Originally Posted by
Drew Wiley
Two hundred bucks ain't nuthin' these days. Take a look at 8x10 color film, which is now running around $40 per SHOT if you factor in processing. Well, I wisely froze a stash of that back when the pricing was far more realistic. Otherwise, you have to either be rich or shoot strategically. Enjoy the groundglass image, but don't insert the holder and trip the shutter unless you feel the image is truly worthy of a print. Then go on periodic format diets by resorting to 4X5 or roll film, if that works suitably for your purpose instead.
My favorite and most versatile black and white films happen to be of the TMax genus; so I have to follow the same rules there. But actually, once I do thaw out a box of 8x10, it takes me quite awhile to shoot it, since my age itself, now 74, means I've often go out with lighter gear these days. So I meter my 8x10 film usage, and probably have enough on hand to last me till I'm 80.
The down side of that custom is that we actually need wasteful film shooters if the manufacturing volume is going to stay steady or even rise, making that end of things more cost-efficient. We need to recruit some billionaires to this forum.