# Cheap Film



## Soul Rebel (Apr 11, 2006)

I mean really, really cheap. I went to the dollar store with my sister and they had a wrack of this stuff for a buck, obviously. All it says is Konica-Minolta 200 VX Super. Under process it says CNK-4 and C-41. 

Now I know this stuff is not going to win any awards for quality but I was curious if anybody else had found something this cheap and what kind of results you got. Heck, maybe this stuff isnt that bad afterall and I should head back there and stock up on it.


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## darich (Apr 11, 2006)

is it cheap because it's out of date?
I used out of date once before years ago....several months past the date and the shots turned out fine.

I use digital now so no need to worry about such details but if you do go ahead with the purchase i'd be reluctant to use the film for an important shoot or assignment in case the film is rotten.

You could get one developed and see how it comes out....you said yourself it's only a dollar, so why not buy a couple and try them?


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## stingray (Apr 11, 2006)

Stores often clear out stuff that's ALMOST past it's use by too, because even though it's usable for quite a while after the use by, they can't sell it at full price. Friend mine bought some 800 speed colour stuff for 2:20 australian a roll. pretty good value for a pro film.


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## hot shot (Apr 11, 2006)

i think my story about bread will fit in quite nicly here we went down the co-op late one night and bought 20 bread loafs for 50p  god know why we bought em but we did and then had a bread fight arrrrr gd time.


ill get me coat


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## terri (Apr 11, 2006)

Soul Rebel said:
			
		

> I mean really, really cheap. I went to the dollar store with my sister and they had a wrack of this stuff for a buck, obviously. All it says is Konica-Minolta 200 VX Super. Under process it says CNK-4 and C-41.
> 
> Now I know this stuff is not going to win any awards for quality but I was curious if anybody else had found something this cheap and what kind of results you got. Heck, maybe this stuff isnt that bad afterall and I should head back there and stock up on it.


Go back, pick up a roll, shoot it, and then decide. Even if it's out of date, if it gives a decent result it might worth getting a few more rolls to store in the fridge.


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## Corry (Apr 11, 2006)

I personally haven't liked the Konica I've used.  I got a whole box (as in, like 100 rolls) a while back from someone who used them for work, but no longer needed them.  I still have most of the box.  It's probably out of date by now.  I should find something to do with those.


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## Soul Rebel (Apr 12, 2006)

I picked up one role since I had no cash and had to borrow this dollar that I used. I havent had a chance to take any photos with it yet though but I am going to try that soon. 

I am not sure about the date since I threw away the packaging and there is nothing on the role itself.


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## Meysha (Apr 13, 2006)

corry said:
			
		

> I still have most of the box. It's probably out of date by now. I should find something to do with those.


Keep them until your wedding day then pull them all out of their canisters and tie them to the back of your limo!!! Man that would be cool.

Also, that bread fight sounds like it was awesome!!!!!! This is my sort of forum! hehehehe


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## 2framesbelowzero (Apr 13, 2006)

Most branded film is ok these days - i'd buy some.



			
				Soul Rebel said:
			
		

> I mean really, really cheap. I went to the dollar store with my sister and they had a wrack of this stuff for a buck, obviously. All it says is Konica-Minolta 200 VX Super. Under process it says CNK-4 and C-41.
> 
> Now I know this stuff is not going to win any awards for quality but I was curious if anybody else had found something this cheap and what kind of results you got. Heck, maybe this stuff isnt that bad afterall and I should head back there and stock up on it.


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## Passion4Film (Jun 15, 2006)

Meysha said:
			
		

> Keep them until your wedding day then pull them all out of their canisters and tie them to the back of your limo!!! Man that would be cool.
> 
> Also, that bread fight sounds like it was awesome!!!!!! This is my sort of forum! hehehehe




Awesome idea!


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## DocFrankenstein (Jun 16, 2006)

I dream of running into cheap out of date BW film.

The only thing I see is a year overdated kodak gold on sale for 5.99. uke-rig:


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## ThomThomsk (Jun 16, 2006)

The reason it's cheap is because Konica is getting out of the film business and very large stocks have been pushed out to suppliers to get rid of them fast. Silverprint had factory fresh ISO200 C-41 film for £1 a roll and single use cameras for £2 a while back, but seem to have sold out. Try it, and if you like it then grab as much as you can while it's still available. It will freeze nicely and keep more or less indefinitely.


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## mysteryscribe (Jun 16, 2006)

my2cents:  

I had a contract to shoot pictures of houses for an insurance company once.  They didn't care if the house was really green or not.  They just wanted to see that it was really a house and had a roof ect.

