Tri X

John cox · Oct 4, 2012

It's gotten to the point that I can't get the film I want by any means other than ordering online or spending hours hunting down rolls from stores with very little stock. When I finally find the film I need local stores charge charge about $7-$10 a roll. I'm also worried about Kodak discontinuing Tri X 400, my favourite in film still in production. For these reasons I'm thinking that it might be worthwhile to stockpile film.

Is it worth hoarding film? I'm considering buying about 100 (36xp) rolls online.

If this doesn't sound crazy (my friends think I'm nuts) what's a good place to order from? I usually buy from B&H but if there's some place cheaper that would be great to know.

Your thoughts would be great,
John

markbarendt · Oct 4, 2012

Not crazy.

100' bulk rolls are great as a stash.

EASmithV · Oct 4, 2012

Stockpiling isn't crazy. 100 rolls isn't even that big of a stockpile. I buy all my film online, and keep enough around that I don't run out waiting for it to come.

Also, try HP5+, it's similar to tri-x (some use it interchangeably although there are subtle differences)

Roger Cole · Oct 4, 2012

I've NEVER been able to buy most of my film locally. Even in the 70s and 80s I lived 20 miles from the nearest place to buy 120 film, farther from sheet film, and those were just the more popular emulsions. Now I live in a major metro area but film is not popular.

There's at least two places I'm aware of that carry at least some film in Atlanta proper (leaving out the consumer C41 35mm stuff you can still get at Wal Mart last I looked) but truth is, it's far more convenient for me to just order it off the Internet. I hate driving inside Atlanta proper anyway, hate parking there even more, and would gladly pay a premium to avoid it. Provided I plan a little in advance, and I have a large dorm fridge just for film, I get a selection of any film currently made online for prices that are better, even with shipping, than I'd get by taking an hour plus to brave the traffic and buying it in town.

Just order it. It's so much better, I'd never go back to buying it locally even if I COULD, unless I had nearly as good prices less than ten miles away, and unless you live close to B&H or Freestyle, that just isn't the reality anymore.

To be fair though, I don't know what the situation is like for Canadians.

Roger Cole · Oct 4, 2012

And I agree, 100 rolls isn't even remotely hoarding. I have no idea how many total rolls I have but I'm pretty sure it's more than that, though the most I have of any one emulsion is probably...20-30 rolls total of Tri-X between 35mm and 120 and not counting the bulk roll I'm still working my way through. I bought the bulk roll of Freestyle Premium, aka Tri-X, then started buying prepackaged rolls which are almost as cheap. Now I use the bulk loaded rolls when I plan Diafine and the preloads when I plan box speed, just to help keep them separate. I can also use the prepackaged rolls in the one camera I have that has DX coding (an Olympus Stylus zoom) though I rarely use that camera.

EASmithV · Oct 4, 2012

You mention processing... Black and white is dead simple to process (it's about as hard as doing the laundry once you get the reel loading down) and will definitely save you a bucket of money you can put to more film.

There's a wealth of information on this site, enough to drown in for the beginner. However, there have been several good articles and tutorials done by APUG members designed for the beginner.

MattKing · Oct 4, 2012

If you want to consider supporting a Canadian APUG Advertiser, Rob Skeoch sells film through his website:'s BigCameraWorkshops

Here is the film page: http://www.bigcameraworkshops.com/376442/film/

tkamiya · Oct 4, 2012

I thought about this.

I like Tmax100, 400, and Tri-X. I use all of them on 35mm and 120 and that's all I use at the moment. I *could* buy dozens of each and keep them but I decided to buy just enough for my current needs and buy what's available when I need to replenish my supply. There's no telling if Kodak products will be available but Fuji is resuming some of their B&W line and Ilford is always an option. I kind of prefer using currently available and fresh product, and buy from current manufacturer.

Personal decision, of course. If you like Tri-X so much, why not? 100 isn't all that much anyway.

Jeff Kubach · Oct 4, 2012

I buy all my film online. Cheaper and easier.

Jeff

NedL · Oct 4, 2012

There's also Arista Premium 400 in 100' bulk.

Roger Cole · Oct 4, 2012

NedL said:
There's also Arista Premium 400 in 100' bulk.

