Film Where do you buy film?

Amin

Hall of Famer
I've mostly bought at Amazon, B&H, Adorama, local cameras stores, and Costco. Where do you buy film?
 
I have bought it from so many different sources.. but by far the best deals for me have been eBay and Amazon. I have also bought from Freestyle Photo. Local camera shows have also been a great place to find low cost name brand film.
 
TradeMe (NZ eBay equivalent) - I have a saved search for expired film.

I have bought from Japanese (Fuji) and US (for Arista 400) online stores in the past.

Very jealous of US residents and cheap film prices from Amazon.

As a guide on expired film - I hear -
* slow film speeds age better than fast film speeds
* black & white ages better than colour negative which ages better than slide
* frozen film ages better than refrigerated film, which ages better than stuff stored on a shelf (or exposed to sunlight/heat)
* exposed rolls should be developed relatively quickly after shooting (don't leave a half-used roll in a camera for years at a time)
* there is a rule of thumb (which escapes me) along the lines of exposure compensation per unit of time (I want to say decade but it might be less) - not very useful I know
 
I've been buying film from B&H because it's so easy to shop there. You can easily narrow their wide selection by clicking to specify the film format, speed, type, and/or brand. I order $50 worth at a time for free shipping, which is prompt unlike Amazon's punitively slow free shipping. And B&H's prices are often the lowest I can find and otherwise close to the lowest.
 
If you like Ektar and TMAX, Amazon usually has them for under $5 a roll with a $25 purchase.. As I usually buy a lot from Amazon this is a no brainer.. I like both film types!
 
TradeMe (NZ eBay equivalent) - I have a saved search for expired film.

I have bought from Japanese (Fuji) and US (for Arista 400) online stores in the past.

Very jealous of US residents and cheap film prices from Amazon.

As a guide on expired film - I hear -
* slow film speeds age better than fast film speeds
* black & white ages better than colour negative which ages better than slide
* frozen film ages better than refrigerated film, which ages better than stuff stored on a shelf (or exposed to sunlight/heat)
* exposed rolls should be developed relatively quickly after shooting (don't leave a half-used roll in a camera for years at a time)
* there is a rule of thumb (which escapes me) along the lines of exposure compensation per unit of time (I want to say decade but it might be less) - not very useful I know

I think the rule is for every decade one stop... I have some real old expired stuff in the freezer that I stored last year after finding it at my parents house. Will see how it holds up when I shoot it!
 
I like Fuji Superia 400 as an all-purpose color film. I pay under US$3.50/roll at my local Walmart for a pack of 4.

I get all my other color film from Freestyle or from my local lab.
 
I buy tri-x from B&H but everything else ( Rollei 25, Ilford 50, ilford 3200) locally from Glass Key Photo and Photoworks, San Francisco. I try to support my local brick and mortar stores when the cost is close enough to justify.
 
I prefer to shop locally too, as long as they don't try to rip me off. I've seen too many of the old stores closing down during the last few years, some of them were real camera museums.
 
You spoiled folks.... B&H is not an easy option.

There is a healthy "analogue" photo community where I live, plus Amazon has recently started to carry trix and some lomo stuff at reasonable prices.
 
I'm hoping that like the nascent vinyl "revival" (HMV in the UK were selling a turn-table a minute over X-Mas and Amazon reported record-players as their top bit of music-tech) we'll see the film stocks and prices bottom out and stablise as a viable enthusiasts consumable.
 
Mostly B&H. I'd like to support the local stores, but I'm on a very limited retirement income and the cost per roll is usually close to double. I just cannot afford that kind of mark-up. Last I compared B&H had the best prices on Neopan Acros 100, which I like a lot. But truth to tell, the budget crunch means I'm shooting less film than I'd like. It's too bad. I enjoy the process, and I enjoy processing.
 
Freestyle; I can't recall buying from anyone else for years now.

I see you live in Hunterdon. I do as well. If I need film quick I stop by Black Lab Studios in Flemington. I also get my color developed there (I scan myself).

I used to order from Freestyle because I liked their EDU line of films, but I have switched to ordering from B&H because shipping is free for orders $49 and I get it the next day.

It's also worth noting that B&H is now carrying Arista EDU films. It looks like they are pricing them the same, as long as they are in stock.
 
I see you live in Hunterdon. I do as well. If I need film quick I stop by Black Lab Studios in Flemington. I also get my color developed there (I scan myself).

I used to order from Freestyle because I liked their EDU line of films, but I have switched to ordering from B&H because shipping is free for orders $49 and I get it the next day.

It's also worth noting that B&H is now carrying Arista EDU films. It looks like they are pricing them the same, as long as they are in stock.

I've been aware of Black Lab for a while, but haven't managed to get there yet. I guess B&H would make more sense than Freestyle for mail order, but I order a fair amount of Freestyle's paper and chemistry as well.
 
In the UK, I tend to get mine from Ag photographic - mail order (if I'm after 10 rolls +). I recently bought 15 rolls of Kodak ImagePro 100 from Thailand (via eBay) as you can't get it in the UK and I'd loved a series of travel photos taken in the far east using that film stock.
 
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