Is LF film available at retail ANYWGERE in Houston

[Drew Bedo]

Is there ant retail outlet for LF film anywhere in Houston. I have an opportunity to shoot a bit this weekend and again a bit later next week, but found myself out of Velvia andshort on Tri-X. Both Camera Co-Op and Houston Camera Exchange do not carry sheet films in any size any more (I understand about Co-Op). Any suggestions besides yje usual on-line sources?

[Drew Bedo]

Thanks to everyone for all the helpful advice:


I finally went to B&H for two-day delivery.

Dunno how much longer I can do LF. When I broke-in to LF, I was working in a medical setting that used a Tri-X equivalent sheet film ("EktaScan" in standard 8x10 film holders. Once in a while I would load a few sheets to shoot on the weekend and process it in the clinic's darktoom on Monday morning. I used to buy expired Ektachrome in 4x5 and 8x10 at the old Houston Camera show for pennies a sheet. If a box didn't work out; Oh Well.

More recently (post Ektachrome), Fuji Velvia could be had at ~ $20 for a box of 20 sheets—at a retail canera store. Today: Expired 8x10 is well over $100 for 10 sheets ($10 a pop and not sure its good?) and fresh is astronomical . . .as much or more than my Kodak 2D cost me,

This morning I bought one box of 4x5 Velvia 100 from B&H (bless 'em, they still sell it) for $72 plus $13 for 2 day shipping. In the next two or three years what willit cost if anyone sells it anywhere?

OK—the cranky retired guy is done for now.

[jp]

Retired isn't reason to be cranky. Maybe blame it on old person meds or something.

Color has been expensive for a while...

B&W you can shoot FP4+ for reasonable money and good quality, or if you're looking for cheap, some 8x10 Ektascan B/RA. You could buy now what you want in 2-3 years, assuming your question isn't just rhetorical. I'm still buying Ilford and using it within a year, but I have a long term supply of Kodak and don't care much for their current or near term prices. Haven't bought retail since the 1990's; part of living rural.

[Andrew O'Neill]

Sadly, I can no longer afford TMY-2. I will keep shooting Ilford 8x10 'til I can't. I've got heaps of Ilford 4x5, and will also shoot that.

[StoneNYC]

Just bought 100 sheets of 8x10 TMY-2 ;) film is cheap.

I organize group buys for Velvia50 at $100/4x5 box lol

I could also ship you a box of Velvia50 8x10 if you still need it, at cost.

But you can still buy Ektascan new now for $85/100 sheets, they still make it. That's cheaper if you want some B&W only.

[Andrew O'Neill]

Just bought 100 sheets of 8x10 TMY-2 film is cheap.

TMY-2 is far from cheap. May I ask what you paid for 100 sheets?

[Willie]

Gasoline used to be $ 33.9 cents a gallon too.
You pay to play if you want the results. Or, you get the cheap films with attendant quality control problems, X-Ray film or coat wet or dry plates and make your own.

[John Kasaian]

No one sells 8x10 sheet film in my town, nor 5x7 for that matter, although Horn's does have 4x5 ( I think to support the photography courses at the local university.)
Sheet film is a mail order thing for me as well as many others.
Now, what's your problem?:rolleyes:

[StoneNYC]

TMY-2 is far from cheap. May I ask what you paid for 100 sheets?

You may ask ;)

I'm not sure if Keith Canham has sent the official order, but he was just taking orders for kodak, I think the price came in at something like $96/10 sheet box for fresh stock. It's a pretty good price and better than expected, the Acros100 8x10 I get from Japan that I redistribute here in the U.S. is $170/20 sheet box, so TMY-2 breaks down to about $9.60/sheet and Acros100 breaks down to be $8.50/sheet so my price is still less with that 2 minute reciprocity rate and special spectral sensitivity, but I like both as TMY-2 is also great on reciprocity so I buy and use both for different reasons. Keith's a great guy.

I would love if Ilford would step up the reciprocity game and save me some money, but with all the low light shooting I tend to do, I hit failure often, and with HP5+ and Delta100 I run into it a LOT, so I switched, better than FOMA but still... when 30 seconds becomes 7-8 minutes it's time to re-think things (unless you're using that to your advantage for added image effects of course) but for me, I don't want to be standing out there for 1-2 hours when it could have been 10 minutes...

[vinny]

"It's a pretty good price and better than expected"
Are you printing your own money?

[StoneNYC]

"It's a pretty good price and better than expected"
Are you printing your own money?

No but I will be when the 8x10 enlarger is finally assembled in my new darkroom (waiting for the temps to come back to normal so I can seal the cement floor from chemical spills). And by printing money I mean printing prints that sell by my own hands instead of my current operation of sending the scans to a lambda printer for RA-4 printing.

[Andrew O'Neill]

I would love if Ilford would step up the reciprocity game and save me some money, but with all the low light shooting I tend to do, I hit failure often, and with HP5+ and Delta100 I run into it a LOT, so I switched

I shot with HP5 and FP4 many, many times with exposures up to 2 hours after applying reciprocity compensation and always had excellent negatives to work with. The bottom line is, it's you. Not the film. Also, TMY-2 a pretty good price?? You must be a single guy with no dependents...

