Kodacolor VR 200 & 400 for sale

Photo Engineer

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I posted earlier that I have had several stories from EK people on recent developments there in product lines. One story was that all color products were moved back to the USA from China, and another was that this was not so. Both stories from credible people. I have tried to follow up with little luck.

I suspect that both have some degree of truth to them and that the local (Rochester) product is made using more modern film technolongy. But, again, I cannot confirm it. This is one case where I cannot help (among many).

I can only state that consumer films generally have the same or similar chemistry to professional films, but are usually built to 0.05 - 0.10 units higher contrast to conform to the preferences of the amateur and also to compensate for the less expensive lenses used in point and shoot cameras.

The new point and shoot cameras have started using a VR film here in Rocheser and I was told that it was made using the new technology. This probably would include the osmate complex which gives up to one stop more speed for equivalent grain size. Therefore, the film would be either sharper or finer grained depending on final design. But my information remains just a guess so far.

PE
 

Andy K

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All my recent colour uploads to the APUG galleries were shot using these Kodak VR films. Got them from the same place too. I used to use Konica/Minolta VR 100 colour neg, but manufacture stopped earlier this year. I find the Kodak VR a good replacement.
 
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Andy K

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pentaxuser

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Nice one Andy. So much for the washed out, muted colours that I quoted from the photo.net site when I first did the research. The irony was that I had looked at your photos a few weeks ago and commented but hadn't clocked the Kodak VR in the details and had only seen the VR Plus film as a result of the newly opened ALDI a couple of weeks ago which was after seeing your pics so hadn't made any connection.

I just don't see how anyone using ths film could possibly talk of desaturated, wishy washy colours even allowing for the spectrum of opinions on what constitutes saturated colours. The comments in photo.net were on VR film. Maybe VR Plus is different. If not then I'd hate to see what the wishy washy commentator thinks of as saturated colours.

Thanks

pentaxuser
 

Andy K

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pentaxuser

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Andy Yes sharpness was the one comment in photo.net that no one contradicted even if not everyone mentioned it. Based on these shots of the derelict factory, I am liking the look of it even more.

Thanks

pentaxuser
 

copake_ham

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pentaxuser said:
Andy Yes sharpness was the one comment in photo.net that no one contradicted even if not everyone mentioned it. Based on these shots of the derelict factory, I am liking the look of it even more.

Thanks

pentaxuser
Click to expand...

The sharpness is indeed impressive and leads me to think that this film may be a "poor man's" Portra.

Andy, did you scan the neg or a print thereof?

If you look at my thread about Portra being almost a "digital film" I think you'll see what I'm driving at.

My guess is that the VR "consumer" film negs, because of the thinner film base, probably will not archive as well as Portra will.

But if Kodak is in the process of narrowing down its film types - the VR's are a nice "everyday" film. I know I was glad to find them that day last February when I was on my way to the Tucson Rodeo Parade and realized I needed a few additional rolls of 35mm film.

EDIT: Actually it was the Rodeo itself. I'd burned my film stash the day before at the Parade.

Here are two shots I took with the 400 VR (BTW: VR means "versatility")
 
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pentaxuser

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Brac

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Aldi have been selling this Kodak VR Plus film for several years in packs of two 36 exp rolls for GBP 1.99 and in speeds of ISO 200 and 400. When I first bought it the boxes said the film was manufactured in Kodak's plant in France. After that closed a couple of years ago, the boxes were labelled as being made in Kodak's plant in China. I haven't bought any for a while so maybe the latest is made in the US.

Kodak seem to make an economy line under different names for several third parties. The "free" film offered by the UK mail order D & P outfit Bonusprint/Double Print is called KodaK Colour Plus 200 and again the country of manufacture has changed over the years.

On ebay I have seen sellers offer another varient under yet another name apparently made for someone in Germany. Probably all these are the same film.

My experience has been that the film is OK and of course cheap but I prefer the results I have had from Kodak Gold which seems to be a bit more saturated, particularly in dull weather. But it could of course be down to the processing,
 

braxus

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Again if anyone is willing to pick up a few rolls of the 200 and a few of the 400, I could PayPal the money to you. Even 1 roll each would be fun. My friend who lives in Seattle and travels the US went into an Aldi store and didn't see the film there. So I had no luck getting any of this film so far.
 

