getting back into film
Discussion
My girlfriend and I both have a sizeable collection of classic film cameras and we fancy going out with just a roll of 36 each like the old days.
Ilford's FP4 and HP5 were the order of the day when I was a nipper .. can you still buy it on the high street. If i order from say ebay am I in danger of getting old stock sent through?
Who else is still using film and where do you get your film from, and where developed/printed?
Many thanks.
Ilford's FP4 and HP5 were the order of the day when I was a nipper .. can you still buy it on the high street. If i order from say ebay am I in danger of getting old stock sent through?
Who else is still using film and where do you get your film from, and where developed/printed?
Many thanks.
I always use either Mailshots or AG photographic, Mailshots have probably the fastest delivery times usually within a day or 2, I found 7 Day shop OK but they can take up to 2 weeks for delivery. B&W is still readily available as is colour print film, in fact there is even a few new emulsions from Kodak, but colour slide film is getting expensive now and only a few brands remain.
spitfire4v8 said:
thanks for those so far. I'd never heard of 7day shop so thanks for that link too 
Used to buy all my 35mm from them but got hit with several batches of very short dated materials (that they wouldn't change). Still buy batteries from them, but film (and various other bits) now from Silverprint.The Ilford dev service is pretty good, otherwise use Lab35 for general stuff. The occasional big print on fibre I get done at Metro Imaging (not cheap mind...).
LooneyTunes said:
Used to buy all my 35mm from them but got hit with several batches of very short dated materials (that they wouldn't change). Still buy batteries from them, but film (and various other bits) now from Silverprint.
I use http://www.battery-force.co.uk for batteries now. Fast and efficient, and you get a little chocolate with each delivery Silverprint is ace. The shop is like a little treasure trove.
Thankyou for the extra info here people .. the GF has been doing a bit of research also and found a shop local to her that stocks film so we are going to take a ride over there and get friendly with them. I've got a some good back-up places mentioned here just in case though so thanks everyone
Having got back into photography recently, I get my film from www.speedgraphic.co.uk - prices are good and delivery prompt. The local Boots does a surprisingly good job of dev & print (C41 negative film), much better than Jessops.
Kodak Ektar is an interesting film - very fine grain and bright colours (mad if over exposed). Fun, but I wouldn't want to use it for portraits!
I'm currently using my first roll of Ilford FP4 since I was a teenager and am planning to send it to the Ilford mail order lab as I've heard some good things about them. This means swallowing my pride a bit as I've got all the darkroom kit I'd need to develop and print - just nowhere to set up as a darkroom.
About a decade ago Mum bought a load of film from 7 day shop which had a horrible green cast, the conclusion was that it had probably been through an X-ray machine on passing into the UK.
Kodak Ektar is an interesting film - very fine grain and bright colours (mad if over exposed). Fun, but I wouldn't want to use it for portraits!
I'm currently using my first roll of Ilford FP4 since I was a teenager and am planning to send it to the Ilford mail order lab as I've heard some good things about them. This means swallowing my pride a bit as I've got all the darkroom kit I'd need to develop and print - just nowhere to set up as a darkroom.
About a decade ago Mum bought a load of film from 7 day shop which had a horrible green cast, the conclusion was that it had probably been through an X-ray machine on passing into the UK.
Simpo Two said:
As a friend of my father's once commented, whilst watching the printing process for the first time, 'Ah, so if the negative is a bit out of focus you can sharpen it in the enlarger...' 
It's worrying how many otherwise intelligent people believe that. Even some of my contemporaries doing photography at college couldn't understand it...tog said:
You don't need a darkroom to dev film, assuming you have a standard spiral tank, just a changing bag. Might be an option if you're planning on scanning the negatives.
Got a changing bag so yes I could do it that way, though I don't have a scanner that can take negs. As Simpo Two says though, I want to print as well and I found that to be the most fun part of the process. Gassing Station | Photography & Video | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff