Freestyle Minimum Order

NiftyFifty · Dec 6, 2011

I'm trying to buy some "real" B&W 35mm film. Freestyle has the best price (Arista Premium), but they also have a minimum order of $25. Due to health issues, I don't shoot often enough to justify ordering 8-9 rolls of film. Is there another place with really low prices that doesn't have a minimum order, or has a lower minimum order? Thanks.

chriscrawfordphoto · Dec 6, 2011

If you shoot that little, you're better off just buying it a roll or two at a time locally. Shipping plus the minimum order $$$ will cause you to spend more money and get more film than you need.

Wade D · Dec 6, 2011

I don't use that much film either. When ordering from Freestyle I buy film, chemicals and paper at the same time to get over the $25 minimum. Perhaps an East coast store like Adorama or B&H might be better in your case.

Vaughn · Dec 6, 2011

A film order under $25? I did not think it was possible (I usually buy a couple boxes 8x10 B&W film and have them toss in a pro-pack or two of 120 B&W).

Arista Premium ASA400 is Kodak Tri-X. It will not be available at this price (or any price) on the long term. So if you are making any kind of commitment to film, then you might as well buy 10 to 20 rolls and stick them in the refridgerator. That way you will have enough to last you, you'll have covered the times when you decide to blast through a roll in a day, and you will get to know the film well.

But that is just my opinion. Too much film is a non-issue for me. Too much exposed but undeveloped film is an issue!

Good luck!

Vaughn

NiftyFifty · Dec 6, 2011

chriscrawfordphoto said:
If you shoot that little, you're better off just buying it a roll or two at a time locally. Shipping plus the minimum order $$$ will cause you to spend more money and get more film than you need.

You confirmed what I was already thinking. Since I'm pretty much just testing the water, I think I should wait on buying in bulk until I know for sure that I want to add film to my skill set permanently. Walgreen's drugstore only sells the C-41 B&W film, but CVS drugstore sells Kodak Tri-X 400 ASA. I guess that's a roundabout way to see if I like the Arista Premium, since it's supposed to be the exact same thing. The worst that can happen is that I won't be stuck with 8 rolls of a film I don't like, LOL. Thanks!

NiftyFifty · Dec 6, 2011

Vaughn said:
A film order under $25? I did not think it was possible (I usually buy a couple boxes 8x10 B&W film and have them toss in a pro-pack or two of 120 B&W).

Arista Premium ASA400 is Kodak Tri-X. It will not be available at this price (or any price) on the long term. So if you are making any kind of commitment to film, then you might as well buy 10 to 20 rolls and stick them in the refridgerator. That way you will have enough to last you, you'll have covered the times when you decide to blast through a roll in a day, and you will get to know the film well.

But that is just my opinion. Too much film is a non-issue for me. Too much exposed but undeveloped film is an issue!

Good luck!

Vaughn

I'm testing the film waters, so until I know for sure that I like shooting film I think I'm going to just buy a roll or two of Kodak Tri-X 400 ASA from my local CVS drugstore. If I like the film itself, and decide to continue to shoot film, then I'll bulk order the Arista Premium from Freestyle. Thanks!

daleeman · Dec 6, 2011

You may wish to try Amazon.com. I've never purchased 35mm there but I do buy 120 film there every so often, (remember to follow the APUG link on the support page so APUG gets a % of sale). Finding real B&W locally is not always possible in some places. We are lucky enough to have a lively art program (Including B&W classes) at our community college here in Dayton, Ohio so the local "digital shops" will have a few rolls of very over priced B&W. I'm certain when the instructor retires so will the film programs and the local over priced supply.

chriscrawfordphoto · Dec 6, 2011

NiftyFifty said:
You confirmed what I was already thinking. Since I'm pretty much just testing the water, I think I should wait on buying in bulk until I know for sure that I want to add film to my skill set permanently. Walgreen's drugstore only sells the C-41 B&W film, but CVS drugstore sells Kodak Tri-X 400 ASA. I guess that's a roundabout way to see if I like the Arista Premium, since it's supposed to be the exact same thing. The worst that can happen is that I won't be stuck with 8 rolls of a film I don't like, LOL. Thanks!

Arista Premium IS Tri-X. I've shot about 300 rolls of it so far, and have another 80 left. I've used it alongside Tri-X with the Kodak box and they are identical in every single way. Except price. I shoot about 200 rolls of Tri-X 35mm a year, so the freestyle deal is incredibly good for me.

