Idea for a Pinned Thread - Film Availability

hoffy · Sep 20, 2010

Howdy,

I had an idea that I would like to run past everyone.

Would it be a good idea to have a couple of Pinned threads which actually list film and analogue products that are currently available and in which markets? For example, the thread is started by a mod, with people giving there two cents worth. The first post is then regularly updated to show ONLY films that are commercially available. This way, we can use the collective investigating powers to determine where we can get our favourite films or alternatives.

Thoughts?

samcomet · Sep 21, 2010

as a frequent traveller I wholeheartedly agree but may I also throw in 2 cents and suggest processing labs & camera repairs too. I cannot remember how many threads I've started asking for help in various languages & countries!!! cheers! sam

Chazzy · Sep 21, 2010

If I want to know what's available, all I have to do is go to the B&H and Freestyle websites. Between the two they don't miss much.

Ian Grant · Sep 21, 2010

Chazzy said:
If I want to know what's available, all I have to do is go to the B&H and Freestyle websites. Between the two they don't miss much.

If I need film I can either wait & buy on trips back to the UK (70% of my film purchases), buy on the internet from abroad and risk the parcel going missing (50% chance based on experience) or buy locally, a limited range and an hours drive.

Availability is a huge issue outside Europe & North America. I'd been a Tmax user since it's release but getting anything other than Kodak consumer colour neg films is near impossible here, I found the same on a long trip to South America 3 years ago.

When you can get a good variety of films it's always Ilford B&W, a bit of Fuji B&W but plenty of Fuji colour film, and then surprisingly Foma.

As a consequence I've switched back to Ilford films after a break of over 20 years, I buy Foma as a back up if needed, that's worked well for 3 yeras now, I'm very happy with the resulting image quality and I've no plans to use a Kodak film again.

Ian

Sirius Glass · Sep 21, 2010

Chazzy said:
If I want to know what's available, all I have to do is go to the B&H and Freestyle websites. Between the two they don't miss much.

Plus Samys Camera in Los Angeles.

Steve

lxdude · Sep 21, 2010

And Midwest Photo. They still have fresh K-64! If you want to pay $20 for 36 exp.

AgX · Sep 21, 2010

There have been talks off-forum long before on making and updating(!) a list of all films and papers available by one or two experts on that field. It was cancelled as the burdon on keeping it reliably(!) updated was considered great.

I doubt that a free-entry thread would be more reliable and not just confusing.

hoffy · Sep 22, 2010

OK, it was just a thought.

Cheers

brianmquinn · Sep 22, 2010

Chazzy said:
If I want to know what's available, all I have to do is go to the B&H and Freestyle websites. Between the two they don't miss much.

This is pretty true but not totally correct. Kodak for example has several films that are only marketed outside of the USA. So you will not find them at these web sites.

From what I understand (keep in mind I may be mistaken) these emulsions are older cheaper to produce products OR they have a different color balance. In the USA color negative film is balanced to produce Caucasian skin tones well. In India Kodak sells film balanced to produce darker skin colors better.

Ian Grant · Sep 22, 2010

Likewise Ilford make films they don't sell in the UK market, and as I posted in another thread last week Ilford Diapositive film (E6 made in Italy) was available in Istanbul, yet it's not in their uncatalogue or on their website.

Some Fuji products aren't available in every country, notably B&W papers (possibly by agreement as they are probably outsourced).

It's more important to have a list of film suppliers & types & sizes available outside the main North American & European markets so people travelling can source film while away.

I spent two days trying to get Tmax films in Santiago, Chile, a large capital city, in the end I bought Ilford, I looked again in Lima, Peru, I doubt there was any LF film at all. I did ask Simon Galley if Ilford could put something on the Ilford website, but the issue is getting information from local importers/distributors.

It would be great to just go online Ilford, Kodak & Fuji and look up your nearest stockist and what they sold, 35mm 120 and LF by category and then exact film type.

Ian

fotch · Sep 22, 2010

Ian Grant said:
Likewise Ilford make films they don't sell in the UK market, and as I posted in another thread last week Ilford Diapositive film (E6 made in Italy) was available in Istanbul, yet it's not in their uncatalogue or on their website.

Some Fuji products aren't available in every country, notably B&W papers (possibly by agreement as they are probably outsourced).

It's more important to have a list of film suppliers & types & sizes available outside the main North American & European markets so people travelling can source film while away.

I spent two days trying to get Tmax films in Santiago, Chile, a large capital city, in the end I bought Ilford, I looked again in Lima, Peru, I doubt there was any LF film at all. I did ask Simon Galley if Ilford could put something on the Ilford website, but the issue is getting information from local importers/distributors.

It would be great to just go online Ilford, Kodak & Fuji and look up your nearest stockist and what they sold, 35mm 120 and LF by category and then exact film type.

Ian

The film manufacturers are behind the times in regard to internet marketing and its advantages.

Ian Grant · Sep 23, 2010

fotch said:
The film manufacturers are behind the times in regard to internet marketing and its advantages.

They could learn a lot from the Impossible Project.

Ian

Idea for a Pinned Thread - Film Availability

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