I think I got a good deal at the Photo Store today.

[photomem]

I was visiting some family in Little Rock, and dropped by Bedford Camera. This place used to be a great Photo Store but now there is so much digital stuff that it looks like a miniature Best Buy.

In any case, I grabbed a couple bottles of 28% Acetic Acid and some Photo Flo when I noticed two 250 sheet boxes of Kodak Polycontrast IV RC Paper in 8X10 size. They expired in Dec. 2005 and April 2006. Both still had price tags for 145.00 each. I asked the sales guy if they would consider selling them for a deeply discounted price, he said he would ask the owner and then came back and told me I could have them if I wanted them. So, of course, I now have them on my desk at home.

Question is... besides the obvious uses for alt process and the like, do you think they are still usable or would they all be fogged beyond use?

 

[nickandre]

Check for a mottle. I used some that was repackaged under the Ultrafine label last year and it was baaad. If it's good then the possibilities are endless.

 

[ozphoto]

Depending on how they have been stored you have either landed a wonderful load of paper, or good stuff to burn.

I picked up some 31/2x5" Agfa paper earlier this year from the late 60s early 70s and it was all great - used it for a few postcard exchanges; then there's the pack of 25 Ilford that was useless - both sealed, never opened, but obviously stored at two different ends of the spectrum and/or life expectancy not so great for that batch of Ilford.

If I could land some of this on my next photo store visit - I'll be one very happy camper!!

 

[Darkroom317]

I live in Rogers and am very familiar with Beford Camera here. You right about the amount of digital. But their b/w processing if fairly inexpensive and they still have a small fridge that has pro film in it. At times the staff at my local store has given me expired film for free.

 

[Sirius Glass]

I was visiting some family in Little Rock, and dropped by Bedford Camera. This place used to be a great Photo Store but now there is so much digital stuff that it looks like a miniature Best Buy.

In any case, I grabbed a couple bottles of 28% Acetic Acid and some Photo Flo when I noticed two 250 sheet boxes of Kodak Polycontrast IV RC Paper in 8X10 size. They expired in Dec. 2005 and April 2006. Both still had price tags for 145.00 each. I asked the sales guy if they would consider selling them for a deeply discounted price, he said he would ask the owner and then came back and told me I could have them if I wanted them. So, of course, I now have them on my desk at home.

Question is... besides the obvious uses for alt process and the like, do you think they are still usable or would they all be fogged beyond use?

Wow, some people have a tough life to live!

Well, I guess you will just have to take this for the team.

Steve

 

[Jeff Kubach]

If the paper was kept cool they maybe alright. I notice a lot of camera shops have turn into selling almost all digital.

Jeff

 

[Vincent Brady]

If the paper was kept cool they maybe alright. I notice a lot of camera shops have turn into selling almost all digital.

Jeff

Even the secondhand gear on display is now digital.

TEX

 

[photomem]

I live in Rogers and am very familiar with Beford Camera here. You right about the amount of digital. But their b/w processing if fairly inexpensive and they still have a small fridge that has pro film in it. At times the staff at my local store has given me expired film for free.

Are there any other camera shops in Little Rock or Conway that are worth a visit? I know Rogers is a bit removed from Little Rock, but thought you might know.

Also, good to see another Arkansan.

 

[Darkroom317]

Are there any other camera shops in Little Rock or Conway that are worth a visit? I know Rogers is a bit removed from Little Rock, but thought you might know.

Also, good to see another Arkansan.

Not that I know of. Beford is pretty much it. However, Collier Drug in Fayetteville is an excellent store. They has a whole section of film behind the counter and a wonderful used equipment section. They also sell darkroom supplies.

http://www.collierdrug.com/photography.htm

 

[photomem]

OK.. next time I go to Little Rock, I am making the trip up to Fayetteville.

 

[Darkroom317]

OK.. next time I go to Little Rock, I am making the trip up to Fayetteville.

Dickson street is a great place for street photography as well.

 

[narigas2006]

Sorry, i had to leave a comment here. The paper is expired in 2005... i'd treat it like it was produced yesterday. The newest paper i use is expired in the 70's. I doubt that I have any box younger than me in my darkroom...

 

[photomem]

That is what I am planning to do. I am a poor photography student, when you are handed something like this, its awesome!

 

[Alexander Ghaffari]

Nice! I was excited to pick up a brand new Hakuba Film Picker IV for $2.01 USD (such an odd price, haha) the other day from a Ritz Camera.

 

[photomem]

I tested the paper. It is great! Nice Bright whites in the highlights and dark blacks in the shadows. Midtones look good too. I also love the finish, it is Semi-Matte, which I have never used before.

 

[PeteZ8]

If the paper was kept cool they maybe alright. I notice a lot of camera shops have turn into selling almost all digital.

Jeff

I got a bit of insight from a local store here a few weeks ago. Seems some of the manufactures have a "minimum order" type of policy. I went out looking for some selenium toner a few weeks ago and although this store had a decent amount of chemistry etc, that was one thing they do not stock. The sales clerk (who indicated a pretty long history with B&W film himself) was the one who filled me in about it.

I have no idea how true this is, but I have heard it other places as well. So if they must order "X" number of a chemical, paper, film, etc, and they know they cannot sell it within the expiry date, they simply do not order it, and I can't blame them.

 

[PhotoGizmo]

I bought some Ultrafine 400 last December. Processes into black sheets, like the film was exposed to even lighting before packaging. The Ultrafine store won't return my emails, so I guess they know all about it. :-(

 

[Mahler_one]

Sorry, i had to leave a comment here. The paper is expired in 2005... i'd treat it like it was produced yesterday. The newest paper i use is expired in the 70's. I doubt that I have any box younger than me in my darkroom...

I thought the same until I noted some prints made on Oriental RC MG were not as bright and contrasty as I expected. Sure enough, developed an unexposed sheet, and there was fog. The box was unopened, and I had entered the purchase date as 2006. Stored in the darkroom which is normally temperature controlled, but can get to 78F-80F at times. I will not allow paper to get that "old" again before using it all up-unless the paper is Azo or Lodima.

 

[fotch]

PhotoGizmo, you already posted this, have you tried calling them?