LF film sources in Australia

[Andrew McPhee]

Hi all,

I'm a new LF user from Australia, I'm itching to put some film through the camer a but I'm having all sorts of dramas getting some. I'm on a limited budget so I' ve got to try and stretch my dollars, I look at film prices in the US and they a re half what I'm paying here.

But then the store adds the freight charge and it takes all the shine off the de al, I've been quoted varying amounts from $30 (AU$45) to $90 (AU$135) which is j ust ridiculous, my order is for a box or two of 4x5 and 20 rolls of 120, not ver y large or heavy at all...

So I'm going to grit my teeth and buy it from over here after all, I've done a b it of searching on the Net this morning without much success, I found Vanbar but can anyone suggest any other sources for 120/4x5 film in Australia?

[Walter Glover]

Andrew,

You don't state exactly where you are in Australia but there are several 'Pro' outlets in the major cities that carry a reasonable inventory of LF materials. Certainly there is Vanbar but you might also shop around at Kayell, Ted's, Borge Andersen or Fletchers (Pitt St Sydney only) in Sydnney, Melbourne, Brisbane. There are also Pro dealers in Adelaide & Perth but their names escape me at present.

Most of the above suppliers carry the usual suspects in stock but Kodak, Ilford and Agfa all have reasonably prompt dispatch of orders placed.

For exotica such as Pyro, Amidol, etc then Vanbar is likely to be your best shot.

Hope this helps ... WG

[Graeme]

Andrew,

I live in Kalgoorlie and regularly use Perth Pro Sales (for overnight delivery) and Vanbar for all other delivery modes.

[John Quinn]

Andrew, I have found Velvia and various Ektachromes readily available in 4x5. I got a bit tired of paying $A50 per 10 sheets of Velvia, so I thought that I would try to buy from USA, I ordered 10 packs of 50 sheets of Velvia - quite a quantity for me - but I needed to to defray the freight. Ordered from B and H in New York, shipped by Federal Express - got from NY to Sydney in 4 days,then a couple more days to get to Adelaide - they kept the film in the refrigerator in Sydney while waiting to forward it on to me. Whole process was quite efficient. However, the film sent was short dated ( 8 months to expiry) - I had to pay GST, and by the time the cost of the freight was taken into account I ended up paying $A41 per 10 sheets. Not a huge saving. Probable what concerns me more as far as costs are concerned is the price of processing Velvia - $A10 per sheet in Adelaide. John Quinn

[David Flockhart]

Borge Anderson usually has a good variety on hand and is good about procurring what they don't have for you.

[Richard Rankin]

In Brisbane, Kayell and Photo Continental stock some LF films. Kodak films which they don't have in stock (most of them, it feels like...) can be ordered by them from Melbourne in about a week according to Kodak.

You haven't said where you are, or what film you are looking for. 4x5 Portra VC160/NC 160 was about $50-52 AUD in the past week in both Brisbane and Melbourne. Thats roughly $26 USD per box of 10. I believe I paid $18US when I was at at B&H in NYC a few months ago.

I bought my last film at Vanbar, and I've bought heaps of 120 film from them. Kayell in Brisbane seems ok. My experience with Photo Continental: they had a person at the film section who didn't know what 4x5 film even WAS and kept showing me 120 rolls in a propack...

[Aaron Ng]

Hi Andrew,

Try Singapore. I believe you could get Ilford HP5/FP4 sheet film here soon. Ruby Photo is newly appointed distributor but needs some time to build up their inventry. 4x5 should be under S$30.00, but not available as yet. If you are interested, I'll find out the contact number for you.

Aaron

[Andrew McPhee]

Thanks for all the helpful answers guys, I checked out Borge Anderson's site and they had exactly what I wanted, I placed an on- line order Monday am and had the goodies in my hand Tuesday pm...excellent service!

Although the prices of film are attractive overseas the freight costs are the killer (Singapore could be attractive though) so I'll wait until I can line up a friend in the US/Canada who can be my delivery address and then forward it to me by normal mail, this might be a better arrangement long term.

Sorry, I forgot to mention I was looking for Agfa APX100 film in 120 and 4x5 sizes, I'm located in Albury, NSW for what it's worth now...

I loaded a couple of sheets into a holder last night (after much practising with closed eyes and dark mutterings) and I'm heading out this afternoon to take my first 4x5 photo...can't wait! Thanks again everyone.