Ektachrome price increase?

[Gene McCluney]

I normally use Ektachrome EPP 4x5 in 50 sheet boxes. The price has been around $100 a box from my normal mail-order vendors. ($100 to $108). Just placed an order, and the price has jumped up to $149 per 50 sheet box. Now that is a big price increase. Fuji has not gone up. Of course I would rather pay more than have it not available.

[BrianShaw]

I'm sure you've noticed, but almost EVERYTHING we need/want to buy has gone up in price! It's really starting to hurt, isn't it?

[Brian Ellis]

We've all known for years that as film use declines prices will go up and that's been exacerbated by inflation in general. Like you, we'd mostly rather have it available at whatever price than not. But I can tell you that the cost of film and processing (for color, I process my own b&w) is a factor in my increased use of a digital camera. Not the only factor, not even the principal factor. But when I can buy a 2 gig card that holds about 115 RAW photographs for about $30, use it hundreds of times over, and pop it into my computer and have prints at a cost of pennies per print, it makes you think. And yes, I know, when I say pennies a print I'm not doing a strict cost accounting but I'd have most of the things I use to make the prints whether I used them for photography or not so to my mind it's pennies per print.

[vinny]

I think commercial photography is the only reason these films are still available. If it wasn't for motion picture film and the few remaining commercial film shooters, they'd have dropped all of it by now. We are very fortunate.

[Gene McCluney]

I think commercial photography is the only reason these films are still available. If it wasn't for motion picture film and the few remaining commercial film shooters, they'd have dropped all of it by now. We are very fortunate.

I am sure you are right, and indeed, I am a commercial photographer, that uses EPP in 4x5 for product shots.