Charts Showing the Current Prices (August 2021) of Colour and B&W Film Stocks

[r.e.]

The spreadsheets below show the B&H price of several film stocks. There's a spreadsheet for black and white stocks and one for colour. I made these because I was budgeting a project and wanted to understand what's happening with availability and prices for certain films and formats.

The first number in each cell is the price for the product (e.g. 8x10 sheets, 120/6x7 roll film). The second number is the price per photograph. The prices are in U.S. dollars and are ex-sales tax.

I made these charts about a week ago. There's some week to week fluctuation in price, but these prices should be reasonably accurate as of August 4, 2021. In a number of cases, I've rounded to the nearest dollar. Obviously, there can be "deals". The chart shows $233 for a box of 10 sheets of 8x10 Ektar, but for a short time in July B&H was selling a box for $180.

The charts only include film stocks made by Ilford, Kodak and Fujifilm, because that's what I wanted to know about. Also, with the exception of Ektachrome 100, Portra 800, T-Max 100 and Tri-X 400, I have only included stocks that are available in 8x10 as well as smaller sizes. I included the exceptions because they help me better understand what's happening with availability. That's also why there's a column noting the recent discontinuance, in the U.S., of Velvia 100. Films from the big three that aren't on these charts aren't available, at least from B&H, in 8x10.


Colour Stocks:






B&W Stocks:

[Bill Poole]

For what it is worth, BlueMoon Camera in Portland is selling 100 count 4x5 HP5 at quite a reduction from BH prices, ($180.50)--a saving for $20 even after paying for standard shipping. Not sure why, as other film prices are comparable, so it can't last. But thought I would mention.

[r.e.]

For what it is worth, BlueMoon Camera in Portland is selling 100 count 4x5 HP5 at quite a reduction from BH prices, ($180.50)--a saving for $20 even after paying for standard shipping. Not sure why, as other film prices are comparable, so it can't last. But thought I would mention.

Now "Only 1 Left in Stock".

[j enea]

B&H is no longer the low price retailer. like the HP5 example, if I look at the 5 retailers I usually buy from, B&H is $40 more expensive then the next highest. I think they just raise prices when they want and figure that most people just buy from them and thats fine. but you can also get free shipping from samy's and save $40.

now it could be that B&H sells thru their inventory faster than others and the new wholesale price is much higher. its possible, but I doubt it as glass key was out of HP5 for a while, got it back in stock a few weeks ago and its $40 less.

[abruzzi]

Yeah, I don't really shop around much. Partly because I simply don't know many other shops that sell film (and I've been mostly boycotting Amazon for the last decade.) I do sometimes buy film from Adrian Bacon over on Photrio. But mostly I've standardized on film from B&H and chemicals and darkroom gear from Freestyle.

I'm not that price sensitive on 4x5 and smaller formats, but I'm slowly dipping my toe into 8x10, and those prices are making me more price sensitive, so much so that I just ordered some Xray film to practice with (I've wondered, does anyone call it rontgen film? I know is some areas, "rontgen rays" is in more common usage than "x-rays").

[Oren Grad]

For those in the US, it's worth keeping in mind that you can order many Ilford products directly from Roberts, Harman's US distributor, through the ilfordphoto.com website. They're not usually the lowest-cost vendor for any given item, but sometimes they are. On top of that, if you get on their mailing list, they periodically send out notices of time-limited discount offers (for example, "10% off everything this weekend only").

[r.e.]

B&H is no longer the low price retailer. like the HP5 example, if I look at the 5 retailers I usually buy from, B&H is $40 more expensive then the next highest. I think they just raise prices when they want and figure that most people just buy from them and thats fine. but you can also get free shipping from samy's and save $40.

now it could be that B&H sells thru their inventory faster than others and the new wholesale price is much higher. its possible, but I doubt it as glass key was out of HP5 for a while, got it back in stock a few weeks ago and its $40 less.

[EDIT: Oren and I cross-posted. He beat me to it, and with more details, on Ilford Photo U.S. direct sales.]

I didn't make these charts as a reseller recommendation. This was part of making film choices for a project that will take six months to a year to complete. I wanted to get a handle on what's available from the big three, a sense of where availability is going and an understanding of relative pricing. I'm about to do some film tests, but the prices in these charts mean that price is going to be an important consideration. Look at the price of 8x10 Portra 160 compared to Portra 400 and Ektar 100, and the price of Ilford vs Kodak black and white, and you'll see why. Not to mention Kodak playing checkers with its black and white films

For prices on a given day, note that Ilford U.S. (don't know about Europe) sells direct as well as through resellers. I think that it's useful to see what its own price is and compare that against one's preferred retailers. Thanks for the reference to Glass Key Photo, a reseller that is new to me.

[r.e.]

Here are today's B&H prices for the 8x10 film stocks that I've been considering. Per sheet, Kodak Tri-X 320 is 69% more expensive than Ilford HP4+ 125 and HP5+ 400. Portra 400 is 26.3% more expensive than Portra 160.

I've eliminated Kodak black and white film stocks as an option on price alone.

This weekend, I'm testing Ektar 100 and Portra 160. I'll be considering the different looks that these films have, but I'll also be considering the fact that Ektar is 20% more expensive to shoot.

B&H, August 5, 2021, Per 8x10 Sheet:

Portra 400: $24
Ektar 100: $23
Portra 160: $19

Kodak Tri-X 320: $12
Kodak T-Max 400: $10
Ilford Delta: $7.45
Ilford FP4, HP5: $7.10

[SW Rick]

Unique Photo in NJ has competitive prices, often less than B&H (at least for 35mm/120). Bonus isn tax more states and usually free shipping.