Topic: Derbyshire film photographers please take note

[chris667]

Dents might be closing.

If you haven't been, Dents is a really, really good photography shop in the centre of Chesterfield, which is still committed to film. They've been trading since 1903, but in their own words, use them or lose them.

They can still develop film in house, and will process only C41 for £2 a roll, and have cheaper Ilford XP2 (£6/36exp) and generic Kodak colour print film(£3/36exp) than you can buy anywhere on the Internet. They are cheaper and better than any online shop and I will be really sad if they go. Really knowledgeable too, and the first choice of many local professional photographers.

https://www.derbyshiretimes.co.uk/news/use-it-or-lose-it-is-well-known-chesterfield-family-business-facing-closure-after-more-than-100-years-in-town-1-8999739

[cs1]

It'd be really sad if they closed. I went to that shop to stock up on slide film during our Peak District holiday and they are really nice people.

[chris667]

I went down there today.

It looked very sad. I think they're running the stock down. I bought the only rolls of XP2 they had in stock. Apart from rollfilm. Saying that, the kid who served me didn't know what rollfilm was.

[Nigel]

It's such a shame, but I don't what the answer is for local camera shops. Sadly all the business has gone online, I can't think of a camera shop with 10 miles of where I live.

[Francois]

Me neither. There is one about 30 minutes away that still sells film, but don't offer processing either on site or otherwise. Very convenient of them.
We used to have one closer that had a tiny stock of digi stuff. They closed down.
There is a photo shop in the next town who now specialize in digital printing and color copies. No film love there.
I heard that the big lab who used to serve the local drugstores has stopped developing film altogether, but I'll have to check on that.
There is still a few big shops in Montreal that still offer processing and sell film, but the traffic and endless repairs are such a pain in the backseat that I seldom go there anymore. Last time took me 1:30 just to reach the bridge's entrance.

[02Pilot]

Our local shop shut down a few years ago now. The one thing they had that online couldn't compete with was expertise, but they never capitalized on it. When you've got a shop with decades of experience in the staff lying untapped, and a marketplace of people with $1000+ DSLRs who never take them off Program, you're missing an opportunity. Doesn't do much for the film side of things, but it might keep the doors open while encouraging more interest in photography in general.

[Francois]

People never take their cameras off P mode because everybody knows that it stands for Professional on these cameras

[Bryan]

I have a camera store within a few miles of my house that sells film, darkroom supplies and used cameras.  They also process film but I'm not sure if they do that in house or send it out.  I admit I don't use them enough, I should go there more often to support them.  The bulk of their sales are digital and professional lighting and equipment.  They do sell over the internet so that may be part of what keeps them afloat.  They just recently moved into a new larger retail space. 

http://www.kenmorecamera.com/

If I wan't to fight traffic into Seattle there's Glazer's, they have an impressive stock of film and darkroom supplies.  That's where I get Rodinal since it's hard to get it shipped to my house. 

http://www.glazerscamera.com/film-darkroom

Even my local drug store stocks Fujifilm X-Tra 400 in 24 exposure rolls, I always watch for it to go on sale.  Otherwise they charge too much for it. 

It is sad to think of all the camera stores that have disappeared around here, there used to be a lot of competition.   

[Francois]

There's always a time when you get that sad moment where your favorite place stops processing.
First there was the grocery store lab with it's almost brand new Frontier machines. Then was Walmart... Not the best in town but the cheapest for a while.

[chris667]

Sadly, I think you're right regarding not capitalising on what they do well. You are right. There are literally decades of experience sat behind the counter. No mail order, no decent website. I would have liked to have seen them offering courses. They expected everything to stay the same.

Ultimately, I notice that they have a lot of people sat around not doing very much at any given point in a day. Sad, but that's the way it goes. I guess I'll just have to buy my film somewhere else and pay a bit more money.