Slide film on a budget

Markok765 · Jul 19, 2006

I cant afford the 12 dollars a roll for pro velvia. i am now buying sensia, non-pro film(8 dollars which is quite reaonable, considering a roll of tri-x is 6 dollars CND where i buy my films) so for you canadians, in your local store(not B and H) what is the cheapest slide film?

Photo Engineer · Jul 19, 2006

Markok765 said:
I cant afford the 12 dollars a roll for pro velvia. i am now buying sensia, non-pro film(8 dollars which is quite reaonable, considering a roll of tri-x is 6 dollars CND where i buy my films) so for you canadians, in your local store(not B and H) what is the cheapest slide film?

You get what you pay for.

PE

Markok765 · Jul 19, 2006

is sensia ok though? what is the saturation compared to the great velvia?

Photo Engineer · Jul 19, 2006

Markok765 said:
is sensia ok though? what is the saturation compared to the great velvia?

I personally cannot comment, but I can state that cheap and inexpensive are two different things. You have to be careful of what you buy. You can get something that you don't want.

I would say that EK or Fuji products are quite good, but outside of that for color products you are taking a gamble.

PE

Markok765 · Jul 19, 2006

On the data sheet, it says: minumal color bias: sharply reducing the need for color filters. does that mean the photos i take at sunset will be less golden?

Paul Sorensen · Jul 20, 2006

Photo Engineer said:
I personally cannot comment, but I can state that cheap and inexpensive are two different things. You have to be careful of what you buy. You can get something that you don't want.

I would say that EK or Fuji products are quite good, but outside of that for color products you are taking a gamble.

PE

Sensia is a Fuji consumer slide film. I think it is just fine, althought I generally shoot Velvia. I am sure that the quality is just fine and it is a good choice for someone on a budget who would rather shoot almost twice as much for the same amount of money.

sienarot · Jul 20, 2006

Markok765 said:
I cant afford the 12 dollars a roll for pro velvia. i am now buying sensia, non-pro film(8 dollars which is quite reaonable, considering a roll of tri-x is 6 dollars CND where i buy my films) so for you canadians, in your local store(not B and H) what is the cheapest slide film?

Have you ever considered buying expired film off eBay? The only colour shooting I do is with slide and probably 80% of what I use or have used is expired and bought off eBay. So far 100% success. I've even used film that expired back in 1996 a couple months ago and no problems. As long as it's been kept refridgerated/frozen, you should be fine. Downside is that expired film is usually sold in bulk loads (ie: 20, 30, maybe 40 rolls), but even then it sometimes works out to be as cheap as $2-4 a roll even after shipping.

Just something to consider.

PhotoJim · Jul 20, 2006

Sensia is a good film.

Why not order from B&H? You can get 20 rolls of Velvia shipped overnight for about $125 Canadian. That's $6.25 a roll. It's a bit more per roll if you buy a smaller quantity but it will still be cheaper.

As for black and white (since you mentioned it), get a used bulk film loader for $20, some film cartridges and a spool of whatever film you like. You can get bulk film for $40 for 100' and that will make you 19 rolls of 36.

Thomas Bertilsson · Jul 20, 2006

I don't know if it's still available, but Konica used to make a 35mm slide film, CR-100 or similar, which I used and liked. Fuji Sensia isn't bad either, but I remember paying three bucks per roll, and the results were consistent.
It is true, however, that you get what you pay for. Kodak Elite Chrome is another good consumer film, but maybe not as neutral in its colors as the Sensia or the Konica.

- Thom

removed account4 · Jul 20, 2006

you might also try hunt photo.
they have short date chrome film
and their prices are good ...

L Gebhardt · Jul 20, 2006

Sensia used to be, and probably still is, the consumer version of Astia. It is a great all around slide film. Perfect if you have people in your shots. Provia or Velvia are better choices for nature and landscapes in my opinion, but Sensia is a great film. I used to shoot a lot of it when I still used 35mm for most shots.

