Price of USA made film V.S. Imported

I was just on B&H and looked up the price for a 20 roll pack of Kodak

Supra 400. The USA made film was $120 while the imported one was

$50. Why? Is there a diffence is quality? Both films are guarenteed

fresh. B&H says the products are both identical, however i find that

hard to believe when theres over 100% price markup.

 

thanks

 

charlie

I'm an advanced amateur. I've never been able to tell the difference in quality of imported vs. usa film from B&H. I buy the imported if it's available and I've never noticed poor quality. Yes, I find the price difference hard to believe sometimes.

First of all, this is a Kodak film question. Why is it appearing in the Nikon Forum?

 

Many companies sell the same products at very different prices in different countries; they charge people who "can afford it" more. For example, many American drugs are much cheaper in Canada and especially Mexico. That is why some Americans cross the border (north or south) to buy the cheaper drugs. There is otherwise no difference.

 

The same is true for film. What B&H does is that they purchase Kodak film from foreign markets where it is a lot cheaper and re-import it back to the US. This benefits the customers but hurts Kodak. Look at the advertistments and commercials Kodak has on TV, in magazines, etc. and all the flyers they have in newspapers, in camera stores, etc. There is plenty of overhead Kodak is paying in the US. If paying more makes you feel more comfortable and you don't mind paying for those commercials indirectly, go ahead and buy the US version.

 

Now back to our discussion about Nikon.

But Shun, if I use grey market film in my grey market Nikon won't my pictures come out a little dark?

Nah. They'll just come out in black & white, even though you're using color film. It is "grey market" right?

I am not positive about this, but I have understood that if you use a foreign product such as fuji there will be no difference in quality. The "USA" film is imported and sold at USA prices. The "imported" film is imported and sold at imported price with no extra time, travel distances, or temperature flux. Essentially the same product. However, Kodak offers the USA product which never leaves while the "imported" product leaves the country and then comes back. So... with USA products buy "USA" and if buying foreign made products it makes no difference. If someone can confirm this please do, If I am wrong please correct me. Chris

Your 'work' depends on the film you use. Chances are nothing ill will happen from 'imported' film, providing the film was stored out of the hot sun and high humidity (for a couple of months...) -- once I ordered Fuji film (the guy on the phone did not indicate it was 'import' film. The stuff arrived in Korean-language boxes from the kind-hearted New York City dealer. The film was returned as I was not convinced my work needed film that made the trip from Korea to the U.S.A. (east coast.)

 

It is your money and your work -- you have to decide.

<A HREF="http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bh2.sph/FrameWork.class?FNC=GetPage__Aindex_html___page=GreyMarketStatic.html___SID=F1E93797690">This article</A> on B&H's web site explains it very well. You need to scroll to the bottom of the page on film.

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As long as they handle it properly, shipping film back and forth is not a problem. I have bought quite a bit of grey-market film from B&H and never have any problems. I have also travelled all over the place on 2, 3-week trips while my film is not refrigerated during those trips. I never observe any problems with my films.

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As I pointed out before, the availability of grey-market film and for that matter cameras and lenses, incluidng Nikon, benefits the consumers but hurts the manufacturers or official importers. It is in those parties' interest to let people beleive that grey-market products are "inferior." Sometimes Nikon USA simply refuses to fix grey-market products. If there is a very small price difference, such as the 24-85mm AF-S G, after rebate, there is only a $10 difference between USA and grey, I'll just get the USA version for the 5-year extended warrenty. If there is a big difference, I'll opt for grey and so far I haven't had any problems.

If you're shooting color film, especially pro-level transparency film, you cannot be certain that grey market film was always handled properly. I asked B&H this question specifically. Since some of their film can come from China and other parts of the far east, you can bet it was probably shipped to B&H at temperatures other than specified by Kodak. Whether this makes a difference or not, I don't know. But it is a factor to consider.