions regarding rebranding. In general, all of the stock is new, "fresh" film still being manufactured and sold. Some new films have been reformulated since your last film foray.

Suppliers of slide film are definitely much reduced. See (there was a url link here which no longer exists) for an effort to launch a new slide film from a resurrected company. It is an interesting read.

Welcome to APUG!

Regards,
Rob

 

[ME Super]

Hi all,

this ist my first post to this forum, hopefully this is not already discussed and clarified in hundreds of pages....

A few days ago I found some of my old cameras and decided to start again with film fotography. I have lab tools (still working, already verified) for
black&white processing but I also like to use color negative and slide films.

It looks like that many films I have used 10-15 years ago are no longer existing and new ones appeared on the market. But are the new ones really new or are they just rebranded and expired "old stock" that will dissappear soon, to mention anly a few:

Line of Lomography films
Adox (Color Implosion)
Rollei ...

Regarding slide films, Fuji is the only one left on the market, right?

Are there any recommendations regarding purchase of color films in 2015? I suppose it would be the best to buy a film from a company that produces new and fresh film and not just rebranding the carrion of failed companies....

Best regards
Stephan

At the present time, Fuji and Kodak are the two suppliers of color negative film, and Fuji is the only supplier of color slide film. Agfa-Gevaert of Belgium recently announced the discontinuation of their two remaining color films, marketed in the US as Rollei CN 200 and Rollei CR 200 (CN=Color Negative, CR=Color Reversal), but you can still get these films (Wittner Cinetec in Germany markets the color reversal film as Wittner Chrome 200D, and it's a nice film - reminds me of late 1980's Ektachrome). AgfaPhoto Precisa CT 100 is rumored to be Fujichrome Provia, and my experience bears this out. Having said that, Film Ferrania should be starting production soon (hopefully this year), and their first product is to be a 100 speed daylight balanced color slide film. Hopes are high on APUG that Ferrania will be the color version of Harman Technologies/Ilford Photo. You can visit (there was a url link here which no longer exists), or Dead Link Removed for more info. They've had a successful kickstarter campaign, and have moved in to the old Ferrania research lab, and are trying to get film production up and running on what was the Ferrania research coater. It's a good read.

 

[ME Super]

rbultman, you beat me to posting a link to The Great Ferrania Thread!

 

[rbultman]

AAgfa-Gevaert of Belgium recently announced the discontinuation of their two remaining color films, marketed in the US as Rollei CN 200 and Rollei CR 200 (CN=Color Negative, CR=Color Reversal)

I had no idea. I was just starting to investigate these. I was intrigued with the CN film having a clear film base for, you know what. I guess I have to spend more time reading sensitometry information instead.

Regards,
Rob

 

[flavio81]

Spiceminer,

The variety of color negative film is narrow, but on the other hand, the available films are better than ever.

Kodak Ektar 100 is perhaps the finest-grained ISO 100 color neg film ever, supposedly finer grained than the old Ektar 25!
You also have Portra 160 for a different look
Kodak Portra 400 has many many fans
Kodak Portra 800 is perhaps the best 800 speed CN film yet
Fuji Superia 200 is a quality general-purpose film
Fuji NPH 400 another high-tech ISO 400 film.

So, as you can see, 90% of the needs are already covered.

 

[spiceminer]

Hi all,

thanks very much for your friendly and factful replies and the links!

In the meantime, I have asked google and have found something in India (but page under construction).

http://www.jindalphoto.com/professnal_color_roll.html

Maybe an additional source?

Best regards
Stephan

 

[Marvin]

As for where to buy the films, I normally use B&H, Adorama and Walmart even has a small supply of Fuji.

 

[Trainmaster]

Troll fleabay, and look for some frozen bargains. There are still lots of other photographers cleaning out their freezers, and you can get some good deals. I picked up 30 sheets of Provia F for about $60.

 

[DrJackson]

Ferrania is coming back? Wow! I remember now and then using Italian color slide film from K-Mart, good film sometimes, looked a lot like Agfachrome.

 

[Sirius Glass]

Welcome to APUG
Check out FreeStyle an APUG sponsor. http://www.freestylephoto.biz/

 

[ME Super]

That's the plan, anyway. Nicola Baldini, an Italian software engineer turned director and/or producer, and Marco Pagnini, a lab guy, along with some of Ferrania Technology's former engineers, are fixing up the LRF building (the old photographic research laboratory) and are planning to use the research coater to bring back some re-engineered Ferrania films. Their first one is supposed to be their 100-speed daylight balanced color slide film. Read more at Dead Link Removed.

 

[railwayman3]

Hi all,

thanks very much for your friendly and factful replies and the links!

In the meantime, I have asked google and have found something in India (but page under construction).

http://www.jindalphoto.com/professnal_color_roll.html

Maybe an additional source?

Best regards
Stephan

From their Financial Report, they look more like dealers/wholesalers than manufacturers. (Though, I understand, from an Indian friend, that there may still be some other small manufacturers of B&W materials in India?)

 

[spiceminer]

I have my doubts if Ferrania really comes back to the market. It would be great if they could make it but there are since 2 months no updates on their webpage.

 

[Nodda Duma]

What's the story on AgfaPhoto CT Precisia?