Current color print prices...

[hjoseph7]

For some reason the prices of color film do not seem that bad to me for some reason ? . I think even now that I'm on a budget, I might be able to afford a 5-pack every once in a while.  Have the prices gone down a little, or am I imagining things ? The prices for B&W film are even less... Here is a list of current prices I came acrross for the most popular or lets say 'available' color film I found online, mostly from Amazon and Freestyle websites.

 

[glen_h]

My not very scientific way of looking at film prices, is that if they are less than $10 a roll, they aren't too expensive.

(Includes shipping, especially for eBay auctions.)

The prices don't look less than I remember, but it is hard to follow sometimes.

[Jochen_S]

Sorry, over 1$/frame (+ processing + ...) isn't what I 'd call "affordable", especially with digital competition at hand. Sure, it is somehow doable, but why?

[glen_h]

There is a whole Facebook group for people who collect, but don't use, old film.

And another one for people who use old film, even very old.

I use film slow enough that $1/frame isn't so bad, but also I don't use much at that price.

A $10 36 exposure roll is $0.28/frame, not so bad.

I do have a few rolls of VP122 which is probably more than $1/frame.  But those frames are big!

[Kent T]

On 5/23/2023 at 5:51 AM, Jochen_S said:

Sorry, over 1$/frame (+ processing + ...) isn't what I 'd call "affordable", especially with digital competition at hand. Sure, it is somehow doable, but why?

Shooting C-41, lab processing and medium res scans are less expensive for me per year than DSLR or Mirrorless is, good primes native to it, and repairs/sensor cleanings. And more pleasant for me to use, and not having to outwit automation and keeping batteries enough for a day. your mileage may vary! 

[c_watson1]

On 11/13/2023 at 11:14 AM, Kent T said:

Shooting C-41, lab processing and medium res scans are less expensive for me per year than DSLR or Mirrorless is, good primes native to it, and repairs/sensor cleanings. And more pleasant for me to use, and not having to outwit automation and keeping batteries enough for a day. your mileage may vary! 

Mind sharing what those annual costs are?

[weasel_bar]

On 5/23/2023 at 4:51 AM, Jochen_S said:

Sorry, over 1$/frame (+ processing + ...) isn't what I 'd call "affordable", especially with digital competition at hand. Sure, it is somehow doable, but why?

Why? 

1) i like the look of film

2) i have film gear

3) over the last 25 years of shooting, i find myself taking LESS photos but better photos. I attribute this to slowing down and putting more thought into each shot. If I just want snapshots, i can take them on my phone or with a digital point/shoot. I use my slr to (try to) take good photographs. I might shoot 10 rolls a year, tops. The annual expenditure is not that much. I see a lot of people use their digital SLRs as basically p&s cameras, generating tons of snapshots. William Henry Jackson and Ansel Adams carried glass plate negatives weighing more than half a pound each, so they could only carry a few. Yet, they took better photos than any of us ever will. 

[Kent T]

7 hours ago, c_watson1 said:

Mind sharing what those annual costs are?

I suspect cheaper than chasing the upgrade and replace gravy train when something is "New" and "Must Have" 

Edited November 15, 2023 by Kent T

[c_watson1]

12 hours ago, Kent T said:

I suspect cheaper than chasing the upgrade and replace gravy train when something is "New" and "Must Have" 

So digital photographers are mostly mindless shop-a-holics and victims of aspirational advertising? My average weekly lab bill from a decade ago for around 5 rolls of 35(c-41, E-6, b&w) and a couple 120s at current prices+plus scans would more than cover my trailing edge digital buys...

[glen_h]

Walgreens had 4x6 inch prints for $0.29, quantity 75+.

Right now, there is a discount code for 50% off everything photo.

I have seen sales down to $0.10 each.  That is from an actual store, and there is same-day pickup.

There are also mail order places, where you can get a good price, including shipping.

[Kent T]

7 hours ago, c_watson1 said:

So digital photographers are mostly mindless shop-a-holics and victims of aspirational advertising? My average weekly lab bill from a decade ago for around 5 rolls of 35(c-41, E-6, b&w) and a couple 120s at current prices+plus scans would more than cover my trailing edge digital buys...

No. But we need to slow down the industry, and get cameras and lens mounts more stable, and longer lived. I remember when cameras didn't change every 6-14 months. I remember when a great camera stayed in production for 4-6 years plus. I like the direction mirrorless cameras are heading, and we need them to not try to be video and cinema cameras too. And build quality, and reliability matter, and lens mounts need to be longer lived, and compatibility better. I need my still cameras to be still cameras ,and less distractions and ADHD, and less to fail me when I can't help being a bit clumsy. 

