Author Topic: Colour film,,,,expensive to use???  (Read 1571 times)

sausage100uk

  • 120
  • **
  • Posts: 173
Colour film,,,,expensive to use???
« on: July 14, 2007, 09:25:58 PM »
I have just bought a film scanner (Acer Scanwit 2720) so now i can shoot colour film (E6 & C41) and scan/print at home. I happened to wander into the Lidls in Brighton today to have a poke about while i was on shift and what do I see before me??? Fujicolour 200 twinpacks of 36 exp 135..... ?0.99   <50p a roll....for branded film...apparently Fuji are producng this film specifically for Lidl. I have seen some example pic on the Net and it gets good reviews. Tescos will do Dev only for .99p overnight....and will print digi prints for 5p a go (>150). so for a 36 exp colour film 50p+99p+180p = ?3.29 for film, dev & 36 prints!!!   not that anyone uses film any more  all the more for me
God created Paramedics so Firemen could have heroes...

Yaniv Waissa

  • 120
  • **
  • Posts: 164
  • My photographic journey
    • http://www.waissa.com
Re: Colour film,,,,expensive to use???
« Reply #1 on: July 15, 2007, 05:51:34 AM »
You're so lucky! In Israel the situation is opposite. The prices for color negatives stay the say, also the prices for the developing and printing. Digital prints are cheaper and in a big order (100 prints and more....), the price is lower and lower
The problem is with slides and b&w films. It became more hard to get, more expensive and some of the labs closed

I think it time to redevelop b&w films at home and maybe buy E6 developer.....
The Storm Still Rages Inside

Francois

  • Self-Coat
  • *****
  • Posts: 15,761
Re: Colour film,,,,expensive to use???
« Reply #2 on: July 15, 2007, 11:14:22 PM »
Here, in Canada, things can get weird when it comes to prices.
Film processing at my local grocery store is 3.99$ for 24 exp. including 1 set of prints.
At the same store, I bought packs of Kodak Gold on liquidation at 4.22$ a pack of 3 rolls (200 and 400iso)
Yet, at the same place, I raided their short expiry bin and found a ton of film that will expire next October for 3.22$. These last rolls are a real steal since they are processing included. I suspect they are made by Fuji (just guessing by looking at the can they come in). That means I make 77? every time I shoot a film :) Lets just say my freezer is getting full. At -20?C, it should pretty well keep forever!

But, on the other hand, I recently bought rolls of 120 film... that's a whole other thing. Fuji Pro 160S sells for 7.99$... yikes!
They do have a Fuji Frontier machine with the clamshell at my local grocery store which could process the film... only they won't do the job so I have to go to a another lab. A local lab will process the film for only 10.99$... The other choices I have are to either drive 45 minutes of congested highway to bring it into a lab that will do it in 24 hours for 6.99$... or drive 45 minutes into heavy downtown traffic to bring it to the place where I bought the film to get it processed for 6.99$ again.

A very annoying situation since they all don't include any prints... which means I will have to scan the film and get it printed at... my local grocery store for 19? a print. It is a steal when you consider they all charge 1.25$ per print elsewhere.

So, 14.98$ for 12 pictures and no prints... quite expensive. Especially since I haven't counted in the 14.5% tax...

B&W can also be a rip-off. I found a Canadian company that sells eastern European film and Chinese emulsions. Price looks great at about 1.50$ per roll. Only problem, their warehouse is in the USA... and it costs 20$ shipping to bring the rolls here... and that's not including the hidden Fed-Ex 50$ customs brokerage fees you have to pay on the spot when you receive the box... 71.50$ for a single roll of cheap Chinese film... I guess I'll keep facing the traffic jams in town for that price!
Francois

Film is the vinyl record of photography.

sausage100uk

  • 120
  • **
  • Posts: 173
Re: Colour film,,,,expensive to use???
« Reply #3 on: July 16, 2007, 12:47:36 PM »
If you are talking about the ERA & shanghai films there is a guy on ebay who will post direct from Taiwan. I got 20 roll (10 35mm &10 120) for the equivalent of ?1.02 inc postage.
God created Paramedics so Firemen could have heroes...

Francois

  • Self-Coat
  • *****
  • Posts: 15,761
Re: Colour film,,,,expensive to use???
« Reply #4 on: July 16, 2007, 03:27:07 PM »
Shanghai film it is... just not from Taiwan but from the FrugalPhotographer.com
Lets just say it ain't no frugal pricing to me...

(yes, everything that is shipped via courier is ridiculously overpriced in Canada)
Francois

Film is the vinyl record of photography.