Price.. Q

sthvtsh · Dec 1, 2006

How much does film cost?

How much does B&W film cost to develop?
How much does color film cost to develop?

Alex_B · Dec 1, 2006

depends on the country ...

In Germany ... for colour 35mm pro-slide film I pay 11-13 USD per 36 exposures, E6-processing included.

This price is one reason, besides convenience, why I spent a lot of money for a digital SLR. Given the number of pictures I take per year, I quickly save a lot of money which make the digital a worthwhile investment.

sthvtsh · Dec 1, 2006

Ohh.. I'm in USA. D:

Alex_B · Dec 1, 2006

sthvtsh said:
Ohh.. I'm in USA. D:

guess the price is similar

.. but one of the experts from over there should answer ....

of course you get consumer grade film much cheaper, also I was talking of slide film. Negative is slightly different again.

But at least with consumer grade film you won't be happy for long if you are ambitious. In particular scans come out much better when you scan from pro film.
Keep in mind though, that pro film is often more specialised and harder to expose compared to consumer-grade cheaper film.

sthvtsh · Dec 1, 2006

Hmm.. that's for the reply Alex. =)

Hopefully someone else will give me prices for usa..

Big Mike · Dec 1, 2006

Prices will vary greatly. You can probably buy an 8 pack of Kodak Max color film for $10...and have them developed at Wal-mart for $5 each. Or you could buy pro film for $12+ a roll and pay $20 for pro develop/print service.

Just go to your local lab/Wal-mart/drug store and check it out.

B&W film shouldn't cost much more than color print film...but getting it developed may be harder...as fewer and fewer places do that anymore. Call a few labs and ask them how much they charge.

sthvtsh · Dec 1, 2006

Big Mike said:
Prices will vary greatly. You can probably buy an 8 pack of Kodak Max color film for $10...and have them developed at Wal-mart for $5 each. Or you could buy pro film for $12+ a roll and pay $20 for pro develop/print service.

Just go to your local lab/Wal-mart/drug store and check it out.

B&W film shouldn't cost much more than color print film...but getting it developed may be harder...as fewer and fewer places do that anymore. Call a few labs and ask them how much they charge.

Thanks Big Mike. :sillysmi:

selmerdave · Dec 1, 2006

Here are some prices for film.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=NavBar&A=FetchChildren&Q=&ci=2545

And here are some prices for processing/printing.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=NavBar&A=search&Q=&ci=364

Dave

Christie Photo · Dec 1, 2006

When I made the change to digital imaging about three years ago, I figured it cost me $1 every time I tripped the shutter. (I shot medium format)

As for the costs AFTER shooting, I've never tried to make the comparison. I do know my cost of materials (lab bills) are lower, but I cringe at the hours I've spent in front of a monitor.

Pete

cosmonaut · Dec 1, 2006

You can cut the cost of developing if you tell the lab CD only. K-Mart is $4.00 and Wal-Mart is $4.60. If you do CD only you cut down on wasted prints and can edit your shots is PS and print the ones you like. As far as Film I know some pretty heavy weight photographers that use Fuji 400 Xtra from wal mart for color, and I know many who swear by Kodak Trx, $5.00 a roll, from CVS for B&W. I use Fuji 400 Xtra and Kodak Gold. Fuji seems to have a bit more color than Kodak IMO. But you probably will only ever need to shot color film, it's very easily converted to B&W with channel mixer in PhotoShop..
Cosmo