Yeah, the market basket definition does change! I was a bit reluctant to use CPI for that very reason.Many economists agree that the methods to calculate the CPI has been changed over the years so that it actually appears lower than it is. If that;s the case, then any calculation indicated in your paragraph 5 may not be accurate. The current price of the film may really reflect the actual CPI.
'Expensive' is relative, so I did a bit of research to compare things...
So using the above figures as basis of comparison
- in 1990, a Kodak 135-36 roll of color slide film was $7.29 (Adorama ad), 36 exp E-6 processing was $3.50; median US household income was $50,200, and median US rent was $447 per month
- in 2022, a Kodak 135-36 roll of color slide film is $20 (Adorama ad), E-6 processing is $12; median US household income in 2021 is $79,900, and median US rent is $1104 per month
- The CPI was 127.5 in Jan 1990 vs. about 282 in Jan 2022..
- Median annual US rent was 10.7% of annual income in 1990, vs 16.6% of annual income in 2021
- You can buy and process 41 rolls of E-6 with one month's rent in 1990 vs. 34 rolls of E-6 with one month rent in 2021
- You can buy and process 387 rolls of E-6 with one month's income in 1990 vs. 208 rolls of E-6 with one month income in 2021
- Film+processing has gone up by 2.96x (1990 to 2022) while rent has gone up by 2.47x (1990 to 2021) and income has gone up by 1.56x (1990 to 2021)
- If based upon CPI increases, film+processing should have increased from $10.79 in 1990 to $23.86, so the actual amount is 34% higher than CPI increase,
Many economists agree that the methods to calculate the CPI has been changed over the years so that it actually appears lower than it is. If that;s the case, then any calculation indicated in your paragraph 5 may not be accurate. The current price of the film may really reflect the actual CPI.
Yeah, the market basket definition does change! I was a bit reluctant to use CPI for that very reason.
If one applied CPI to rent, 2022 rent should be $988.
Simply on the basis of 'multiple for income' vs. 'multiple for film+processing', one can intutively see that cost far surpassed any increase in income!
Your income number is actually very disturbing as it seems it's nowhere kept up with inflation even if the CPI was underestimated. It may account for why families today have both adults working compared to decades ago when there was only one adult working to support the entire household, including the purchase of film. It could well mean that upper-income earners are becoming the main users of film today.Yeah, the market basket definition does change! I was a bit reluctant to use CPI for that very reason.
If one applied CPI to rent, 2022 rent should be $988.
Simply on the basis of 'multiple for income' vs. 'multiple for film+processing', one can intutively see that cost far surpassed any increase in income!
Your income number is actually very disturbing as it seems it's nowhere kept up with inflation even if the CPI was underestimated. It may account for why families today have both adults working compared to decades ago when there was only one adult working to support the entire household, including the purchase of film. It could well mean that upper-income earners are becoming the main users of film today.
Interesting idea. I took some pics of the original Star Trek series that was on my TV using the Nikon and B&W film. Those also looked better than they had a right to. But, that show was shot on 35mm movie film, and by people who really knew their stuff when it came to lighting. No grain or washed out tones on those shows, they still look amazingly good.I've also experimented with copying my very best digital photos from my Mac laptop Retina display onto medium-format chrome film
I use my half-frame 35mm cameras whenever I want to shoot E6 chrome, which gives 75-78 photos for the film & processing cost of a 36 exposure roll. Then I digitize the images or view them all together in the Print-File page on a light box, so this approach won't help if you like to mount your slides for projection. As a perverse alternative, I've also experimented with copying my very best digital photos from my Mac laptop Retina display onto medium-format chrome film, which works much better than you might expect. You have to look really close to see the pixels.
I've been looking into as of late. I will be getting a Fuji GFX camera soon, and have a Canon FD to GFX adapter. I also have a Canon FL 50mm macro lens and a bellows FL as well. All I'd need is the stand, light source, and neg holders. Problem is I really don't have the space to put the stand at this time, but I'd love to use it instead of my scanners. I don't use Lightroom though, so using Negative Lab Pro wouldn't be possible.Have you tried scanning with a digital camera? There're many solutions as one might expect and maybe there is something that meets your requirements.
When I ws scanning my negatives, I had a setup with a digital camera to scan. While you can hack together a setup with parts form Home Depot, I found it easy, and relatively cheap, to get a macro bellows and matching film holder. These were common for most 35mm formats, but the Pentax ones are very common. Thie nice thing is you can get just about any camera adapted to M42 screw mount, then get a lens and M42 pentax adapter. The big drawback is they're really only sized for 35mm film. Pentax did make a similar setup for the P67 and 120 film, but they are rare and expensive.I've been looking into as of late. I will be getting a Fuji GFX camera soon, and have a Canon FD to GFX adapter. I also have a Canon FL 50mm macro lens and a bellows FL as well. All I'd need is the stand, light source, and neg holders. Problem is I really don't have the space to put the stand at this time, but I'd love to use it instead of my scanners. I don't use Lightroom though, so using Negative Lab Pro wouldn't be possible.
I thought political comments were forbidden, not economic topics? How can you have an economic topic called "E6 cost has finally killed it for me" and not comment on the economic issues that cause the problem? What's allowed? Can you comment on supply chain issues causing it? Lack of workers? Inflation? Government policy? Corporate greed? How do posters know what is acceptable and what's not? If all you want to do is to discuss technical issues about an economic topic, which is not clear to me how that's done, then the most interesting posters are going to get bored and leave.We haven't discussed it, but perhaps Sean is considering adding an "economic theory" sub-forum as part of the pending upgrade.
Unless he does though, issues of economic theory are off-topic for Photrio, and posts about them are subject to deletion.
I'll leave this be for now, but if it continues.....
Matt, Shipping cost is only one of the reasons prices are going up. Inflation is as factual as shipping disruptions to the reasons film costs are rising. It was just announced a couple of hours ago that US inflation is up 8.4% for March over 7.8% for February. Don't you think that affects film prices? Why is arguing that inflation is more theoretical, contentious and political?Economic theory is theoretical, contentious and political.
Whether or not Kodak Alaris, FujiFilm or SinoPromise can get containers to ship things due to shipping system disruptions is a question of fact and circumstance. If you have information about facts, feel free to share.
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