status of 220 manufacture?

[cmacd123]

APUG Advertiser Freestyle Photo posted on Facebook:

"5 January at 12:53 ‪#‎Kodak‬ has officially discontinued ‪#‎Portra220‬ ‪#‎film‬. We have VERY limited stock."

Is this the final word for 220 everywhere?

 

[benjiboy]

I have no idea of the manufacturing status I suggest you ask the manufacturer, but B&H in the U.S are still selling 220 portra and 220 Fuji 400 H, I suggest you stock up on it if you like it I don't think it will be around for much longer.

 

[Ken Nadvornick]

Wonder what will become of the 220 finishing machine(s)?

Ken

 

[Pioneer]

I suspect that this was inevitable. Kodak Alaris has been discontinuing several films that haven't been performing up to their wishes. I doubt that 220 has been rushing off the shelves, particularly since the price for Kodak 220 is almost exactly double the price of Kodak 120 in the same emulsion.

Although it is nice to be able to get 32 shots before having to change a roll, for me it is only a convenience factor. I hope Fuji keeps it around but their history as of late has not been very encouraging either.

Now I am a little worried for the continued production of 120 color roll films of any kind. The timing for Ferrania may be better than anyone anticipated. A color film producer who is capable of producing at lower volumes may end up the survivor here.

 

[Chrismat]

I just purchased a pro pack of Kodak Portra 160 220 (although I actually meant to order the 400 version, oh well) from B&H. I really like 220. I hope Ferrania offers its new film in 220, but I'm grateful for any medium format film.

 

[Sirius Glass]

A number of times in the last nine years I looked for 220 films that I would want to use. I could not find a wide enough selection of 220 films to justify the use of 220 film even though my Mamiya C330 supported 220 use. When I switched to the Hasselblad system, it was even harder to justify the cost of 220 film backs. I lost all interest in using 220 films. I am sure that others came to the same conclusion. These observations were made in Popular Photography and Modern Photography in the early 1960s when 220 format first became available.

One would think that if the wide spread market for the 220 market was desired by film manufacturers that the film manufacturers would have expanded to selection of 220 products. They never took so those steps so they must have had good reasons even back then.

I am not surprised of the 220 format decline and demise, however I am surprised it took so long.

 

[benjiboy]

A number of times in the last nine years I looked for 220 films that I would want to use. I could not find a wide enough selection of 220 films to justify the use of 220 film even though my Mamiya C330 supported 220 use. When I switched to the Hasselblad system, it was even harder to justify the cost of 220 film backs. I lost all interest in using 220 films. I am sure that others came to the same conclusion. These observations were made in Popular Photography and Modern Photography in the early 1960s when 220 format first became available.

One would think that if the wide spread market for the 220 market was desired by film manufacturers that the film manufacturers would have expanded to selection of 220 products. They never took so those steps so they must have had good reasons even back then.

I am not surprised of the 220 format decline and demise, however I am surprised it took so long.

My Mamiya C330F can use 220 film too, and in nearly thirty years I've owned it I've never shot even one roll of it, even when I used to shoot weddings.

 

[rbultman]

There is a widespread market for film? I thought it was all niche?

I wish I could get B&W in 220. It would mean 16 shots on a roll instead of 8. IMO it is strictly about convenience, as has been commented. I'd like to spend less time loading film and more time exposing it.

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

 

[trythis]

It seems like it was 3 times the price of 120. Color lab here charges the same for both but no savings when film is 3x price. I have 20 or 30 rolls of expired 220 that I am trying to use up. Guess I will lookfor deals on ebay.

 

[Sirius Glass]

It seems like it was 3 times the price of 120.

I had that plus the color lab wanted extra money of handling the 220 processing.

 

[Xmas]

My Mamiya C330F can use 220 film too, and in nearly thirty years I've owned it I've never shot even one roll of it, even when I used to shoot weddings.

I'm impressed the 220 was only used by the wedding and girly mag photogs.
The C330s were easy to reload but I never liked to load film in pressure situation in sun shine.

 

[Roger Cole]

The price recently has been more than double that of 120. I did get a 220 insert for my M645 Pro (my Yashicamat 124 can, of course, use it) mainly because I got a bunch of 220 film including Agfa Optima 400 and, yay, nine rolls of Astia I still have, in a box o' film purchase. I've shot a couple of rolls of the Optima and it was fine (cold stored, supposedly - whatever, it's fine.) I think I paid $17 for the 220 insert from KEH so it was worth it just to shoot that film.

But it really doesn't have much appeal for me. 15 shots in my M645 or 12 in my Yashica are just about ideal. 30 is too many, or would be without the interchangeable backs. I can imagine times I might like 24 shots in the Yashica, especially since it's slower to load than a 645 insert (or swapping backs.) But it just isn't a big deal. Those shooting 6x7 or, more so, 6x9 cameras would have more use for it of course.

