8x10 color on the cheap...

[Jeffrey Goggin]

Over the past summer, I scratched a long-standing itch to shoot 8x10 by acquiring a scruffy Toyo 810G with a bag bellows, five film holders, and a mint Agfa Repromaster 213mm process lens w/o a shutter. I also bought a few boxes of outdated Astia from Freestyle for about 50 cents per sheet (talk about a bargain!), but when I tried to order more last week, I learned that it's all gone now.

So, now I'm thinking about shooting Fuji CDU instead. I understand that there are some issues regarding color correction and determining the correct ISO, but if I can save ~$2/sheet compared to shooting Provia or Astia, then I'm willing to put up with them. Also, the fact that I've been shooting without a shutter has limited me to shooting early in the morning (alas, I don't yet have any ND filters), and since CDU is quite a bit slower than Provia/Astia, it'll let me to shoot later in the day without having to lay out yet more money for a lens with a shutter.

Before I buy a box of it to experiment with, however, I'm curious if there are any other options I might consider. Does every non-professional shooting 8x10 use B&W or is it simply a matter of sucking up and paying ~$7 sheet for film? I've also looked around for another source of outdated film, but everything I have found so far dates from the late '80s/early '90s and I'm leery of buying anything that's more than a year or two old ... any recommendations?

[James Driscoll]

Ebay- scored frozen film for under $50 for 50 sheet boxes.

Become buddies with the fuji rep in your area, they always give away out dated 8x10 film.

Get a PDN resource book, and call every store listed in there.... I bought boxes of 8x10 in date film from small pro shops at 90% off cause it just sits in the freezer and they can't stand looking at it anymore.

Fotocare (212-741-2990 ask for glenn) has some 8x10 out of date stuff- 50% off normal price. Glenn is a friend of mine, and will do you well. Last time I was in, they had some e100 sw and provia 50 sheet boxes.

Just remember the stuff is in the $375-$400 range for a 50 sheet box, anything under $200 that is under a year out of date is a deal. Beyond that, I feel it should be under $75.

[QT Luong]

Last january I filled up my freezer with boxes of Astia 8x10 on sale at freestyle for $30. Their regular price is $60. This makes the film cost of shooting 8x10 only 4x that of 35mm, for a 50x larger surface area.

[David A. Goldfarb]

Me too. I have almost 4 boxes in reserve, which should last me a while.

[tim atherton]

It's all gone! Darn - I've only got 600 sheets left... time to try out that Fuji 50 or 100D.

Now, does anyone know of any outdated Agafa RSXII 8x10 out there? (especially now it's discontinued)

tim

[Christopher Condit]

I'm currently using some 8x10 Ektachrome 200 that I got from eBay, 100 sheets for $20. That's right, 20 cents a sheet. Of course the expiration date is 1984, but so far it has worked fine for me. Well-stored film can last a long, long time.

[Andre Noble]

Tim Atherton, just out of curiosity, how long will it take you to shoot through that 600 sheets of 8x10?

[tim atherton]

well - I just sent 60 off to the lab - that was from the last week. I am in the midst of a project though

tim

[Lars Åke Vinberg]

I too have some of that outdated Astia from Freestyle. Some sheets have much lower Dmax while others look great, I am not yet sure why. At the moment I am leaning towards that I possibly forgot a bag of loaded filmholders in the car a sunny day, but I do not quite trust that film yet.