I am Ivan Jose from Mexico.

[ivannavi]

Bienvenidos al foro! Si vives en CDMX todavia, tengo algunos amigos alla quienes practican fotografia analoga. Si quieres encontrarles, puedo introducirte. Yo volvere a CDMX para el Anyo Nuevo - quizas podemos encontrarnos y charlar.

Actualmente voy poco a CDMX, pero siempre es bueno tener contactos que se toman en serio la fotografía. Seguramente una buena charla para iniciar el año valdría mucho la pena, quizá incluso pudiéramos intercambiar algo de obra personal, lo cual siempre es una experiencia grata.

 

[ivannavi]

Bienvenidos, ivanavi! Hablo un poco espanol, pero... I will be doing us both a big favor is I stuck to English!

I have been wondering about the availability of film and chemicals in Central America (for home development), which I suspect is less than Mexico (maybe Costa Rica or even Belize has some activity). I wonder if I were to have an extended stay in Guatemala, what, if anything would be available. My guess was (and is supported by your experience) that if anything is available, D-76 would be likely. Can you get HC110 in Mexico (I suspect based on toxicity and your comments, maybe not)?

I have only used film a couple of times there (Guatemala, as well as Mexico recently), and just brought it back to process. I claim (without proof) that I am the first person to shoot ADOX CHS 100 II in Guatemala, and I would not be really surprised if that were the case! Reasonably likely it is not the case, but I cannot find any other photos on Flickr in Guatemala shot on CHS 100 II (or CHS 100). I do know one professional photographer in Guatemala, and of course he switched to digital. I need to have a conversation with him next time I go down about what film photography activity, if any, is still occurring.

My English is as bad as my drunk driving then you can feel confortable with your Spanish.
Here in Mexico it is possible to find HC110 without so much problem and also Ilfosol 3, but only in the right stores [ a) https://vyorsa.com.mx/ , b) https://niepcephoto.com , c) https://www.fotomecanica.mx ; I usually get my film from the "b" option because the store is well located for my taste (a very safe neighborhood too) but they only sell ilford, if you really needs Kodak you must try with "vyorsa" option "a"] there are more stores but those 3 are very trustable.

 

[ivannavi]

Bienvenido!

I

Gracias por el buen recibimiento!

I must confess that at the beginning Rodinal wasn't my ideal developer for small formats (35mm) but his shelf life is awesome. If I don't have the ideal conditions to mix a gallon of D76, or a lot of exposed films to use the entire gallon, the grain becomes irrelevant to me.

 

[ivannavi]

Bienvenido a' Photrio! 16mm and 35mm independent filmmaking is soooo coool! It's the essence fine cinema in my view. So many great films were made that way, on a budget, with a great story, backed by technical mastery of the craft.

I completely agree with you

 

[Sirius Glass]

My English is as bad as my drunk driving then you can feel confortable with your Spanish.
Here in Mexico it is possible to find HC110 without so much problem and also Ilfosol 3, but only in the right stores [ a) https://vyorsa.com.mx/ , b) https://niepcephoto.com , c) https://www.fotomecanica.mx ; I usually get my film from the "b" option because the store is well located for my taste (a very safe neighborhood too) but they only sell ilford, if you really needs Kodak you must try with "vyorsa" option "a"] there are more stores but those 3 are very trustable.

Your English is good, better than many native English speaking members here on this website.

 

[flavio81]

Your English is good, better than many native English speaking members here on this website.

No entiendo tu idioma, forastero!

Advertencia: Maniobrar una Hasselblad puede ser perjudicial para tu bienestar financiero!!

No hay nada como un buen pedazo de vidrio!!

 

[flavio81]

Bienvenido a' Photrio! 16mm and 35mm independent filmmaking is soooo coool! It's the essence fine cinema in my view. So many great films were made that way, on a budget, with a great story, backed by technical mastery of the craft.

And cine 35mm film usage keeps the film (manufacturing) industry alive.

 

[Sirius Glass]

No entiendo tu idioma, forastero!

Advertencia: Maniobrar una Hasselblad puede ser perjudicial para tu bienestar financiero!!

No hay nada como un buen pedazo de vidrio!!

That is a sexual reference to "piece of ass". Send me a PM is further clarification is needed.

 

[flavio81]

That is a sexual reference to "piece of ass". Send me a PM is further clarification is needed.

LOL... "Nothing beats a great piece of GLASS"

 

[markjwyatt]

That is a sexual reference to "piece of ass". Send me a PM is further clarification is needed.

G, I think you missed a letter.

 

[Sirius Glass]

G, I think you missed a letter.

Typical off by one error.

 

[TheFlyingCamera]

My English is as bad as my drunk driving then you can feel confortable with your Spanish.
Here in Mexico it is possible to find HC110 without so much problem and also Ilfosol 3, but only in the right stores [ a) https://vyorsa.com.mx/ , b) https://niepcephoto.com , c) https://www.fotomecanica.mx ; I usually get my film from the "b" option because the store is well located for my taste (a very safe neighborhood too) but they only sell ilford, if you really needs Kodak you must try with "vyorsa" option "a"] there are more stores but those 3 are very trustable.

Son estos precios de película en Niepcephoto cada rollo, o cada 5 rollos de 120?

 

[markjwyatt]

Son estos precios de película en Niepcephoto cada rollo, o cada 5 rollos de 120?

