film 'temporarily out'?

[brian_alworth1]

<p> I just went on-line to order a box or two of 4 x 5 film, but was shocked to find that almost all of the Kodak and Fuji film was listed as 'unavailable'. This was at two different large retail suppliers. I am hoping that this is indeed a temporary situation...maybe they manufacture in cycles. But this was in both transparency and b&w negative film. Is it time to put the Wista on the shelf for good?</p>

[david_dorcich1]

<p>Freestyle still shows it in stock.</p>

[ellis_vener_photography]

<p>Did you try Calumet as well? http://www.calumetphotographic.com</p>

[joshroot]

<blockquote>

<p>maybe they manufacture in cycles</p>

</blockquote>

<p>I promise you that film is manufactured in cycles. Particularly with the shrinking in the film market, you are likely to see some gaps in supply for films that, 20 years ago, might have had almost constant production.</p>

[bob_salomon]

<p>I was in Southeastern Camera in Raleigh and in Carrboro, NC and Peace Camera in Raleigh earlier this week and they had 45 film in stock.</p>

[marc_batters]

<p>In the past 5 weeks, I have ordered and received 4X5, slide and negative, Kodak and Fuji, from many of the usual major players. Check back in a week or two, their stock will probably be current again. Many of the east coast, (NYC retailers), are experiencing shipping delays due to weather.<br>

Many retailers this time of year are still re-evaluating their taxable year-end inventory. That's why it's always a good idea to keep a little extra film in the pantry, so to speak, then you can ride through these little hic-ups in the supply chain.</p>

[brian_alworth1]

<p>Thanks for the responses. I've got a friend in town with a bunch of old film in his fridge, if things get desperate...as I've got a big trip coming up. My theory, for what it's worth, is that due mainly to the falling demand for 35mm film, the manufacturers are making all of their film in occasional big batches now and simply try to guess how much of each format to make. For whatever reason, perhaps, they simply underestimated how many of us still shoot sheet film...so this format ran out first. It just struck me as strange that Fuji, Kodak and even Ilford would all run low with "no estimate of new supply" messages on a couple of the web sites... In the meantime, maybe I'll try some of the other suppliers mentioned above. Thanks!</p>

[kparratt]

<p>Europe has more than than just Kodak and Fuji, certainly in B&W.</p>