Unless you want to be able to load shorter rolls (which I do, as I often find 36 way too much) there's little reason to buy it though. It's $45.99 and 100' gets you about 18 rolls or $2.555 per roll. The prepackaged, DX-coded stuff is only $2.89. For that price difference I'd avoid the hassle of bulk loading every time, if it weren't for wanting shorter loads. The preloaded 24 exposure rolls are way more than 2/3s the price of 36, so for 24x load the bulk is a good savings.

jk0592 · Oct 4, 2012

Here in Montreal, I have two choices. Either I go to stores on the weekends, only to spend too much time in traffic, finding parking space. Then the store does not have what I want, 120 or 4x5, BW chemistry. Or, on Sunday night, a few clicks on B&H, I get what is needed, delivered at my door on wednesday. Low shipping costs, import duties and GST tax all taken care of on B&H website. Guess where my business goes...

I think hoarding, unless performed on a super scale bringing you the end of your statistical life expectancy, is useless. You are only introducing a (short) delay in the inevitable. Might as well adapt to current supplies and be happy with what is available.

summicron1 · Oct 5, 2012

this...

http://www.freestylephoto.biz/192364-Arista-Premium-BandW-400-ISO-35mm-x-36-exp.?cat_id=402

is tri-x.

no kidding.

order a couple of bricks and shoot away.

ctrentelman
ogden

John cox said:
It's gotten to the point that I can't get the film I want by any means other than ordering online or spending hours hunting down rolls from stores with very little stock. When I finally find the film I need local stores charge charge about $7-$10 a roll. I'm also worried about Kodak discontinuing Tri X 400, my favourite in film still in production. For these reasons I'm thinking that it might be worthwhile to stockpile film.

Is it worth hoarding film? I'm considering buying about 100 (36xp) rolls online.

If this doesn't sound crazy (my friends think I'm nuts) what's a good place to order from? I usually buy from B&H but if there's some place cheaper that would be great to know.

Your thoughts would be great,
John

benjiboy · Oct 5, 2012

I buy my film mainly on line, my local pro dealer only had in total about fifty rolls of film 120 and 135 in stock the last time I was there and when I asked if that was all they had they said " very few of our customers still use film, if you give us an order for reasonable amount we can get it for you", they quoted me some prices, I could get it considerably cheaper direct from Fuji U.K on line,but I didn't tell them that I have a good relationship with them and don't want to upset them

removed-user-1 · Oct 5, 2012

I have not hoarded film in the past but I am now building a supply of 100' rolls from Freestyle, including the Premium (Tri-x). Even got, direct from Kodak, a roll of 100' 16mm Double-xx for the spy camera. For 120 and sheet film I plan to buy a few bricks and boxes. All going in the freezer. I don't consider bulk loading a hassle.

ic-racer · Oct 5, 2012

John cox said:
It's gotten to the point that I can't get the film I want by any means other than ordering online or spending hours hunting down rolls from stores with very little stock.

In 1975 I could not find Tri-X in 120 for my Yashicamat. I had to stock up at the regional pro shop on a regular basis. With the advent of the internet, finding film is easier than it ever was, in my opinion.

DWThomas · Oct 5, 2012

I keep 3 to 10 rolls of a type on hand depending on my general use. And the normal basic delivery for me here outside of Philadelphia gets me deliveries from B&H in two days (and without burning gas). In my area there is very little 120 film around. Last I was in my local shop, they had some 35mm PX125, 24 exposures, for something like $8.99 a roll. I like Plus-X, but not that much!

ME Super · Oct 5, 2012

I have to agree, it's pretty easy to buy film online these days. Buy it Sunday night from B&H and it's delivered to my door on Wednesday. I usually buy several rolls at a time in order to spread the shipping cost out over several rolls (shipping is the same whether I buy 1 roll or 10 - I think the shipping cost goes up once I hit 13 rolls). Of course this drives my wife crazy because it's usually a $40+ order.

Now if I could just find someplace stateside that sells the Made-in-Japan Agfa Prescia so I could see how it looks. I got to shoot one roll of Sensia befofre it was discontinued and really like the colors. The flesh-colors were especially good with this film.

BradleyK · Oct 5, 2012

Roger Cole said:
I've NEVER been able to buy most of my film locally. Even in the 70s and 80s I lived 20 miles from the nearest place to buy 120 film, farther from sheet film, and those were just the more popular emulsions. Now I live in a major metro area but film is not popular.

