Film and Where You Live Availability

[holmes]

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Saw a message from a photographer in Norway who said, "film was almost unavailable". Others have lamented the demise of Astia and Sensia. This prompted me to do a little checking here in the States. First I checked NYC's B&H photo center. Their site listed page after page of film. Since I also shoot 120 MF, I wanted to see the availability condition. Now I realize that many contributors are from various countries, and that availability will vary. For those of us in the US, B&H for example had page after page listing among others, Astia and Sensia. MF rolls were also available. I only checked B&H. I don't work for them nor receive a financial stipend. I'm sure the other major dealers in NYC are also carrying the majority of films and formats. And if you're really desperate contact me and I'll sell you (at very high cost) some single rolls Sensia or Astia from my freezer.

[Michael Hiles]

Here in Montreal I can easily get Ilford, Kodak and Fuji film, but mainly at a photo specialty store. European films - don't know. I might have to drive into the city (I live in the suburbs) Most drug stores will have some Kodak and perhaps Fuji consumer level colour negative film. I use XP2 in not very great volumes. I buy 5-10 rolls at a time. So availability is not an issue in urban Canada.

[andybarton]

Where Europe leads, the North American continent will surely follow

 

Film choice at sensible prices us pretty much a mail order thing now, unless you are lucky enough to live near the shop that does the mail ordering.

[Joachim123]

I order all mine on line. Most comes from Hong Kong. Cheaper, and they ship really fast. I order both 120 and 35mm. Plenty of choice.

 

Kodak Elite Chrome

Fuji Sensia

Fuji Provia

Agfa Precisia

 

All good quality slide films. I dont know about print film as I dont use any.

[}{B]

I do live near to a shop that does film mail order and for the moment my two films of choice Fuji Sensia and Ilford XP2 are readily available. When stocks of the now discontinued Sensia are exhausted then I will have the choice of using Fuji Velvia at nearly twice the cost per roll or looking for something else. Fuji seem to feel that the market for 'amateur' films is not what it was but that it is still cost effective to produce professional slide films. Kodak appear to be down to Elitechrome which although described as professional is only slightly more expensive than non process paid Sensia so that is an alternative.

 

I noticed today that the local supermarket (Sainsburys) are doing a special summer offer on a bag of Fuji 24 exposure print films so it seems that they feel that not everyone has gone over entirely to digital.

[DerekF]

Here in Montreal I can easily get Ilford, Kodak and Fuji film, but mainly at a photo specialty store. European films - don't know. I might have to drive into the city (I live in the suburbs) Most drug stores will have some Kodak and perhaps Fuji consumer level colour negative film. I use XP2 in not very great volumes. I buy 5-10 rolls at a time. So availability is not an issue in urban Canada.

 

I'll also add that it's also still surprisingly easy to get B&W chemistry here at a relatively good price (again, at photo specialty stores). After a couple of minor price increases in the last couple of years, the price of a pouch to mix 1L of D-76 has remained somewhere between $3.50 and $4. Ilford-brand stop and fix haven't really increased in price or decreased in availability either.

[plasticman]

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Easy to get film here in Stockholm. Almost as expensive as beer though.

[mgreernz]

Here in NZ, a reasonable range of film is still readily available but only through the major photographic dealers - mainly located in the three main centers of Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch. Elsewhere (as I found out this week in Central Otago) it's pretty slim pickings.

[Guest dk_samurai]

Easy to get and easy to develop here in Copenhagen.

 

Film: Photografica.dk

 

Development: Laboratoriet i Nannasgade Aps

[rob_x2004]

...Their site listed page after page of film...

 

There are several US suppliers with fabulous prices and runout specials. Check their international handling and delivery charges:(. Sometimes bulk film rolls stack up:), add a pack of sleeves:(. There are sweet spots with some, others theres nothing you can do to make it stack up. But you guys States side get nearly free delivery so you are laughing.

[rob_x2004]

Easy to get film here in Stockholm. Almost as expensive as beer though.

 

Thats appalling. You get no change from ten bucks for a beer:eek:.

I can get maybe three bottles of really good wine for the cost of E6, six or eight for developed unmounted. Its no wonder you are all angry teetotalers over in scandinavia.

[dchalfon]

in brazil film is getting harder and harder to get. 3 or 4 stores around sao paulo still sell decent films. prices are sky high (just paid USD 14 for a roll of TriX 400!!!)

 

where do you buy online with good int'l shipping costs???

[maurometallo]

Here in Montreal I can easily get Ilford, Kodak and Fuji film, but mainly at a photo specialty store. European films - don't know. I might have to drive into the city (I live in the suburbs) Most drug stores will have some Kodak and perhaps Fuji consumer level colour negative film. I use XP2 in not very great volumes. I buy 5-10 rolls at a time. So availability is not an issue in urban Canada.

I can easily confirm that. No problem at all about film availability here in Toronto: It's very easy to find all range of Kodak, Fuji and Ilford.

Price, however, is very high...

[NZDavid]

Film is still in supply in New Zealand but it's pricey. B&H exports and it's cheaper, even factoring in shipping costs. Here are some comparos, all converted into USD. (NZ supplier first, B&H second.)

 

Astia 100 F ($18,20, $7.55)

Provia 100 F ($17.85, $6.69)

Ektachrome E100G ($11.90, $7.50)

[earleygallery]

I live in London so it's not a problem for me to find any film I need.

 

However, think how hard it is these days to find a CD or book that isn't in the best seller list. Supermarkets and the internet retailers have taken so much of the trade away from traditional record and book stores that they are now few and far between.

 

People are generally happy to order music and books online, also from overseas suppliers, why not film?

[ndjambrose]

Film is readily available for me in the UK, but I prefer to buy mine online. I don't tend to buy film in small amounts - usually I order upwards of 50 rolls at a time. It's more convenient (and cheaper) to have it arrive by courier. Not helped by the fact that a number of high street suppliers have marked their film up to non viable levels - I've seen the same film for 2.49 online and 6.99 in the high street.

[Guido]

I have always mail-ordered film, already long before digital. My local store, while it existed, either never had the pro-grade or specialty stuff (like IR films) I wanted in stock, or at best had 1-2 rolls in some drawer which were about to expire.

 

So I see no real change nowadays.

[Doug A]

The only 35mm B&W films available locally are Tri-X and BW400CN. I haven''t shopped for color film but I expect it's a similar story. Fortunately I am only an hour by train from Manhattan and old enough to qualify for reduced fares . Lots of choices there.

 

--Doug

[LMBSGV]

I’m in Marin County, just north of San Francisco. The local self-proclaimed pro shop I’ve been using for 20 years has gone more and more digital in terms of new cameras and lenses. In the last year, film availability has also significantly changed. I primarily shoot color slides and prefer Provia 100. They used to always have it in stock. Recently, it has become commonplace for them to be out of stock and give vague answers about when they will get more. So I’ve resorted to buying from B&H. My local shop seems to be okay on TriX and a couple of other black and white films, but I suspect that’s because they’ve been sitting in their refrigerator for several months.

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[holmes]

As I stated B&H is a large business. They advertise they sell to Brazilian customers, it might be worth checking into as they show the Brazilian national flag. Other than that I don't know.