Rick A · Dec 6, 2011

Do you have a CVS pharmacy in your area, they sell Kodak TriX, or used to. Quick check of their site confirms availability, yep, they sell TriX and other films.

wblynch · Dec 6, 2011

On another note, if you do buy 10 rolls of film you will be compelled to use it and by then you will be hooked and can erase your fear of not liking film!

Roger Thoms · Dec 6, 2011

Couple of thoughts. Remember that the saving on small online orders are often offset by the shipping costs. Also remember that black and white film has a pretty good shelf life especially if you freeze it so no worries if it takes you a while to shoot it. You might take a look at the classifieds here on APUG, film comes up for sale often and you should be able to find small quanities with a little patience. Finially if you buy enough film from Freestyle and find you aren't using it fast enough you can always sell it here on the APUG classifieds.

Roger

Guillaume Zuili · Dec 6, 2011

Check your pm

michaelbsc · Dec 6, 2011

If you don't have that much film experience, you may want to find some one local to make sure you can get the B&W developed, too. As someone new I doubt you a a tank and chems just lying around, although they aren't hard to source.

But you can't just drop a roll of B&W off at CVS or Walgreens and come back in an hour. However you can develop it in your own kitchen in about 30 minutes once you get the hang of it.

Seems that in another thread you said you were in the upstate, so that puts you pretty much across the whole state from me, or I'd offer to give you a hand one evening. But that's hours of driving for one of us.

Or if you're interested in the B&W experience, but want the drug store convenience, then grab a package of Kodak BN400CN off the hook at the local store. It's awesome results, and can be processed at any local 1 hour line. It's really not bad film.

Michael

jscott · Dec 6, 2011

Do some comparison pricing, particularly for shipping costs. Freestyle has good stuff and I've ordered a lot of it, but lately I've found cheaper shipping elsewhere for some of the same products.

removed account4 · Dec 6, 2011

it takes a long time for film to go bad
just buy the minimum order and put the film in a drawer until you use it
i have a suitcase in a closet full of film, and stuff on shelves &c
some is 10-20 year old tri x
... if you decide after you buy it and can't use it ...
just sell it here on the classifieds at cost + shipping ( flat rate box usps )
and you should get back what you paid ...

have fun + hope you feel better !

john

TareqPhoto · Dec 7, 2011

I bought many many of films from Freestyle and other online stores, and i save/store those film in my fridge/freezer, when i need to use them i take what i want and leave the rest in cold, i saved a lot, i can't find many local stores in my country, only 2 stores, one for Ilford films only and the other for Kodak, and both have only 2-3 different film, not many, so the online is my best friend or the only solution for different films i need, i buy them now and use them later, one day i will not find the film i need, so better i get them now before some of them will be discontinued.

Greg Heath · Dec 15, 2011

NiftyFifty said:
You confirmed what I was already thinking. Since I'm pretty much just testing the water, I think I should wait on buying in bulk until I know for sure that I want to add film to my skill set permanently. Walgreen's drugstore only sells the C-41 B&W film, but CVS drugstore sells Kodak Tri-X 400 ASA. I guess that's a roundabout way to see if I like the Arista Premium, since it's supposed to be the exact same thing. The worst that can happen is that I won't be stuck with 8 rolls of a film I don't like, LOL. Thanks!

I was shocked to see Tri-x 400 at CVS. I had to do a double take. You can always get the C-41 and then develop it in CAffenol. Caffenol works great with C41.
Caffenol.org & Caffenol.blogspot.com

Greg

average-guy · Dec 15, 2011

You said you were "testing the waters". I don't know if that is on black and white specifically or film in general. If you're new to B/W film, I have a few tips that you may want to try. You can alter tone and contrast in b/w images with the use of color filters. When I first started in photography shooting b/w I would sometimes end up with shots that lacked punch/contrast and/or blown out skies. Below is a link to a website that gives a short primer on color filters in b/w photography. Also, if you're on a tight budget, Ebay is a good source for inexpenseve used color filters, I stick with "known" quality brands. here's the link:

Good luck and most of all, have fun.

average-guy · Dec 15, 2011

Sorry the Link didn't paste to my last post, here it is.

http://www.fineart-photography.com/bwfilter.html

2F/2F · Dec 15, 2011

Black and white film will keep fine in the fridge/freezer. I'd go ahead and order the brick. You just can't beat the price to quality ratio of Arista Premium.

Freestyle Minimum Order

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