Special order 5x7 film from Kodak

[badbluesman]

I want to order some Kodak T-Max 400 film in 5x7 sheets. Kodak will cut any of their films to any size with a minimum order (I believe it is 3,000 sheets). Is anybody out there interested in getting in on this order with me?

I want 1,000 sheets for myself. I believe it comes in 100-sheet boxes. B&H will probably give us a discounted price. I did an order like this in 2002 and it worked out fine. About five people participated.

Kodak has recently re-vamped T-MAX 400, improving its grain and sharpness. According to John Sexton, who has tested the new film extensively, it is identical to the old version in every other way. He is very impressed with the improvement in grain and says that the enlargement quality is now very, very close to that of T-MAX 100.

I favor this film over any other B&W emulsion for my 5x7 work because I shoot a lot of portraits and interiors. For the portraits I need a faster shutter speed and also appreciate that fact that the grain is much finer than Tri-X. For interiors, however, it is really indispensable because of its much lower reciprocity failure compared to old-style BW films. I am able to capture low-light interiors with 15-20 minute exposures that would not be practical with Tri-X, due to the reciprocity compensation required. The same goes for nocturnal exteriors.

For examples of what I am talking about, see my website: www.joelpickford.com and look especially at the Le Monde Creole project.

If you are interested in getting some of this special order 5x7 film, please email me: joelpickford@yahoo.com

[thart2009]

First... you have a wonderful website and very fine work! Very inspiring to say the least. I would love to jump on this bandwagon, but the funds won't permit more than a box of 100 sheets. If you need my token amount, let me know.

[badbluesman]

Here is a quick update to clarify the details of the special order for 5x7 film that I am planning to place with Kodak:

Kodak has a minimum quantity of 3,000 sheets or 30 boxes of 100 sheets each for special orders. Right now I am looking for people to tell me how many 100-sheet boxes they would like. I am already getting lots of emails and I am confident that we will be able to place the order. I am going to take 10 boxes myself, so that will make it easier. Most people who have emailed me have asked for 2-4 boxes. I also have asked a large format camera dealer in the Southwest to look for more customers to join the order.

Meanwhile, I will ask various dealers to give my the best price quote they can per box. I will also ask them to take everyone's order individually and handle the payment and shipping directly. When we have 30 boxes spoken for, I will let everyone know the price. Then the dealer will take your individual orders, place the special order with Kodak, and ship your boxes to you.

[Ken Lee]

Do we know how much was paid for a 100-sheet box, last time such an order was placed ?

People might be more likely to commit if we know an approximate price per box of 100 sheets. It would also keep things out in the open, and we could more easily justify the expense over time, to ourselves, so to speak.

[Jan Pedersen]

The last offering for 5x7 TMY 2 was a couple of years ago when Glazers in Seattle did a several format offering. It was however not 100 sheet boxes but 50 sheets. The price for 50 sheets was either 103$ or 107$ as far as i can remember.

[John Bowen]

5x7 should be about $2.50 per sheet

[Jan Pedersen]

Bad memory, it was actually 113$ for 50 sheets.

http://www.largeformatphotography.in...hlight=Glazers

[Dave Aharonian]

I would take 2 boxes for sure.

[badbluesman]

Re: questions about the price, past and present:

I know this is going to hurt, but we paid 80 cents per sheet for the last special order ($80 per 100-sheet box). That was 2002.

When I started surfing the 'net recently to price 5x7 film, which I have not purchased since then and have not shot since 2005, I got a whopping case of sticker shock. 50-sheet boxes now cost more than 100-sheet boxes did back then!

However, when I consider the cost of a new digital view camera system equivalent to my LF film system (I have six late model Rodenstock lenses and one Nikkor, two Arca-Swiss format sets, many other Arca-Swiss accessories, a set of special order 105mm BW filters, lots of film holders in two formats, a Jobo with two drums, etc., etc.), the cost of film seems reasonable, especially when processing with a Jobo is so cheap. I estimate an equivalent digital VC system would cost $35,000 - $40,000. Then you have to deal with limited dynamic range, moire, rapid obsolescence, and hardware that, frankly, still has lots of bugs, especially in the way that various company's products interface (or don't interface) with one another.

A QUICK REMINDER: Those of you who are interested in purchasing some of the special order 5x7 T-Max 400 film need to email me directly:

joelpickford@yahoo.com

I am saving all of your emails in a folder so that I can easily contact everyone when we are ready to order. Thanks for your support and interest in the topic.

[badbluesman]

Progress Report (good news):

By my count we already have approximately 2,300 sheets spoken for. This is not exact, because some people have said "I'll take 200-400 sheets" or "I'm in for a few hundred dollars worth." In those cases, I calculated the median average.

But the bottom line is that we are already pretty close after only two days since the post went up.