film manufacture as well as film sales are business relics.
how many buggy whips do Walmart sell?
how many buggy whips do Walmart sell?
One can still make money on the bulk roll...
I can get 10 rolls of 36-exposure TMY-2 for $90.... Savings (for me) is $0.67/roll over individual cassettes.
So if you release the tension on the take up reel, the film comes off easily?
I can get 10 rolls of 36-exposure TMY-2 for $90 through Film Supply Club. Savings (for me) is $0.67/roll over individual cassettes.
I try to develop a roll of film every Saturday. The 12-exposure rolls of 120 film I shoot when I am in a medium format mood are just about right. 24 exposure, or worse yet 36 exposure rolls of 35mm film result in a lot of throw away shots to finish the roll. So I bulk load 12-exposure rolls of 35mm film. The cost per frame is much higher than for 36-exposure bulk loaded rolls because of all the unexposed heads and tails on the 40 30" rolls from a 100' roll but my film cost per week, even for Tri-X at today's prices, is much less than for 120 or longer rolls of 35mm.
I get 18 rolls of hp5plus for $90 from unique photo.
$90 for 10 is too expansive.
Read the title of this thread.
film manufacture as well as film sales are business relics.
how many buggy whips do Walmart sell?
I have two, five-packs of 120 TMY-2 that I've been saving for a special occasion. I'm now saving up my Loonies and Toonies (can't save up pennies as we don't have them in our currency anymore...) for a 50 sheet box of 4x5 TMY-2... It's bloody expensive, but I can't live without this stuff...
...I find the pricing a little strange, but maybe there is a true justification.
I use mainly Ilford films, and have for years, but I do need to get my TMY fix every now and then... just can't source it unless I go online.
Andy, there has to be a rehabilitation clinic near to Coquitlam that can accept you surely?
pentaxuser
You can use dummy leader that you tape to the film end in the darkroom. With some care you should be able to get 98 percent of a bulk roll.Yeah, that sounds about right in terms of the economics, @Daniela.
As to the lost frames, here's what I do, using the Watson-style bulk loaders, recycled Fujifilm Superia 35mm cassettes (but other brands will work too) and a proper darkroom:
* Only let a few cm of film stick out of the light trap/gate. No more than ca. 5cm.
* Tape this end to the spindle. You don't have much length to work with, but it can just be done.
* Fit the spindle into the cassette and fit the lid onto the cassette. Ensure the lid fits tightly around the entire perimeter.
* Now turn off the lights.
* Without fitting the cover on the film loader, flip the lever as if the cover has been fitted. Rotate the round cover to open the gate.
* Pull the film roll towards the end of the loader where it mounts onto the axis with the handle you can rotate to load the film.
* Personally, I proceed in the dark from here, simply loading the film in the dark by rotating the handle and counting the turns. 30 turns gives a length of >36 exp. (it's a little longer than a commercial roll, in fact). Alternatively, you could close the gate, pull back the lever, fit the lid, and open the gate again and then turn on the lights to do the rest of the process in room light.
This way, you only waste a few cm's of film at the end of the roll and that doesn't tend to interfere with the last frame(s), so all frames are exposed OK without fogging.
Hope this makes sense. I can see if I can make some photos or a video if it's not clear enough.
The whole trick is simply to only expose a minimal length of film in the process of taping it to the spindle and then ensuring the rest of the film doesn't see any light, apart of course from the leader, but that's a lot less tricky since you have more length to play with there.
The price of a product is:
what the customer is willing to pay while satisfying the greed of the producer.
I wonder how much bulk rolls even factor into the overall sales of this particular film, or any 35mm still film these days? TMY is a premium film, and when you need it, you need it. There isn't any real substitute for what it provides. I shoot it even in 8X10 sheets, though certainly not wastefully! Everything is getting expensive. But I am glad I put a significant stash of both speeds of TMax sheet film in my freezer before the last several rounds of price hikes. I'll have to check in there and see if I have any 35mm left. But I shoot way more 120 TMax than either 35mm or sheets these days. That's kinda the sweet spot between affordability and a decent moderate enlargement.
I'm wondering if their is a modified version of the Dire Straits song:
"Something for nothing and get your bulk film for free"
I'm blessed/cursed with having had lots of experience in and around business people who struggle to keep prices at a level where customers buy their products and encourage others to do the same.
I've done it some myself as well.
I think the last 2 years proved that prices are mainly greed + customer’s willing to pay price. Literally everything the USA is overpriced based on fear that will be even more expansive.
I have no problem with Kodak still film business going under as long as they keep their cinema business.
Not proven to me.
So many businesses are just barely hanging on, knowing that if they try to pass on all their cost increases, they will lose even more business, and probably won't survive.
And from what I understand, Eastman Kodak's film division is included in that group.
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