Portra 400 Pricing???

AlbertZeroK · Mar 24, 2011

Okay, so the new Porta 400 is expensive now compared to the old 400NC and 400VC. I'm thinking it is because it's new and the demand is high for it. Do you think the price will settle down? Especially for 220 which is over $10 / roll! OUCH!

Thought?

CGW · Mar 24, 2011

North of the border in Toronto, Fuji pricing is way up, Kodak only a bit behind for C-41 materials. B+W hasn't jumped as much. I'm suspecting more than usual gouging on price here since the C$ is above par with the US$.

perkeleellinen · Mar 24, 2011

It's £4.19 for a roll of 120 here, by comparison, Fuji 400H is £3.35.

hrst · Mar 24, 2011

Also, film is becoming more and more niche product, that will inevitably increase the price somewhat, but nothing to be overly scared of. This is additional to silver cost rise etc. Just keep buying it, that will keep the price at a reasonable level.

benjiboy · Mar 24, 2011

I was asking my local pro dealer about the new Kodak Portra films and he told me he had stopped stocking Kodak films because they had become too expensive, he still keeps a few of the Fuji Pro films in, but most of his customers shoot digital

drkhalsa · Mar 25, 2011

I have begun using Portra 400 in 120 size. Local price where I shop is $26.84 for a 5 pack plus sales tax it's $29.05. I was considering Adorama. They have it at $26.50 with free shipping. The 400VC is less and the 400NC is more than the new 400. It takes so long to get here to Houston from NY the way Adorama ships, that I don't mind spending the little extra locally for immediate satisfaction.

2F/2F · Mar 25, 2011

drkhalsa said:
...I don't mind spending the little extra locally for immediate satisfaction.

Not to mention helping to give your neighbors jobs.

drkhalsa · Mar 25, 2011

Right on!

film_man · Mar 25, 2011

The new Portra 400 on 120 is the same as the old NC/VC in the UK. However, the new stuff on 135 is way more expensive.

What I find more bizarre is that 220 is more than twice the price of 120... Huh???

AlbertZeroK · Mar 25, 2011

2F/2F said:
Not to mention helping to give your neighbors jobs.

And the chance to have a nice conversation. I enjoy visiting my local shop too, I think I'm one of the few that still buys dark room supplies from him.

hpulley · Mar 25, 2011

Sadly there isn't much time for chatting in local photo shops. They're too busy selling digital cameras and printers which is good for them, most of them have transitioned well to modern technologies but this doesn't do much for me. Their film processing is now slow (they wait for enough rolls to come in usually) and poor and their film prices are high. Their paper and chemicals are often expired.

Portra 400 is $5/roll for 120 or $10/roll for 220 at B&H. Don't buy film in Canada unless you like throwing your money away, it's at least 50% more here, $7.50/roll for 120 or $15/roll for 220 at Henrys.

Do you need 400 speed? Portra 160 and Ektar 100 are $3.69/roll for 120 at B&H.

I got a few Pro packs of Fuji Reala 100 for $3.49/roll, 10/2012 dated! That's $17/pro pack while it is $40/pro pack here in Canada, just crazy! More than 100% higher than in the states... Our dollar is higher, distributors take note!

drkhalsa · Mar 25, 2011

I agree AlbertZeroK. I've learned alot and had great conversations with the folks at the camera shop I frequent.

Markster · Mar 25, 2011

One reason I've started liking Ektar is that it not only looks good, but that price is on par with the cheap-o stuff of days past. I can live with quirks and problems if it's half price.

Also a couple of folks have pushed Ektar to 400. If you need a cheap 400 film and you're not TOO worried about studio-quality portrait-film, try a roll and see if you like it. If not, you haven't wasted more than $3-$4 plus processing. If so you'll save in the long run.

lns · Mar 25, 2011

Markster said:
One reason I've started liking Ektar is that it not only looks good, but that price is on par with the cheap-o stuff of days past. I can live with quirks and problems if it's half price.

Also a couple of folks have pushed Ektar to 400. If you need a cheap 400 film and you're not TOO worried about studio-quality portrait-film, try a roll and see if you like it. If not, you haven't wasted more than $3-$4 plus processing. If so you'll save in the long run.

My situation is the opposite. Color film is the smallest part of the cost for me. That's because I still can get film relatively inexpensively by mail order, but processing locally has become very expensive. To process and print a 36-exposure roll of C-41 locally costs between $10 and $20, now that so many area labs have closed. I'm about to try Costco. Or maybe mail order.

-Laura

CGW · Mar 25, 2011

lns said:
My situation is the opposite. Color film is the smallest part of the cost for me. That's because I still can get film relatively inexpensively by mail order, but processing locally has become very expensive. To process and print a 36-exposure roll of C-41 locally costs between $10 and $20, now that so many area labs have closed. I'm about to try Costco. Or maybe mail order.

-Laura

Same here. Quality E6 and C-41 120 developing suddenly got scarce about a year ago when my local pro lab finally retired its Refreema processors. Local Costcos bailed nearly 2 years ago on cheapie 35mm processing and printing. It's still available but requires longer waits, longer drives, and higher prices for sometimes iffy quality.

hpulley · Mar 25, 2011

Process yourself, under $1/roll... Broken record I know...

CGW · Mar 25, 2011

hpulley said:
Process yourself, under $1/roll... Broken record I know...

It's looking inevitable, at least for b&w!

lns · Mar 25, 2011

hpulley said:
Process yourself, under $1/roll... Broken record I know...

Yeah, I do process black and white myself. But color requires temperature control that seems beyond my capabilities. Most importantly, I am old-fashioned enough to want prints, and I don't want to print color myself. So it works best for me to use a lab for C-41.

Anyway, Portra 400 is a beautiful film and I love using it. So even at $6 a roll for 35mm, I feel lucky to have it.

-Laura

hpulley · Mar 25, 2011

cgw said:
It's looking inevitable, at least for b&w!

lns said:
Yeah, I do process black and white myself. But color requires temperature control that seems beyond my capabilities. Most importantly, I am old-fashioned enough to want prints, and I don't want to print color myself. So it works best for me to use a lab for C-41.

Anyway, Portra 400 is a beautiful film and I love using it. So even at $6 a roll for 35mm, I feel lucky to have it.

-Laura

This is a thread about Portra so I do mean C-41 at home. The temperature control is easy. I just use a small Rubbermade container as a water bath. I put water in it at about 41C, put the containers of developer and blix in it with a Kodak color thermometer and once the dev hits 39C I put some 39C pre-soak water in the tank for one minute, then dump, dev in for 3:30, 3 inversions every :30, put the tank in the water bath while not inverting; at 3:30 dev out (pour back in its bottle, re-used with JOBO/Tetenal/Unicolor), blix 6:30 again 3 inversions every :30 putting the tank back in the bath when not being inverted; at 6:30 (total 10:00) blix out (again save for re-use); then three (5/20/40 inverts) invert and dump washes at 34-39C; then stabilizer, invert for :15 then sit at room temp for 1:30. Hang and dry! I just take water from the tap for 41C. Takes 20 minutes or so tops.

All C-41 film takes the same time and temperature so in many ways it is simpler than B&W.

RA-4 color printing can be done at home too. Dichroic head enlarger, Fuji cut or Kodak roll paper, chems.

Portra 400 Pricing???

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