Dave Parker · Jul 20, 2006

Sensia is a good film, but not very saturated, its color bias is more neutral than both provia and velvia, if you want to shoot sensia and have warmer sunsets you might try and 81a or 81b filter, that will warm it a bit.....

Dave

frugal · Jul 20, 2006

In the past when I saw speculations over which pro film Sensia was closest to one of the more convincing arguments was to look at the film code, Sensia 100 is RA, Astia 100F is RAP100F, sounds like it's the consumer version of Astia and that it may not have the fine grain of the 100F (not sure about that).

I seem to recall that the older Sensia II was based off of Provia. I'd have to go back and look at the slides I have on that film to check for sure.

Regardless, I can definitely say that Sensia is nowhere near the saturation you'll get with Velvia. Having shot Velvia 50, Provia, Sensia II and Sensia I'd say that it's more muted than Provia, probably like Astia but as I haven't shot it I can't say for certain.

srs5694 · Jul 20, 2006

Photo Engineer said:
I would say that EK or Fuji products are quite good, but outside of that for color products you are taking a gamble.

Are there any other options in color slide film any more? Agfa used to make slide film, of course, but supplies seem to have dried up -- neither B&H nor Freestyle shows Agfa color slide film as being available any more, although B&H has Agfa Scala B&W slide film.

MattCarey · Jul 20, 2006

A year or so back freestyle had bulk rolls of velvia for something like $20. Might be worth checking from time to time.

Matt

BruceN · Jul 20, 2006

I have a boatload of expired Sensia 100 that I bought on feebay for around $1.25 a roll. It was labeled as "Photo Porst 100" for a German retailer. The seller stated that it was always kept refrigerated and I've never had any trouble with it. The best color saturation with Sensia 100 (with my equipment) is achieved by underexposing it about half a stop. I shoot it at 160. I use that film for all of my "snapshot" type slides, all of my "serious" stuff goes on Velvia or Provia. Actually most of the stuff I shoot anymore goes on Ilford films, but I still do a little color now and then.

Bruce

Nick Zentena · Jul 20, 2006

Watch Ebay. A few years back I got 100' of fresh Velvia for something like $5. Boxes of Kodak 4x5 for not much money. I bought a Kiev body for $50 and the guy threw in 30 rolls of just out of code film. Can you count on just bidding and winning when you need film? No. But you watch and waste some time bidding. Just remember to bid low and factor in shipping.

Paul Howell · Jul 20, 2006

As far as I can tell only Fuji and Kodak market slide film in North America. There may be Chinese or Russian slide film available as well in some parts of the world. So the only cheap slide film on the market may be lots expired film.

Markok765 · Jul 22, 2006

Dave Parker said:
Sensia is a good film, but not very saturated, its color bias is more neutral than both provia and velvia, if you want to shoot sensia and have warmer sunsets you might try and 81a or 81b filter, that will warm it a bit.....

Dave

Yes! I just bought a tiffen 81b from the 70s. the outlet store bought another photo store and i selling filters for cheap! i got a hoya uv0 for 5 dollars CND

Iskra 2 · Jul 22, 2006

What's wrong with Kodachrome? The processing delay is the only downside and the results are more than worth it. Can't be that hard to get stuff back and forth from Canada to Dwayne's and his film prices are very competitive. As noted earlier, you get what you pay for. Regards.

battra92 · Jul 22, 2006

Photo Engineer said:
You get what you pay for.

PE

Sometimes, but not always. Your mileage may vary but a lot of times I can do just fine with Elite Chrome. It's relatively inexpensive and I like it.

Some may also suggest learning to develop it yourself to save on costs but since I don't do that, I can't help you.

Petzi · Jul 22, 2006

Photo Engineer said:
I would say that EK or Fuji products are quite good, but outside of that for color products you are taking a gamble.

EK and Fuji are the only manufacturers of color slide film at this time. Some Agfachrome is still in the market, but that is good film also.

Slide film on a budget

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