New Member Question

[ksmattfish]

And hopefully J & C is a lot more likely to listen to their consumers than the great yellow giant ever was. You ask Kodak why they can't offer silver rich emulsions, and they'll point you to the stockholders' meeting. You ask J & C to find someone producing silver rich emulsions, and they just do it.

As long as I can get film that maintains a consistant quality from batch to batch I don't really care who makes it. I just want to be able to do film tests, and then use it for at least a year before I have to do new film tests.

 

[mysteryscribe]

and matt... they were right then to

 

[ksmattfish]

okay terri find me some 3x4 cut film some 122 roll film...

J & C carries several brands of 3"x4" sheet film.

 

[mysteryscribe]

then as usual I stand corrected.. by the way thanks I might just convert a camera back to 3x4 since i have about a hundred film holders nobody else wants lol

 

[terri]

then as usual I stand corrected.. by the way thanks I might just convert a camera back to 3x4 since i have about a hundred film holders nobody else wants lol

ooo ooo! I sense a new title for Charlie....

Yeah, J&C is trying, at least. It's a pretty bold move in today's market, which makes me want to support them all them all the more.

 

[mysteryscribe]

I wish them luck as well. I think in the end they might just make it a long long time. Some people will always buy it if they can find it to sell. You can even set up a little manufacturing line to convert one format to another ie cut up 4x5 to 3x4 but it's going to be prohibitive at some point.

I haven't seen more than a couple of cameras worth paying five bucks a roll for black and white film to shoot in 127. If they do keep it up, and the availablity is there long term, then they have my best wishes. I have serious doubts about the availability of the products but that is just me.

 

[Alex_B]

Well, just a comment on the "film might die" issue.

I made some bad experiences over the last years when handing in slide film to get it developed (in Germany that is). First of all many labs simply died. And those which remain are fighting a battle and it seems hard to make profits. So it appears from my personal experience, that those labs survive which offer the cheapest and fastest service, at mediocre to really bad quality.

At least I can see a steady descend in the quality my film is developed by the labs over the last 5 years. This includes an increasing number of scratches on the film made by apparently poorly maintained machinery in the labs! (No, it is not my cameras ... ).

So to me this means you either develop your film by yourself, or find a small lab where people still know what they are doing and where they do it not with maximised return on investment. Hard to find though ...

 

[mysteryscribe]

Photography done by others for you is a business, no matter how much we would like to think it is a loving experience. It is a business to them, if they can't make a good return on their time and money, they will manufacture salsa.

I am preparing for the worst, right down to checking out a chicken ranch.

 

[Alex_B]

Photography done by others for you is a business, no matter how much we would like to think it is a loving experience.

Yes, I agree ... but sometimes it is nice to live with nice illusions

Just saying that mass-production consumer labs tend to be even slightly worse than other types ...

I think it is all a sad story and I might turn to my old camera which probably needs glass plates and no film and do all trhe old chemistry myself (really want to do this one day ... )

 

[Jeff Canes]

--I also find 5 bucks a lot for a roll of 127 roll film b&w. I'd rather shoot paper lol...

it’s better that $10 a roll for 127 E-6

also http://fotoimpex.de/ or http://www.fotoimpex.co.uk/ is jandcphoto.com euro partner

 

[ksmattfish]

Kodak introduces new C41 emulsions

http://www.cameratown.com/news/news.cfm?id=3035

 

[Torus34]

Wow! Talk about a topic with legs . . .

If push comes to shove, there's always the strategy of stocking up on film and stuffing it in the back of the freezer. The keeping properties are excellent at 10 degrees F.

On 127 roll film -- didn't Rollei make a nice TLR for it? Or was it Yashika?

 

[mysteryscribe]

both did those were the ones i was thinking off....Actually it is larger then 645 I think.

 

[ksmattfish]

...since i have about a hundred film holders nobody else wants lol

I have a few dozen 3"x4" film hangers I'd be willing to part with for the cost of shipping if you have any interest. They came in a $5 box of 4x5 developing gear I got at a yard sale.

 

[mysteryscribe]

No thanks I shoot one or two shots at a time these days. I develope them in a peanut butter jar with a light baffle.... It's a ripoff of the old jobo one ounce system. Home made of course.

I did just rebuild my 3x4 camera though I know not why...