[John Kasaian]

By the time Kodak came out with TMY-2, they had already priced themselves out of my budget!
Ilford is great stuff IMHO, just do the math when you know reciprocity is going to be an issue (just like photographers did in the past!)

[StoneNYC]

I shot with HP5 and FP4 many, many times with exposures up to 2 hours after applying reciprocity compensation and always had excellent negatives to work with. The bottom line is, it's you. Not the film. Also, TMY-2 a pretty good price?? You must be a single guy with no dependents...

You don't get what I mean, I've also made plenty of beautiful shots with HP5+ at 2 hours, my point is, I don't want to sit there for 2 hours while I could sit there for 10 minutes and then move and take another shot, also compensating for the light falling over the course of the timeframe you're dealing with affects a lot.

So to me my time is also valuable, and if I can take 3-5 shots in a given night instead of just 1, sometimes that's an advantage worth paying for. Not always, and not for everyone but for some people it makes a huge difference.

I'm saying the price of TMY-2 this run was better than expected and I think actually lower than the last run, so a price drop is pretty good... (Could be wrong but I recall it being more for the last special order).

[Pali K]

I see Stone's point which is also valid when you rarely get time to go out to shoot and you would like to make more than 1 or 2 images. My day job allows for limited free time and I usually shoot in the evenings because my weekends are reserved to be with my kid. I love HP5 but I had to have Acros so I could shoot 5 minute exposures vs. 20+ minute exposures.

I consider myself a LF rookie but both of these films have a purpose for me which is more than quality.

[Andrew O'Neill]

I get what you mean, Stone. My really painfully long shots have been in coal mines. Looking at my HP5 records going back 23 years, my exposures range anywhere from 1/30th of a second up to 12 minutes outside. That's pretty good eh, Stone?

[Bill_1856]

Did anyone read the original question? Best I can tell, no one answered it.

[StoneNYC]

Did anyone read the original question? Best I can tell, no one answered it.

He posted it on two thread locations and got the answer in the other one.

He also made a second post explaining that he found film.


I get what you mean, Stone. My really painfully long shots have been in coal mines. Looking at my HP5 records going back 23 years, my exposures range anywhere from 1/30th of a second up to 12 minutes outside. That's pretty good eh, Stone?

I couldn't tell if you were teasing me or not? 12 minutes is a lot better than some of my 1-2 hours shots haha

I tend to shoot at dusk at f/22 or f/32 so it gets a little long at times.

Even with Acros100 I've hit 10 minutes.

Anyway, I do like HP5+

I just ended up deciding for now, while I can afford it, (and still available) I'll use TMY-2 or Acros100.

Anyway glad you've enjoyed HP5+ for so many years.

[Andrew O'Neill]

No 8x10 but 4x5 TMY-2 is still affordable for me!

[Andrew O'Neill]

Stone, were you trying to pm me?

[Drew Bedo]

Thanks to everyone for their in-put on films and prices.

I broke down and bought a box of Velvia from B&H. I would still like to buy from a "local" business though. Interesting that no retailer seems to sell sheet film here in the 4th largest market in the US.

[Jim Andrada]

Is it the 4th largest market for photographic stuff? That's what would count, not it's overall market for everything size.

I suspect that the San Francisco area would have a lot more interest in photography than much larger cities (like Phoenix???) just because the demographics are so different.

[Drew Bedo]

Jim; I understand and agree with our analysis. I was just a little amazed to realize that in such a major metropolitan area the photo market is so inactive.

Only aAer Photo will process sheet film any more. They do not enlarge from negatives at all. Hot Flash was the last lab to enlarge 8x10 directly to paper, and they closed several years ago.

Camera Exchange is the only thriving Photography store in Houston.


No retail outlet in Houston sells sheet film at retail.A\

All this didn't happen overnight, of course, but the film thing is within the past six months I think.

[David Lobato]

I think I bought the last retail 8x10 sheet film in Houston a few years ago at Camera Co-op. I bought a box of HP5+ and a few months later bought the the other one. They never restocked it, but they did have 4x5 sheet film for a while. Houston Camera Exchange stopped selling sheet film some time before.

Service Photo in Baltimore stocks 4x5 sheet film. No telling how much longer that will be. I like their store, they have always treated me very well.

[Jim Andrada]

Drew: I think you've asked the right question - why is the photo market in Houston so inactive. Or turning it around, what is it about San Francisco (and a couple of others) that leads to such an active film market?

I was really surprised to find a store/lab withing 10 minutes of my house that still processes 8 x 10 B&W and Color and stocks 4 x 5. In Tucson!!! Probably because of the photographic activity at U of A, the unlikely home of the Ansel Adams archives.

[TXFZ1]

Houston never was a photographer's market, even in the glory days of film. Some advertisement, medical, and portraiture. Dallas has/had a fashion market but nothing near to the size of New York or LA. The last real camera store was Southwestern Camera on Shepard and they closed their doors decade ago.

David

[Drew Bedo]

I was in the Houston Camera Exchange yesterday and spoke with a former staffer at the Camera Co-Op. She said that the Co-Op had finally closed its doors. The owner, Chris, has intentions of relocating and reopening on the North-West side of town in a smaller space. bHope thay can re-start the Co-Op. We will have to see what happens.

I for one, wish them all the best. A single-source market is never the best situation.