# Cheapest way purchasing and develpoing film?



## duncanp (Aug 13, 2006)

i really am beggining to not be able to afford film atm, getting £30 a month if i do all my chores at least £10 goes into film, and thats if i want to use one roll a month... the other £20 gets easily spent buying food while out and £12 now goes into magazines that i get. do any of you have any suggestions of what cheap but good film to use and the cheapest way to get it developed. so far my favourite film to use had been some ilford Proffesional ISO 400, cant remember exactly what, that came free with AP. but even with 25% of the developing it still came to something like £9.60. with no dedicated photo stored or develeopers i only have the choice of a few drugs stores, which are raising their prices as they have less of a market and now certain film companies are beggingin to pull out. kodak for example have closed their biggest film developing site. hmm....

sorry that turned into a rant near the end


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## Torus34 (Aug 13, 2006)

Assuming you wish to take lots of pictures and print up the really good ones:  it will take an initial investment to get started, but you can bulk-load B&W and develop the rolls yourself.  Then, select the negatives for printing and have them printed up by a photo service.  This will work out to the lowest cost/print.


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## duncanp (Aug 14, 2006)

Torus34 said:
			
		

> Assuming you wish to take lots of pictures and print up the really good ones: it will take an initial investment to get started, but you can bulk-load B&W and develop the rolls yourself. Then, select the negatives for printing and have them printed up by a photo service. This will work out to the lowest cost/print.


 
Ok, what kind of price and equipment would be required?


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## Torus34 (Aug 15, 2006)

You'll need a bulk film loader, a 100' roll of film, a few re-loadable cassettes, a film developing tank, a thermometer and some chemicals.  The most expensive single item is the film.  100' will provide about 21 rolls of 24 exp.

You can check prices on-line at any large photo store in your country.  Might be a good set of gifts for your birthday.


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## duncanp (Aug 15, 2006)

thanks very much


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## DocFrankenstein (Aug 18, 2006)

You can pick them up for pennies used.

I'd go ask around some professional photographers. They might have left their darkrooms abandoned and will be glad to just give it out.


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## PlasticSpanner (Aug 18, 2006)

Do you have an Aldi store near you?

They usually have Kodak 400 and 200 iso film near their checkouts for £1.99 for 2 X 36 exp rolls.

To save developing costs just develop the film yourself & take your selected negatives to the lab to get printed. (Or scan them into your PC )


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## niccig (Aug 18, 2006)

I recently started bulk-loading my own film.  Here's what I got from B&H:

Changing bag: $21
Bulk loader: $20
Reusable Metal Cassetes: $12.50
100' Ilford Delta 400: $43
Painter's tape: $3

Total: $99.50 (USD)

20 rolls of Delta 400 is $85 from B&H

So the initial investment is a little more than 20 rolls of the same film, but after that the film is about half price (everything I've read says you should get around 20 36-exposure rolls from a 100' roll).  Not a bad deal at all.  Just be sure to keep it in the fridge.


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## DeepSpring (Aug 18, 2006)

how much does the developing stuff go for?


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## duncanp (Aug 19, 2006)

niccig said:
			
		

> I recently started bulk-loading my own film.  Here's what I got from B&H:
> 
> Changing bag: $21
> Bulk loader: $20
> ...



hmm i dont get this... whjats the 100' the rest i understand


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## duncanp (Aug 19, 2006)

PlasticSpanner said:
			
		

> Do you have an Aldi store near you?
> 
> They usually have Kodak 400 and 200 iso film near their checkouts for £1.99 for 2 X 36 exp rolls.
> 
> To save developing costs just develop the film yourself & take your selected negatives to the lab to get printed. (Or scan them into your PC )



nearest is 12 miles =/


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## niccig (Aug 19, 2006)

The 100' is 100 feet of Ilford Delta 400 film (30m, I think).


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## duncanp (Aug 20, 2006)

ok really noobish question now... so is that 100ft of film you use?