I bought about a hundred rolls of near out of date Konica film at the drug store.  At about a dollar a roll I might add.  I shot it and had it processed.  It was different and the color was not quite kodak but then neither is fuji.  Fuji is red kodak is yellow konica is somewhere in the middle.  It does not have the fine grain or the sharpness of either but it is okay for what it is.

If I was trying to learn the craft and just wanted to shoot shoot shoot, I would go back and buy all I could afford.  It will make an image for sure.

Would I shoot weddings or portraits with it, no... have I... yes well not weddings.  I did shoot a couple of head shots for business cards on some 12 exp rolls of koni.  They were fine but also were not going to be blown up... actually they were blown down.


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## Jeff Canes (Jun 16, 2006)

Over a year ago I pickup a ton of Kodak UC400 (?) off EBAY (Dutch auction) that was about to expert, my bid was for 20 roll at 2.50 turned out they were twin packs, still have about 10 packs in the freezer 

   If your are looking for new cheep film try Freestyles store brand Arist color film, and please use the link at the top


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## markc (Jun 16, 2006)

mysteryscribe said:
			
		

> If I was trying to learn the craft and just wanted to shoot shoot shoot, I would go back and buy all I could afford.  It will make an image for sure.


That was my thought, too. One of the benefits of digital over film is how cheap it is to shoot a lot and get experience once you have the equipment. This is a real boon for film shooters. Buy a bunch of the stuff and do some shooting exercises to get more practice. They don't have to be masterpieces or even keepers, but shoot, shoot, shoot!


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## mysteryscribe (Jun 16, 2006)

in this same process, 

If I wanted to shoot film or I had a really nice film camera but couldnt afford to go digital right now, I would look for a cheap (ebay) 35mm dedicated scanner.  Usually under a hundred bucks, then get the film processed no prints.  Scan it and play to my hearts content.  You can save the eighty or so bucks back in short order.  Then if you shoot something just too hard not to put on the wall, have a nice sized print made of the one shot.

Mark said something on a different tread that is true.  Most of the large corrections you make in photoshop could have been done in the camera.  So see what you need to do in photoshop to correct the image, then ask or figure out how to avoid the necessity by not making the mistake again.  It is called a learning experience.

Just a thought


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## markc (Jun 16, 2006)

mysteryscribe said:
			
		

> Mark said something on a different tread that is true.  Most of the large corrections you make in photoshop could have been done in the camera.  So see what you need to do in photoshop to correct the image, then ask or figure out how to avoid the necessity by not making the mistake again.  It is called a learning experience.



Yeah, exactly. I know someone who was very adamant about not cropping his images. He wanted to be "pure" and get the composition exactly right in-camera. While I think this is great as an end goal, I think he did himself a disservice by ignoring a great learning tool. Whether you use an image editor or just a pair of cardboard "L"s on top of a physical print, playing with crops can help develop your eye. Personally, I like to try and find as many workable compositions in an image as I can. Then I can compare them and see which I think work better and why. I also try to imagine how moving to a different vantage point might have changed the image (like to avoid those dang branches sticking into the scene that I somehow failed to notice). Now the next time I go out to shoot, I'll be familiar with more choices. Someone who doesn't do this needs to shoot even more to get the same experience.

I do try to get as good as I can in-camera, but I don't let it stop there.


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## mysteryscribe (Jun 16, 2006)

markc:  Whether you use an image editor or just a pair of cardboard "L"s on top of a physical print, playing with crops can help develop your eye.

You had L's we were so poor all we had was four pieces of white paper.


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## benhasajeep (Jun 16, 2006)

Buy it up.  Should be just fine for snap shot type photos.  If you look regular Kodak Gold is going to less than $2 a 36 shot roll now.  Imported 24 shot rolls for $1.50!


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## darin3200 (Jun 16, 2006)

the walmart in my town sells fuji superia x-tra 400. Its about $1.20 for a 24exp roll and its really nice


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## PlasticSpanner (Jun 17, 2006)

I just used a box of 6 rolls VX 200 last weekend and they all look OK.  Slightly warmer than my usual Kodak film but still nice colour & contrast.:thumbup:


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## Don Simon (Jun 17, 2006)

I agree, go for it. I prefer Fuji but the Konica is 'good enough', certainly worth the money. I bought some from Silverprint myself since I don't think it's possible to have too much film in the freezer.



			
				mysteryscribe said:
			
		

> You had L's we were so poor all we had was four pieces of white paper.


 
Would that be a Monty Python reference? I'm such an obvious student


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