35mm B&W Film (not C-41) in Australia.

[Rekka]

Hi guys,

Who sells the best value 35mm B&W "traditional" film in Australia?

Does anyone order film in bulk from overseas? It looks like you have to order >$1000 worth for it to be worth getting from the US.

Thoughts?

Thanks,

//Rekka

[I @ M]

Who sells the best value 35mm B&W "traditional" film in Australia?

I think that you are facing a limited supply problem and it is only very recently that I have received emails from 2 prominent printers in Melbourne announcing that they no longer do film processing.

Have a look at pricing from Vanbar, they have always carried a pretty good range of film. ----- http://www.vanbar.com.au/catalogue/index.php?item1=FILM&item2=B%26W&brand=

[fillum]

Hi Rekka, last lot of film I bought was a couple of years ago from lofico (http://www.lofico.com.au/collections/35mm-film-b-w-film)(I think Sydney based). Prices at the time were quite good but look to have increased since then. From memory shipping costs were minimal and delivery was fairly quick. Their main problem is that they seem to be continually sold out of a lot of their range.

Blanco Negro (http://blanconegro.mesitenow.com/product-category/film/35mm/?orderby=price) only sell Foma products but prices are reasonable. (I haven't bought from them). They have a shopfront/lab in Redfern if you wanted to pick up.

Buying from the US is probably not a bad option. B&H (http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/search?ipp=100&atclk=Format_35mm-24+Exposure&ci=2545&N=4093113317+4019732826+4130468181+4130468176) now have cheaper shipping options to Aus if you don't mind waiting (quoted as 10-15 days, but I recently had an item arrive in 7 or 8 days). Quick example - 20 rolls of HP5 (135/36) would be around $150 delivered, so roughly $7.50 a roll which is much better than local prices (which can be up to $13 a roll). If you don't want 'name' brands there are some cheaper options available (Arista / Kentmere) starting at around A$4. (B&H website allow you to set currency to AUD which makes life a bit easier). Many people seem to use Freestyle (http://www.freestylephoto.biz/category/2-Film/Black-and-White-Film?attr[]=1-3)also.

If you shoot a fair bit of film another option might be to buy bulk reels (~30m long) and load it yourself (but not worth it for Kodak). I think around 18 rolls per 30m...




Cheers.