Checked out the price of Hewes reels lately?

<p>I bought my 4 x 35mm and 2 x 120 Hewes stainless steel reels in mid 2008 for $16.99 and $18.99 each, they have served me well as my Paterson plastic ones have. I use what ever the mood calls for, sometimes all of them if running a lot of film.</p>

<p>So today I was running some 35mm and noticed that one of the outermost rings on one reel was ever so slightly bent in, easily fixed by pushing up on it with my thumb. Not sure how it happened but my hunch is likely when I flipped the tank over after a wash and it came out too fast. But it got me thinking that I ought to get some more since one never knows how long any of this stuff will be made.</p>

<p>I went to both B&H and freestyle to check out the prices and about broke my jaw when it hit the floor. The 35mm ones are now $29.99 and the 120 are $33.49 from Freestyle, B&H wants a charitable $42.95 for the 120!</p>

<p>I ordered two of each from Freestyle and sucked it up, I never buy things like steel reels used and Hewes are still well worth the money. But wow…have they skyrocketed in price!</p>

<p>I'm lucky to have found two of the 35mm ones at a yard sale in a Nikor Q30 tank for $5. Love them, although I'm perfectly happy to use a Nikor 35mm reel in good shape.</p>

<p>Hewes have always been pricey but that's ridiculous. I bought a 120 Hewes reel nearly 15 years ago, then within a month found a good used Nikor two-reel 120 kit with tank, lid and reel lifter in the box for five bucks. For what I paid for the Hewes reel I could have bought five of those Nikor kits. But that was just dumb luck.</p>

<p>On the other hand, it beats cussing at those badly designed and built cheap stainless reels.</p>

<p>Hewes have always been the most expensive stainless steel film reels. But that not the issue here.</p>

<p>The issue here is that photography has made a dramatic shift away from film and toward digital. Sale of film processing equipment has declined significantly. Because of that, the used equipment market is flooded with processing equipment, so the relatively few people who are migrating back to film are opting to purchase used. </p>

<p>Marketing 101: lower volume inexorably means higher prices.</p>

<p>Last time I purchased some Hewes reels(4 years ago) they were going for about $32 for 120mm.</p>

<p>I don't think I would buy any darkroom equipment new at this point. So much of it is being given away -- literally sometimes -- that I would buy used.</p>

<p>Yeah, supply and demand. Definitely avoid cheap SS reels. Even new with no bends or deformities they can often be difficult to load. </p>

<p>I wont wind on anything but a Hewes. Have 2 35's and 1 120. Worth the money to me.</p>