Buying and Processing Film in Seville, Cordoba, Granada

Hi Everyone,

 

As luck (and finances) would have it I'm still shooting film and with EU-wide

restrictions on cabin baggage, I know I won't be able to bring all the film I

would like to in my carry-on. So now I'm looking at options, which includes

being able to buy, and possibly process film while I'm in Spain over the Easter

holidays. I've searched for information but I can't seem to come up with

anything current. What I'd like to know is:

 

1. Names (locations, website?) of stores that sell a wide range of film, both

135 and 120, slide, black and white, IR, etc. I'm particularly interested in

knowing if they sell high speed films, such as Ilford 3200 or Ektachrome T1600

(or equivalents).

 

2. Labs that can process E-6, and possibly black and white (although I may do it

myself) in a fairly short turnaround. It doesn't have to be same day, 24-72

hours is fine. I realize that the Easter holidays may disrupt normal processing

times, but I'd like to know what's available. I'll be spending most of my time

in Seville, so information on stores and labs there would be most useful.

 

3. Finally, a question about film in Europe in general. I'm not in Toronto as my

"name" says, I'm (currently) in France, and film prices here are astronomical,

although processing is not so bad. I know that films in Germany are much

cheaper, and I may order most of my film (and other supplies) from there.

However, I have a question for anyone else based in the EU who gets film shipped

from abroad (from the US for example). In trying to calculate whether it would

be cheaper to order from the US (exchange rates, shipping, etc) I'd also like to

know if I'm going to get hit with VAT or other duties once they arrive here in

France. I've noticed that I get hit for some things, but not others. Does film

(or other photography equipment, used) from outside the EU get hit with duties?

 

Cheers.

this is not exactly what you asked for but.....i spend many months per year in SE Asia. i find that i can ship things in and out very easily and very cheap. i regularly ship film to and from thailand and NY. i would say the best bet would be have one of your friends pack the film for you and send it to you at different locations. you can get it at most post offices "post restant" or GPO. in the US we have global priority which is only like 5 days to thailand so to france or spain it should be faster. ( ia m sure the canada post has something similar) this way you are sure to avoid any taxes or duties. if you have no one to ship it to you then you are at the mecy of the post service as far as duty goes.

 

good luck and keep shooting film. i do!

 

eddie

For film, try www.7dayshop.com. They are in Guernsey, and for the UK there is no VAT, might also be true for France. You also might want to consider mailing them your unprocessed films from Spain. I have used them in the past and found them reliable and reasonably priced. In fact, when I returned to Canada I used to send them my slide films, it was cheaper to send them overseas than to pay in Calgary for slide film processing plus a set of prints. There is another similar outfit in Guernsey, MX5 or something, the name escapes me, but I have used them as well and found them equally reliable.

Rachelle,

 

I shoot film myself, but find the last couple of years it's getting harder to get a wide variety of film, and developping is not that easy as it used to be. I live in the province of Malaga, so I can't give you any specific details about shops in Seville, Cordoba or Granada.

 

1. My local photography store used to stock just about anything: 135 colour negative and slide, 135 black and white, 120 and 220, again colour negative, slide and black and white. Slide film is getting more difficult, only a couple of stores still regularly stock it. If you do buy slide film, check the due date on the film canisters, as they may have been in the shop for some time. Also, try to buy from a shop that keeps their slide films in a refrigerator.

 

Infrared has always been more difficult to get, the same goes for high speed films. If you are in France at the moment, try to buy them there and take them with you to Spain.

 

2. Labs that can process E-6 and black and white are not that easy to find anymore. Most smaller labs have gone out of business. There are some big labs, but turn around times are getting longer. I used to be able to drop off a slide film at my local camera store and have it developped the next day. Now it might take two to three days. Black and white can be up to five days if you want to have it developped with a contact sheet. My local camera shop says they cannot have my IR films developped, but they still sell the film. I'm still puzzled about that one.

 

During the Easter holidays, you'll find all shops in southern Spain will be closed on Thursday 5th and Friday 6th of April, as these are official holidays. So if you are in Spain during that week, buy your films on Wednesday 4th at the latest.

 

3. Film prices in Europe are very high, the same goes for camera gear. I think France is probably the most expensive country within Europe. You are required to pay VAT on anything that you import into the European Union, be it film, new camera gear or even second hand camera gear.

what i know:

there's an art school in granada that also works photo, that leads me to think you shouldn't have problems on suplies, but, maybe the ir.

the other citys are quite bigger you should be able to find most items althougt spain is problably the most affected european country by the digital revolt.

devenloping e6 is an issue you can problbly have it done quickly in those places but quality is no longer what it should. labs and shops are saving to much in chems so the max dens and therefore contrast of your slides will be seriously afected. there are few labs that still work e6 properly in spain. http://www.elclubdigital.com/foro/showthread.php?t=65777 try to find a good one nearby, if you send them to madrid you'll have to wait about a week problably

prices are about 10euros for a provia roll and 3.7 for a t-max400

hope it helps.

Wow -- thanks everyone for your very helpful advice. I was initially planning on bringing all my film with me, as I usually do, but after reconfirming EU cabin baggage allowances, I thought I would bring about half the film of what I wanted, and buy the other half locally (especially high speed films which may or may not get hand checked). However, based on everyone's responses, I may have to rethink this plan and figure something else out. I want to continue using film as long as I can, but I don't know how much longer that'll be with all of the inconveniences of trying to find it, process it, and travel with it.