AgX

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Less than 2€ for a two-films set over here.
Sorry, but my pay-pal does not work.
 

ath

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Here in Germany, the origin of Aldi, they sell the double pack for 1,79€. A few years ago, it said "made in UK", then it changed to "made in China" and finally (still valid last week) to "made in USA". I think, they sell them at least since 15 years, starting with the VR100.

Once I tried to google some information regarding these films and came up with an comment in a german forum, where a guy claimed, these would be the predecessors of the current "Gold" films. Someone operating a minilab told him so, based on the fact, that they got printing instructions (color filtering) from Kodak which indicated this. No idea, if this is true.

BTW, Kodak also delivers relabeled films here in Germany to the drug chain "DM". They had Agfa but for obvious reasons they had to change to someone else. C41 in 100, 200, 400 ASA, prices comparable to Aldi. And a slide film,which is Elitechrome 100 for 2,25€.
 

Heinz_Anderle

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In Austria, a three-pack of either VR 200 Plus or VR 400 Plus is sold for 3,49 Euro. It's interesting to see that that's still not the bottom.

I remember a (German) posting elsewhere that these films are downgraded = simplified Farbwelt print films.
 
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pentaxuser

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Hi I don't know if your post has brought any luck but I was browsing the film section of the UK e-bay tonight and there a guy in Spain selling 2x 200 and 2x400 VR. He will take Paypal and appears to be willing to ship worldwide. He wants £4.45 plus postage. This is £1.10 a film ( that is pounds sterling not dollars) which is a little more than we pay in Aldi in the U.K. but not a lot.

You might want to check it out. It's about page 4 and he's called pablofotografico.

Hope this helps

pentaxuser
 

braxus

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Thanks for the heads up. I missed this post in time. So I wasn't able to find him at all doing a seach function, but after looking it up on Yahoo I found his old auctions. Contacted him and he may decide to sell some more. Now all I need is to find some of this film in 100 speed and all would be well.
 
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pentaxuser

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No problem. He may be big enough to buy wholesale and make quite a big profit or he has found an ALDI supermarket in Spain whose prices are the same as or even better than the UK. That way he carries no stock and simply buys against e-bay orders but equally you get fresh stock. He may even make a little on the postage and packing.

I suspect that this is a little money spinning sideline for him if he can sell enough film. He could even be a Brit living in Spain. His name strikes me as the kind of thing a Brit would invent to appear to be a Spaniard. There are thousands there now.

All speculation on my part but I love trying to form an impression of what his source may be and what his connection with photography is. I must have read too many Raymond Chandler novels!

Anyway if I am right about his source, then unless Spanish ALDIs or its equivalent has access to VR100 he may be unable to supply. I've never seen 100 in the U.K. ALDI stores.

I'd be interested in his response to the question of obtaining VR100. If its NO or even YES but at an extra price it means that he has had to find another stockist and either answer would tend to suggest that I may be right about his current source.

Regards

pentaxuser
 

braxus

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He put up another auction for me and I have bought 4 rolls from him. He told me there were no 100 films available. So if you have a source for the 100, let me know.

As for the seller- his name is Paul and the Ebay address is listed in the UK. Yet the auction said it was coming from Spain. So I don't know exactly what is going on with that, unless he has someone is Spain he's set this up with. All his auctions are listed in Spain, yet again his Ebay address is UK.

As for the film he is selling- they are two paks 36 exposure rolls dated 2009, so they are fresh.
 
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pentaxuser

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It is a strange one. If he is in the U.K. then he can buy in the U.K. He may import from friends in Spain but unless they are arriving in the U.K on a very regular basis and thus carrying it in free of postage and packing, it means he bears the cost of having it sent to the UK from Spain and then re-posting to elsewhere, thereby losing a % of the extra profit on the cheaper price in Spain if it is cheaper there. I don't know the answer to the price of VR in Spain.

The postmark on your package will tell you about where posted. It goes without saying that in suggesting there are mysteries here, I am certainly not suggesting that this reflects there should be any concern about his integrity as a seller.

Intriguing though

pentaxuser
 

braxus

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I got another email from the same account and this one is from Pablo. I take it that its two people using the same account. One Paul and the other Pablo. How they work together in this setup I can't say, but it's probably safe to say one is dealing and the other is sending.
 
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