There's at least two places I'm aware of that carry at least some film in Atlanta proper (leaving out the consumer C41 35mm stuff you can still get at Wal Mart last I looked) but truth is, it's far more convenient for me to just order it off the Internet. I hate driving inside Atlanta proper anyway, hate parking there even more, and would gladly pay a premium to avoid it. Provided I plan a little in advance, and I have a large dorm fridge just for film, I get a selection of any film currently made online for prices that are better, even with shipping, than I'd get by taking an hour plus to brave the traffic and buying it in town.

Just order it. It's so much better, I'd never go back to buying it locally even if I COULD, unless I had nearly as good prices less than ten miles away, and unless you live close to B&H or Freestyle, that just isn't the reality anymore.

To be fair though, I don't know what the situation is like for Canadians.

The situation is much the same up here: selection is generally poor and the prices typically run 50 to 75 per cent higher than those offered by B&H/Adorama/Freestyle and their peers. Even with shipping and taxes, for a sizeable order (I generally order 50 to 100 rolls-plus at a time) the savings (and convenience, of course) are substantial. As much as I would like to be able to do some shopping locally, I just do not have the time or inclination to chase after "a few rolls here, a few rolls there..."
,

Alan W · Oct 5, 2012

I bought 140 rolls of 120 tri-x from freestyle for $3.75 a roll at the tail end of last year,it all expires on 11/2013.It's in my freezer and should last 'til 2016 at the speed I shoot.When it runs out I'll order more-this easily beats all the driving around I used to do trying to fnd film before the internet era and it's still less than I used to pay in the 90's.Got it Good.

Nelson · Oct 5, 2012

Every time I hear of a film that I use being discontinued, I panic and stock up on it while it is still available. I did that with Velvia 50 a few years ago, then Plus-X and then CHS 50 more recently. I've discovered that I now have a fridge so full of film that I can't justify buying new films when they come out. I really want to support Adox when they release a new film, for instance, but I have enough stocks of old film that I can't justify buying more film until I use what I have. Basically even though I like a certain film, I always seem to find a new film that I also like, even if it is different from what I've been using.

kb3lms · Oct 5, 2012

Yeah, I believe the brick and mortar stores don't have much film because just about everyone that seriously uses film buys it online. The local CVS has Tri-X (ONLY place that has it) but it's $6.99+tax for a 24-exp roll. FWIW, other than food and maybe clothes, I find that few b&m stores have much of ANYTHING that I want to buy and it's much quicker and simpler to buy it online. Probably saves money in the end, too.

If you really like Tri-X and you're going to use it then there's no harm in stocking up. The freezer in my garage is filled with all sorts of films and paper and now I'm starting to take over the refrigerator side as well. No regrets. Kodak could (and just might!) die off tomorrow and I'd be shooting for at least 5 years to burn it all up.

NedL · Oct 5, 2012

Roger Cole said:
Unless you want to be able to load shorter rolls (which I do, as I often find 36 way too much) there's little reason to buy it though. It's $45.99 and 100' gets you about 18 rolls or $2.555 per roll. The prepackaged, DX-coded stuff is only $2.89. For that price difference I'd avoid the hassle of bulk loading every time, if it weren't for wanting shorter loads. The preloaded 24 exposure rolls are way more than 2/3s the price of 36, so for 24x load the bulk is a good savings.

Roger,
You're right about the cost of course. For me the 100' spools fit neatly in the my garage refrigerator and are easy to store that way. My refrigerator is a little one for storing seeds, and doesn't have much extra room in it. Also it gives me an irrational feeling of "safety" knowing there are a couple spools in there.

John cox · Oct 5, 2012

This is just what I wanted to hear. I'm also just about run out of 400 iso film so I'll need to place an order in the next few days regardless. Is the Arista Premium Identical to Tri X? Are there any downsides to it? It looks very appealing at that price.

Roger Cole · Oct 5, 2012

John cox said:
This is just what I wanted to hear. I'm also just about run out of 400 iso film so I'll need to place an order in the next few days regardless. Is the Arista Premium Identical to Tri X? Are there any downsides to it? It looks very appealing at that price.

It's Tri-X. The edge printing is different and says Arista, but it's clearly Tri-X. It behaves in Diafine just like Tri-X, which no other film I've ever tried does. (Many work well, but Tri-X seems to get the most effective film speed increase.)

Tri X

Moderator

removed-user-1

Privacy & Transparency

Privacy & Transparency