Looks like FP4 is around $12.56/roll (19.59 pesos/dollar)

 

[TheFlyingCamera]

Looks like FP4 is around $12.56/roll (19.59 pesos/dollar)

The one I was in total shock over was the price for the Portra color stuff- that's more than double the price here. Nearly $25/roll. I can get a pro-pack of 5 here for about $50-ish.

 

[markjwyatt]

The one I was in total shock over was the price for the Portra color stuff- that's more than double the price here. Nearly $25/roll. I can get a pro-pack of 5 here for about $50-ish.

In Central America (and I am guessing Mexico also), duties make imported items very expensive. I fly to Central America often, and when flying from the US, most of the passengers come with huge boxes of stuff they need/want because it is much cheaper in the US than there. When people hear we are coming down, we get requests to bring things down for them (usually smaller items).

Many in Latin America shop in Miami (and other places, but Miami is a biggie).

 

[MattKing]

In Central America (and I am guessing Mexico also), duties make imported items very expensive.

Mexico is a signatory to USMCA, the recent replacement for NAFTA. As Kodak film is manufactured in the USA, there would be no duty charged on it.

 

[markjwyatt]

Mexico is a signatory to USMCA, the recent replacement for NAFTA. As Kodak film is manufactured in the USA, there would be no duty charged on it.

I wonder why it is so expensive? Maybe "whatever the market will bear".

 

[MattKing]

I wonder why it is so expensive? Maybe "whatever the market will bear".

More likely that there aren't any efficient distribution channels.
Kodak film is only sold to distributors, not retailers.

 

[KerrKid]

Welcome!

My wife if from Mexico and she enjoyed your short film.

 

[mshchem]

Even with NAFTA there are tariffs on certain goods. We had to keep track of every commodity plastic resin. Steel, manufactured components etc.
I would think that consumer goods would be free from tariffs, I don't know. Cigarettes are cheaper in Mexico, we would cross into Reynosa and a colleague would buy a couple packs, 20 years later he passed away from a heart attack. So much for the cigarettes.
When I was there frequently, the peso was about 9 mxn to usd. Early to mid 2000's

 

[TheFlyingCamera]

Even with NAFTA there are tariffs on certain goods. We had to keep track of every commodity plastic resin. Steel, manufactured components etc.
I would think that consumer goods would be free from tariffs, I don't know. Cigarettes are cheaper in Mexico, we would cross into Reynosa and a colleague would buy a couple packs, 20 years later he passed away from a heart attack. So much for the cigarettes.
When I was there frequently, the peso was about 9 mxn to usd. Early to mid 2000's

It's been hovering right around 20:1USD for a couple years now. When I first went there in 2016 it was 14:1USD. I suspect the prices on film there are the distributors gouging.

 

[ivannavi]

Son estos precios de película en Niepcephoto cada rollo, o cada 5 rollos de 120?

It seems like this is the price for each roll, and I think that the only film that comes in package of 5 rolls is Portra, but I can make a phone call for a better explanation because on the website the information is a little ambiguous.

 

[ivannavi]

I don't know exactly why film is so expensive in Mexico but I think that today not so many people buy film (instead of doing digital) and the seller usually keeps stock without sell after expiration dates (which is an inevitable lost and expense of electricity and thing like that), then they just adjust the prices taking in consideration all that lost.
There are also some stores who sell film at better prices but they don't storage their film on optimal conditions (I have seen a lot of stores selling unrefrigerated films), this happens even on the big corporations like Fujifilm Mexico.
And if you get your film from some internacional online store you must pay some import duty around 16% of the total price of parcel including shipping. Then the final price is almost the same with additional risk of X-Ray during the import process.
I have imported films in few occasions but after one occasion with a package of TX400 with a serious problem of fog (maybe a heating problem) I just started to get all my film from local distributors.

 

[markjwyatt]

I don't know exactly why film is so expensive in Mexico but I think that today not so many people buy film (instead of doing digital) and the seller usually keeps stock without sell after expiration dates (which is an inevitable lost and expense of electricity and thing like that), then they just adjust the prices taking in consideration all that lost.
There are also some stores who sell film at better prices but they don't storage their film on optimal conditions (I have seen a lot of stores selling unrefrigerated films), and that is a reality even on the big corporations like Fujifilm Mexico.
And when you get your film from some internacional online store you must pay some import duty around 16% of the total price of parcel including shipping. Then the final price is almost the same with additional risk of X-Ray during the import process.
I have imported films in few occasions but after one occasion with a package of TX400 with a serious problem of fog (maybe a heating problem) I just started to get all my film from local distributors.

Find some of those Mexican billionaires and convince them to produce film in Mexico (maybe Mexipan/Mexicolor/Mexichrome/Mexicine...). Collaborate with some knowledgeable people, and also start distributing it in the US and Europe. We could always use some new choices for film.

If Mexican cinema producers had interest it would drive the demand.

 

[ivannavi]

Find some of those Mexican billionaires and convince them to produce film in Mexico (maybe Mexipan/Mexicolor/Mexichrome/Mexicine...). Collaborate with some knowledgeable people, and also start distributing it in the US and Europe. We could always use some new choices for film.

If Mexican cinema producers had interest it would drive the demand.

HAHAHAHA
It could be the beginning of Sanborns Pan 400 funded by Carlos Slim.