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## Torus34 (Aug 20, 2006)

Photographers use different films for different conditions.  If you're looking for maximum detail and minimum graininess, use a low ISO film such as Ilford Pan F.  If you're shooting moving objects or working in dim lighting, use an ISO 400 film.  There will be more graininess, but you can use higher shutter speeds.  The low ISO film might require that you steady the camera by placing it on a support or tripod because of the slow shutter 
speeds needed for some shots.

A 'middle-of-the-road' choice would be an ISO 125 film.  It's one f stop faster than the ISO 50 and two f stops slower than the ISO 400 films.


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## duncanp (Aug 21, 2006)

i know all about iso and stuff i just dont get what the 100' of stuff is


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## PlasticSpanner (Aug 21, 2006)

you're correct in that 100' means 100 feet.

The bulk film comes in one long roll & you cut it to your required legnth.


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## duncanp (Aug 22, 2006)

PlasticSpanner said:
			
		

> you're correct in that 100' means 100 feet.
> 
> The bulk film comes in one long roll & you cut it to your required legnth.



and then put it in film canisters and use it? ( may be just geting this )


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## Fate (Aug 22, 2006)

Just go digital  I dont think i could ever go back to be film to be honest, i do lurrrve digital


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## PlasticSpanner (Aug 22, 2006)

duncanp said:
			
		

> and then put it in film canisters and use it? ( may be just geting this )


 
Yep.

You load the film onto the spool in a canister with a film loader so as to keep it unexposed to light, & cut the film when you've loaded the required number of frames. (There's usually a frame counter on the loader.)



			
				Fate said:
			
		

> Just go digital  I dont think i could ever go back to be film to be honest, i do lurrrve digital


 
What are you doing in the *Film* Discussion forum? layball: 

Just kidding.   Someone worked out the true costs of digital over film and found little difference!


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## raven4ns (Aug 29, 2006)

Hello,
 Sometime back I was thinking about loading my own film and bought a Watson film loader. What film loader would you consider the best and easiest to use? Also what is the easiest way to develop B&W film i.e. which containers etc. ? 
 I currently use Ilford XP2 super because I can get it developed at any lab and it is easy to scan. What about scanning regular B&W? I use a Canon FS4000 film scanner. One thing I like about the XP2 is that I can shoot it anywhere from ISO 100-1600 on the same roll, can you do this with other B&W films? Thank you for any and all help.


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## terri (Aug 29, 2006)

raven4ns said:
			
		

> Hello,
> Sometime back I was thinking about loading my own film and bought a Watson film loader. What film loader would you consider the best and easiest to use? Also what is the easiest way to develop B&W film i.e. which containers etc. ?
> I currently use Ilford XP2 super because I can get it developed at any lab and it is easy to scan. What about scanning regular B&W? I use a Canon FS4000 film scanner. One thing I like about the XP2 is that I can shoot it anywhere from ISO 100-1600 on the same roll, can you do this with other B&W films? Thank you for any and all help.


Hi Tim, and welcome to TPF.  You might get more attention and better replies if you start a new thread with these questions.


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## Scruge (Aug 29, 2006)

duncanp said:
			
		

> i really am beggining to not be able to afford film atm, getting £30 a month if i do all my chores at least £10 goes into film, and thats if i want to use one roll a month... the other £20 gets easily spent buying food while out and £12 now goes into magazines that i get. do any of you have any suggestions of what cheap but good film to use and the cheapest way to get it developed. so far my favourite film to use had been some ilford Proffesional ISO 400, cant remember exactly what, that came free with AP. but even with 25% of the developing it still came to something like £9.60. with no dedicated photo stored or develeopers i only have the choice of a few drugs stores, which are raising their prices as they have less of a market and now certain film companies are beggingin to pull out. kodak for example have closed their biggest film developing site. hmm....
> 
> sorry that turned into a rant near the end


 
I cut my teeth on Kodak Ektachrome color slide film and the E-6 process, which is pretty simple.  All you need is a developing tank.


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## raven4ns (Aug 29, 2006)

Hi Terri,
 Thank you for your suggestion. I have done as you recommended.


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