[AJG]

2 hours ago, Kent T said:

No. But we need to slow down the industry, and get cameras and lens mounts more stable, and longer lived. I remember when cameras didn't change every 6-14 months. I remember when a great camera stayed in production for 4-6 years plus. I like the direction mirrorless cameras are heading, and we need them to not try to be video and cinema cameras too. And build quality, and reliability matter, and lens mounts need to be longer lived, and compatibility better. I need my still cameras to be still cameras ,and less distractions and ADHD, and less to fail me when I can't help being a bit clumsy. 

While I am sympathetic to your arguments that slowing down change for the sake of change would be a good thing, I think that the manufacturers  are up against a culture that consumes quickly and is ready to move on to the next thing in whatever field you happen to choose.  The only camera company seeming to follow your advice at the moment is Pentax, and while I am a satisfied user of their cameras and lenses, their market share is very small.  It will be interesting to see if they keep to their commitment to SLR designs and don't make a mirrorless camera any time soon. For my work, their circa 2016 K 1 DSLR does everything that I need and there aren't very many things that I would change about it even if I could.  But my needs aren't everybody's, and a mass market product has to have a mass market if the development and production costs are going to be recovered and a profit is going to be made.

[Kent T]

Photography done manually, mechanically, which for me requires careful planning, fine motor control harnessed when my body will let me make the exposure for me is not optional. Distractions I do not need, I don't need delays or cameras which tell me what to do. I meter it if need be, set the camera, compose, focus, CLICK, CLICK again, one for fine motor control insurance. Shutter speed matters that I can hand hold. My AE, and AF is called using the intelligence the spastic, neurodiverse, photophile was born with, and comes naturally. Nothing your over automated camera can't shoot that I can with 3 rolls of my favorite film, one Leica Screw Mount Canon one or two lenses, and one Gossen Luna-Pro F I know are accurate and won't fail me. I know them better than most do their spouses. Make the corrections when you shoot your photo. 

[Jochen_S]

@Kent T What size are those scans you are ordering from 35mm & 6x6? 

I can agree that film cameras felt a tad better than digitals now, thinking about shutter speed dials on M3 & 4-P vs. 8 & 9. But once I 'll learn to use my Gossen highlights in mind, shooting experiences should be almost a wash. As tiny as batteries might be; I bite my base plate less frequently than film shooters. - Each to their own! 

[Kent T]

I don't bite my baseplate, I don't load from the bottom. My RF Canon loads like any SLR you know, you love, and everything on it has a purpose and is there to do something. I don't shoot a full SD XC card. I travel with 2-3 rolls of 36 exposures. I choose my subject and when the light, the composition, and my body will give me 1 click, wind, 2 clicks for steadiness insurance, then I look for the next thing I want to shoot for posterity, and not Photoshop it, or AI over do it to death. I am what you see, is what I shot. At that moment. Real Life!!!! 

[c_watson1]

On 11/19/2023 at 8:48 PM, Kent T said:

I don't bite my baseplate, I don't load from the bottom. My RF Canon loads like any SLR you know, you love, and everything on it has a purpose and is there to do something. I don't shoot a full SD XC card. I travel with 2-3 rolls of 36 exposures. I choose my subject and when the light, the composition, and my body will give me 1 click, wind, 2 clicks for steadiness insurance, then I look for the next thing I want to shoot for posterity, and not Photoshop it, or AI over do it to death. I am what you see, is what I shot. At that moment. Real Life!!!! 

Just the same thing millions did daily for years. Doesn't make you a more highly-evolved being. Just somebody who shoots film. Not a life-altering, spiritual experience. Happy you're happy but don't diss people who don't share your rapture winding a film camera.

[Kent T]

You get still, no delay. My brain wants to do a movement, I get 10 movements and spasms, before I get the ONE movement I wanted, or can stay still one brief moment. I get one chance or two chances to get a picture, or it be blurred badly. Control is on Cerebral Palsy terms. Not on camera's terms. 1/60 second or more, high ISO needed. Can you take a picture under tough conditions when standing still is hard work, this is my Normal. My cameras take jars and bounces, as I can't control or help that. Can you fall on your DSLR, your fancy Mirrorless with Zoom and motors? Will it still work afterwards?  I need brass, glass, and Rugged? And it must withstand wheelchair life and living. 

Edited November 23, 2023 by Kent T