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View Full Version : My New 8x10 Sheet Film Protocol



John Kasaian
5-Feb-2011, 19:55
Discontinued emulsions, factory distruptions and closures, retailers stocks being "cleaned out" by horders, price increases, and other impedimentia have encouraged me to rethink how I buy and how much I should store when it comes to sheet film.

In the past I always kept at least one unopened box of the major emulsions I shoot, and as soon as I opened that box I'd order a replacement.
Of course if a shoot came up that required more than one box of film I'd order accordingly but on the whole this has worked fine for the common 25 sheet boxes Ilford sells, and the 50 sheet boxes everyone else (but Kodak) is selling.

Now I've decided to have two, perhaps even three unopened boxes on hand, just so I can be sure of having enough to see me through times of temporary film drought.
This is in addition to other emulsions being "tested" or more specialized emulsions such as ortho or perhaps infrared.

Filling my freezer full of film is an expense I cannot afford, but it is a real hassle to contemplate a shoot only to find that the film is back ordered or that a project will need to switch emulsions halfway through because the film you started out with is no longe being produced.

What do you do, or what are you considering doing to assure a constant supply of sheet film for your projects?

Film doomsayers can butt out, please (I have a stash of plate holders to address that unlikely event! :D)

dsim
5-Feb-2011, 20:05
I try to keep two unopened boxes of film in the fridge. I'm considering increasing this amount to five.

Daniel Stone
5-Feb-2011, 22:06
buy AT LEAST an extra(1), sometimes 2 boxes of anything I buy, just in case I find its been discontinued.

Efke has pretty much reached the price of Ilford FP4+, so I'm transitioning over to Ilford, but with those 20% price increases coming soon, maybe not.

I took on a 2nd job, JUST to help keep my supplies freezer "stocked", well, its getting there :). Part-time job(2 days/week, 8hr shift each day), so it isn't much, but it helps

-Dan

Michael Kadillak
5-Feb-2011, 22:35
Maybe the answer is somewhere between where you have been and where you would be if you could afford it? Just increase your film operating elasticity proportional to your critical film needs for projects. Maybe it is four or five boxes of "cushion" that you maintain? I find that my decisions are made for me as to when when I can get the film particularly in ULF sizes as they are rarely stocked. Do not be surprised if 8x10 makes the transition to this purchase format as a function of time.

I picked up some additional customers in my business to make it happen as a previous respondent mentioned. At the end of the day you do what you have to do to not have it concern or worry you.

John Bowen
6-Feb-2011, 03:27
John,

I started about 5 years ago. Every time I pulled film from the freezer, I replaced it with twice as much. In other words, pull a brick of 35mm, replace with two bricks. Pull a box of LF film, replace with two boxes. In essence you wind up doubling your film budget.

Randy
6-Feb-2011, 06:21
As a poor man, I have found the cost of 8X10 film very discouraging...so what do I do...sell my 4X5 gear, spend $380 on a 12" lens that I really didn't absolutely have to have, and then sit back and complain about the cost of film.
I am an idiot who has no concept of priorities.

jnantz
6-Feb-2011, 08:27
hi john

i used to buy fresh film, but now i only buy expired, and i shoot paper negatives.

john

MIke Sherck
6-Feb-2011, 09:22
As a poor man, I have found the cost of 8X10 film very discouraging...so what do I do...sell my 4X5 gear, spend $380 on a 12" lens that I really didn't absolutely have to have, and then sit back and complain about the cost of film.
I am an idiot who has no concept of priorities.

You are a genius who refuses to compromise. Wallow in your moral superiority! :D

Mike

Richard M. Coda
6-Feb-2011, 09:42
I have never bought film to store... only to use so I buy it when I need it. One thing that has changed due to a) the economy and b) availability... is that I only expose ONE negative now, where I used to expose a second as an insurance policy. Most of what I do is local so I can always go back if I mess up. My exposures are usually very accurate.

Wayne
6-Feb-2011, 09:48
You are a genius who refuses to compromise. Wallow in your moral superiority! :D

Mike


Lol. I'm a genius too. I refuse to act like all those people who make rational decisions that pay off. I can go to my (early) grave knowing I am true to my art!!!:)

patrickjames
6-Feb-2011, 12:40
It seems to me that you are only going to have to take a one time hit to stock up. After that you can go back to your old method of replacing what you shot.

I don't worry too much about films. I am of the opinion that anything will work so I don't get too attached, especially after Agfa went bust (that was depressing). I am of the opinion that the photographer is the one making the decisions; the film is just there. I think within the next five years or so a couple of makers will cease and the whole situation will stabilize, then you won't have to worry about it.

Kirk Gittings
6-Feb-2011, 12:53
Even though my 4x5 b&w films of choice are still readily available, I have somewhat unconsciously developed a siege mentality, buying what I can before the price becomes exorbitant. I have 1000 sheets of FP4, 200 sheets of TMY and maybe 200 readyloads of Acros in the freezer. I am saving the Acros for those trips to Easter Island and Petra that I probably will never be able to afford. Otherwise when I need film, I pull the oldest box and replace it with at least one and preferably two more. I do the same with ammunition ;). I am also switching to and standardizing on a developer (Pyrocat) that I can mix myself if need be.