Supporting Dedicated Brands

[Poisson Du Jour]

and hoarding large quantities of a particular film might just speed up it's demise

Absolutely true. This is the worst thing people can do (and still harp on about here on Photrio as a panacea against future gloom). It really does put manufacturers in a bad place.

 

[Craig]

You have to pay for Forex? .

Quite common in Canada, I'm not aware of a Canadian card that doesn't add a surcharge. Mine is the Visa exchange rate +2.5%

 

[Sirius Glass]

You have to pay for Forex? Wow....most US cards cover that cost. I lived in China for 6 years and didn't pay 1 penny of currency conversion costs, despite charging thousands upon thousands of dollars. B & H also pays all shipping costs in the US at a much lower price point, $25 or $30 which I hit easily.

Quite common in Canada, I'm not aware of a Canadian card that doesn't add a surcharge. Mine is the Visa exchange rate +2.5%

I have to pay a surcharge on my credit cards when I leave the US. Part of doing business.

 

[RalphLambrecht]

I'm wondering what people think about supporting certain brands that show dedication to film photography rather than purchasing from cheaper brands that likely won't be around for the duration. It may be easier to illustrate with an example than to explain it. Ilford is a company that has shown commitment to film photography throughout the years. However, you can buy film from some other brands at a considerably cheaper price on a regular basis. Do you pay the additional amount to support a company that is likely to be around until the end, or do you buy the cheaper film from a company that we'll say likely won't be in it for the long haul? Such is the dilemma that I'm in. I'd appreciate everyone's thoughts.

I support Ilford because, I like their products.

 

[Theo Sulphate]

For many decades I relied on Kodak film and enjoyed their product information and general guides. They had three of the all-time great films: Kodachrome, Kodak High Speed Infrared, and Tech Pan. ...

I share that feeling and I'll add the current Ektar film.

Primarily I use Kodak, Ilford, and Fuji but will buy other brands at times to experiment with the look.

I'd love a true orthochromatic film to experiment with now.

 

[Craig]

I'd love a true orthochromatic film to experiment with now.

Ilford makes one.

 

[Theo Sulphate]

Ilford makes one.

Thanks - I'd seen that before and found a few threads on it.

 

[Ces1um]

Absolutely true. This is the worst thing people can do (and still harp on about here on Photrio as a panacea against future gloom). It really does put manufacturers in a bad place.

This is the first time that I've heard hoarding film affects manufacturers. Could someone explain how it hurts these companies for me? On the face of it I'd think companies would benefit from someone having made a large purchase but obviously I'm missing something in the equation.

 

[BrianShaw]

This is the first time that I've heard hoarding film affects manufacturers. Could someone explain how it hurts these companies for me? On the face of it I'd think companies would benefit from someone having made a large purchase but obviously I'm missing something in the equation.

I think that theory is the difference between a huge burst of demand and sales income now with none for a while versus a continuous income and demand stream.

 

[Ces1um]

I think that theory is the difference between a huge burst of demand and sales income now with none for a while versus a continuous income and demand stream.

I can't see how one person who decides to buy a bunch of film could really cause a "huge burst" in sales. Even if that person bought 500 rolls it would only cause a blip in their overall worldwide sales. There's got to be more to the story. Plus, anybody who is stockpiling to future proof themselves against a possible product cancellation would likely buy a lot, freeze it, and then continue to buy more to use day to day. That way their "doomsday stash" isn't getting depleted while the company is still producing it for the moment. There's got to be more to that thought process.

 

[BrianShaw]

... the rest of the story... I’m waiting to hear it too...

 

[RattyMouse]

Quite common in Canada, I'm not aware of a Canadian card that doesn't add a surcharge. Mine is the Visa exchange rate +2.5%

Wow, that's awful. I didn't realize people still payed for Forex. At least two of my credit cards cover 100% of any currency costs during transactions.

 

[baachitraka]

Support for APX 100, Fomapan 200 and HP5+ 400.

 

[Cholentpot]

This is the first time that I've heard hoarding film affects manufacturers. Could someone explain how it hurts these companies for me? On the face of it I'd think companies would benefit from someone having made a large purchase but obviously I'm missing something in the equation.

Seems to be a common thought here. People have a very high opinion of their purchasing power, forgetting that a film shoot goes through a roll of film every second. A film shoot uses more film in an hour than you'll shoot in 5 years if not 10.

It's not us, the guys who buy film from the shop who keep these companies going. It's walgreens, walmart, cvs, etc and etc who buy the film whether or not they sell. Walgreens throws out or sends back more film each month than you can imagine. We the end users are a drop in the bucket for likes of Kodak and Fuji. The smaller guys are more nimble so our purchasing means more to them.

 

[RattyMouse]

Seems to be a common thought here. People have a very high opinion of their purchasing power, forgetting that a film shoot goes through a roll of film every second. A film shoot uses more film in an hour than you'll shoot in 5 years if not 10.

It's not us, the guys who buy film from the shop who keep these companies going. It's walgreens, walmart, cvs, etc and etc who buy the film whether or not they sell. Walgreens throws out or sends back more film each month than you can imagine. We the end users are a drop in the bucket for likes of Kodak and Fuji. The smaller guys are more nimble so our purchasing means more to them.