Rachelle,

 

How much film are you going to carry? When I travel with a lot of film, what I do to save some space is take the film out of its boxes and take just the canisters with me. You'd be surprised how much space 50 film boxes take and how much space you can save by taking just the canisters.

 

Today I collected some slide films and was surprised at the price I had to pay. I normally use Fuji Provia 100F and paid about 6 Euros per film and 3 Euros to get it developped (no slide mounts, as I prefer to do this myself). At the end of last year, the same film had gone up to 8,65 Euros and developping is now 8 Euros, regardless of the slides being mounted or not. There is only one big lab where I live, so I don't have much of an option. It certainly makes me think now that I need to pay over 16 Euros for every 36 pictures I take. That is roughly 50 cents per frame.

 

Check developping prices in Sevilla, Granada and Cordoba before you hand over a large amount of films. If you are going to stay a couple of weeks in each city, I'd advise you to have one film developped to check on the quality of work done, and once you're sure to develop the rest.

 

If you are going to be in Spain for Semana Santa, I would advise you to go to Sevilla for those 4 days (Thursday to Sunday). Although all major cities have their processions, the ones in Sevilla are the best.

Hi Jan,

 

I normally do that as well -- all film is out of boxes and containers and held in baggies. I try to keep 120 in the foil packets and except for an anal security guard at LAX who made me upwrap every single foil, I usually don't have too many problems with them either. However, as you've mentioned, buying and developing film is becoming increasingly expensive, so maybe I'll just have to cut back on how much I shoot. I usually go for a conservative number of 2 films a day when I travel, plus specialty films. There is no pro film here in Nancy(even at FNAC) and certainly no 120. I did find a shop in the suburbs that sold it, as well as my two favorite films, Tri-X and Provia. The Provia 400 was 13 euros a roll for 135! My jaw nearly hit the floor. I think I may have to bite the bullet and switch over to Astia or Sensia -- they're not considered pro films and are much cheaper. Similarly, none of the Ilford films were considered 'pro' either -- they definitely were kept out of the refrigerators!

 

I will spending the entire week in Seville for the Semana Santa -- a bit of overkill maybe, but I'll probably do some day trips to neighboring cities (like Jerez, Cadiz, etc) in the early days there. I like the idea of just staying in one city and getting to know it -- although doing so during the 'special season' (i.e. more expensive than high season) is probably not the best thing to do. In the end I'll probably bring all my film there and back and get it processed here, but I was looking to see if there were any reasonable alternatives to doing so.

 

Thanks for all your help.

Sorry -- here's another, non-fim related question if anyone is still lurking this post. ;-)

 

For better or for worse, I think I'd like to see a bullfight when I'm in Spain (I'm still debating). I know it starts in Seville during the Feria, but I've heard that bullfights begin from Easter Sunday in other places. Is there a good website or resource out there that I can use to find out when and where (and possibly order tickets?). Everything I've found so far has been in Spanish and not terribly user friendly. I'm basically looking for something in the Seville area from April 1-8, the Cordoba area from the 8-10, and the Granada area from the 10-14.

You should plan to make a day trip to Ronda (and its bull ring).

Bullfights are normally held on Sunday afternoons, but during the feria (every major town has a feria that typically lasts about a week) there may be a bullfight every day. As soon as you arrive in Seville, check with a tourist information centre, or better still, go to the bullring and check the agenda. It's normally not necessary to reserve days in advance, most people get their ticket the same day.

 

Avoid at all cost the 'novillos', these are younger bulls fought by young and mostly inexperienced bullfighters. For something different, and by all means interesting from a photography point of view, is the 'rejoneo', this is bullfighting on horse back.

 

There are different types of tickets available, sol and sombra. Sol means 'sun' and is cheaper, but you'll have the sun in front of you, so if you want to take any pictures, go for sombra, 'shadow'.

 

As for the convenience or inconvenience of assisting to a bullfight, only you will be able to answer that. I am a foreigner myself and although I have been to various, I still have mixed feelings about it.

 

Enjoy your trip.

For film and processing questions (and answers) in Sevilla, you should contact Martin Iglesias (http://www.martin-iglesias.com), they are quite friendly people (I don't know if they speak english, if that matters).

 

As for the bullfight, you can check http://www.andalucia.org/modulos.php?modulo=Agenda&nuevoidioma=eng and select "bullfighting", your area and your dates, or contact the addresses at the end of the page.

Try to see the fights at Seville- the bullring there is something else, and they'll attract national talent, not just the novillos as mentioned above. For Semana Santa and the Ferias, do expect to pay a premium for tickets. If you have your hotel already booked, try calling the hotel and see if they can get you tickets.

 

I came from the US to Spain in 2004, and brought a Hasselblad setup with me. I had easily 40 rolls of film between b/w and color, and it all went in carryon with me. I understand that "domestic" EU flights have lower carryon restrictions now, but don't let that stop you from using film if you like it. The prices in the EU, however, might be an obstacle. If you know where you're staying in Spain, use B&H Photo or Calumet's websites and order your film through them, and have them ship it direct to your hotel. They do things like this all the time, and it is not a problem. You'll also pay a fraction of those prices you quoted for your film.