I suspect the biggest use for it was probably wedding shooters. Since so few weddings are shot on film now, and the few that are most likely are shot with cameras with quickly interchanged backs, I too am surprised it lasted this long.

 

[Ricardo Miranda]

There's plenty of 220 films still available here: http://www.filmsnotdead.com/

320TXP, FP4+ and HP5+ all in 220.

 

[mnemosyne]

There's plenty of 220 films still available here: http://www.filmsnotdead.com/

320TXP, FP4+ and HP5+ all in 220.

Expired film, yes. And depending on your definition of "plenty".

 

[railwayman3]

My Mamiya C330F can use 220 film too, and in nearly thirty years I've owned it I've never shot even one roll of it, even when I used to shoot weddings.

I'm afraid that I'm the same, I've had my Yashica 124G for 30+ years and used just one 5-pack of 220 films many years ago. So I guess that I can't grumble when it's discontinued.
I suppose that the extra shots per roll are no great benefit to me, there's no financial saving, and I've never got round to buying a 220 reel and tank.

 

[trythis]

As to having too many shots at 32, I prefer it in my ga645. The extra frames make it feel like I am shooting 135 and take away the pressure to make every shot count.
Snapshots in medium format! Whee!

 

[Xmas]

I'm afraid that I'm the same, I've had my Yashica 124G for 30+ years and used just one 5-pack of 220 films many years ago. So I guess that I can't grumble when it's discontinued.
I suppose that the extra shots per roll are no great benefit to me, there's no financial saving, and I've never got round to buying a 220 reel and tank.

220 will load on to a normal Patterson reel and into a Universal tank (if you can load 120 on to a reel)...

 

[railwayman3]

220 will load on to a normal Patterson reel and into a Universal tank (if you can load 120 on to a reel)...

Thanks (realising that a universal reel would also need to take a full length of 35mm )...I'm using S/S reels at the moment, so the 120 size will only take that length.

 

[Xmas]

Expired film, yes. And depending on your definition of "plenty".

Picky picky there is not any fresh 220 in mono.

Kodak stopped 320/220 about 2009 with an expiry of 01/2011, (from wholesaler after termination announcement), the film I bought from 'not dead' had expiry of 04/2006.

If it has been stored reasonably mono keeps a long time. Not tried any yet cause it is not my oldest 120/220 film.

They also have Plus-x in 120 though I neither bought any nor inquired about expiry.

Noel

 

[AgX]

Fuji has re-introduced C-41 film "pro400" as type 220 conversion as limited batch:

(there was a url link here which no longer exists)

 

[Ricardo Miranda]

Expired film, yes. And depending on your definition of "plenty".

They're not selling them as "hot cakes" do.
So, yes there's plenty left overs. That shouldn't be like that.

Noel
If I remember well, Plus-X was expired, maybe 2010-11. Might be mistaken.
I think she still is selling them.

 

[benjiboy]

I'm impressed the 220 was only used by the wedding and girly mag photogs.
The C330s were easy to reload but I never liked to load film in pressure situation in sun shine.

I had 2 bodies and found it easy during a lull in the proceedings to reload the empty one, I could do this in a few seconds because I trained myself to do it instinctively by practising in the dark constantly the way I had learned in the military to clear blockages at night in the Bren light machine gun, it's more than twenty years since I shot my last wedding but I can still do it without looking at the camera.

 

[Pioneer]

I had 2 bodies and found it easy during a lull in the proceedings to reload the empty one, I could do this in a few seconds because I trained myself to do it instinctively by practising in the dark constantly the way I had learned in the military to clear blockages at night in the Bren light machine gun, it's more than twenty years since I shot my last wedding but I can still do it without looking at the camera.

Which one? Clear the blockage in a Bren or load the back of your medium format camera?

 

[benjiboy]

Which one? Clear the blockage in a Bren or load the back of your medium format camera?

In the Bren, but it could apply to both of them

 

[Roger Cole]

As to having too many shots at 32, I prefer it in my ga645. The extra frames make it feel like I am shooting 135 and take away the pressure to make every shot count.
Snapshots in medium format! Whee!

Well to each their own. I can certainly imagine times when it's a good thing. And it's not a BAD thing in my Mamiya because I have the interchangeable backs. It's really in 35mm where I find 36 quite annoying because I seem to frequently have the "wrong" film still in the body. The answer, of course, is multiple bodies. I have an LX and an MX. My K1000 seemed to drop some foam or something right on the microprism spot and I need to get it cleaned at least before I can use it. I have more backs for my 645 than functioning 35mm bodies right now.

The "pressure to make every shot count" is one of the best quality-increasing factors in photography. I think everyone should go out occasionally with one roll of 120 or, better yet, a view camera and about six sheets of film. Frame a lot, trip the shutter on a few and really look first.