Walgreens, CVS, Target.....all stopped carrying 35mm film years ago by me. I was in a Meier this weekend and the Kodak Printing Station (with 3 large printers) was all shut down, starting Jan. 1st of this year. Even the digital folks can't keep people employed. No one prints anymore.

 

[Cholentpot]

Walgreens, CVS, Target.....all stopped carrying 35mm film years ago by me. I was in a Meier this weekend and the Kodak Printing Station (with 3 large printers) was all shut down, starting Jan. 1st of this year. Even the digital folks can't keep people employed. No one prints anymore.

Charging .25 a print is not going to get the masses to print their cell phone shots. Have cheaper smaller prints and maybe the market will respond. 4x6 is nice but phones are almost that big these days. Why print when you can share your photo with 1,000 people in a second?

 

[MattKing]

Most of the retailers around here would find that their film sales numbers would be seriously skewed if you ordered 500 rolls of film at one time.
Which would seriously skew their relationship with the distributors - who most likely would have trouble filling the order at any time in the near future.
The Canadian photographic film distribution system is at the edge of collapse because there is so little film being purchased by end users. And the reasons for those low purchase numbers are high prices and lack of availability, both of which flow from the condition of the Canadian photographic film distribution system.
If ten people each buy 10 rolls of film a month for 5 months, it has a greater positive effect on film than one purchase of 500 rolls does.

 

[MattKing]

Walgreens throws out or sends back more film each month than you can imagine.

Up here, all the versions of Walgreens we have no longer sell film, because they can't send it back if they don't sell it.
And down in the USA Walgreens doesn't send it back to Kodak, because Kodak doesn't sell to anyone except distributors.
Once Kodak has sold it to the independent distributors, they have no further dealings with it.
I expect it is the same with Fuji.
In many ways the problems with the industry don't originate with the manufacturer, they originate with the distribution system. The manufacturers have had to offload distribution responsibilities, because volumes are too low for the manufacturers to attend to distribution themselves.

 

[Bob Carnie]

Up here, all the versions of Walgreens we have no longer sell film, because they can't send it back if they don't sell it.
And down in the USA Walgreens doesn't send it back to Kodak, because Kodak doesn't sell to anyone except distributors.
Once Kodak has sold it to the independent distributors, they have no further dealings with it.
I expect it is the same with Fuji.
In many ways the problems with the industry don't originate with the manufacturer, they originate with the distribution system. The manufacturers have had to offload distribution responsibilities, because volumes are too low for the manufacturers to attend to distribution themselves.

I see the day where the manufacturers will have to deal with this..

 

[Craig]

The Canadian photographic film distribution system is at the edge of collapse because there is so little film being purchased by end users. And the reasons for those low purchase numbers are high prices and lack of availability, both of which flow from the condition of the Canadian photographic film distribution system.

I know what you mean. I recently ordered some Ilford Ortho film. Had to be special ordered by the store from the distributor (Amplis in this case). After I got home I looked closer at the film, and the expiry date is Sept 2014, i.e 3 years out of date when I bought it! Obviously a slow seller in 8x10.

 

[RattyMouse]

Charging .25 a print is not going to get the masses to print their cell phone shots. Have cheaper smaller prints and maybe the market will respond. 4x6 is nice but phones are almost that big these days. Why print when you can share your photo with 1,000 people in a second?

How about for posterity? I have photos from when my day was 5 years old in 1945. I doubt phone photos will be around in 75 years.

 

[RattyMouse]

Up here, all the versions of Walgreens we have no longer sell film,

In the US I have not seen a Walgreens that sells or processes film in YEARS.

 

[Cholentpot]

How about for posterity? I have photos from when my day was 5 years old in 1945. I doubt phone photos will be around in 75 years.

Not disagreeing. I'd love to print more, I more or less stopped printing when Costco shut their film depo. Now I print in the darkroom occasionally.

In the US I have not seen a Walgreens that sells or processes film in YEARS.

Walgreens still sells Fuji as does Walmart. I've not seen Kodak on shelves in years, Maybe CVS carries some Gold 200. I know many places that carry the disposable cameras through...

 

[Sirius Glass]

I support Ilford because, I like their products.

Same for me and I add Kodak to my list. I cannot support all brands properly so I choose to support two.

 

[Ces1um]

The Canadian photographic film distribution system is at the edge of collapse because there is so little film being purchased by end users. And the reasons for those low purchase numbers are high prices and lack of availability, both of which flow from the condition of the Canadian photographic film distribution system.

Oh, I respectfully disagree with this statement. Even if it cost $1 for film and another $1 to develop it, it's still $2 more plus time and effort on Joe public's part over their iphone. Film is dying not from cost and availability. It's because iphones have made it cheaper and easier to take a photo. Even if the film industry "right sized" itself, the only people buying film are die-hards like us and a few movie studios. Both of which are willing to pay the price for film because they want film.
That being said, I do think there's hope. I've run into more film shooters this last month than I have in the past four years. People out in the field with a film camera, using it. This absolutely flabbergasted me because frankly, I thought I was the last one left in Nova Scotia given the complete absence of film shooters out in the open.