One of the common arguments against film is that it is so expensive. While this argument has merit, there are ways to minimize the cost – specifically in relation to the purchase of raw materials.
Ultra-povo
I’m not sure how widespread the use of the term “povo” is, but in my engagement as a youth it meant that you were quite poor and/or cheap to the point where you didn’t spend money unless you had too. In terms of gaining raw materials in terms of film stock, paper, chemicals and so on, there are free methods of acquisition. The most obvious one is to ask around friends and family. One upside to the increase in digital technology has meant that film and it’s accompanying equipment are left stashed in the bottom of a cupboard.
I also understand that Craigslist can be used to score free equipment? Not quite the case in Australia I’m afraid, but every so often I see a thread in flickr gloating about the latest score of free stuff from Craigslist.
Savy-shopper
If you’re prepared to watch and wait, then ebay can be your time machine. Not only can you buy film in redundant formats (such as respooled 620), you can also pick up some bargains on expired film. Occasionally some good bargains will come along and it’s best to snap them up when you can. A few years ago I found ten rolls of 120 Konica Centuria selling for $15AUS buy-it-now. It was a few months out of date, but the price was pretty cheap. After I found out the seller lived near me, I emailed him and asked him if he had any more. Turns out he had another four packs of ten since he was shifting his studio to digital. Needless to say, I bought the whole lot.
Keep an eye out for bulk tins of film too. Bulk loaders can be bought quite cheaply if you watch and wait, and having a whole lot of film rather than one or two rolls offers the potential for experimentation. I managed to pick up five tins of Kodak Hawkeye Surveillance film for $30 each. I’m not so good on the maths front, but considering each tin holds 150ft of film, it doesn’t cost much to shoot per roll now.
Fresh is best?
I’d have to agree. If you want replicatable results then fresh is generally the way to go. If you prefer to buy per roll there are some very cheap options out there. The first that comes to mind is Lucky SHD100 or Shanghai GP3, both of which are Chinese manufactured black and white films, although I only have experience with the Lucky. I’ve found that the shadows can block up easily and the latitude and contrast is low, but considering I’m normally using this film in my Holga, I’m not too fussed. I should note though that the shot on the right was taken with the cheapest 4×5 film I could find – Shanghai 100B/S – and while it scratches very easily, it holds detail well and both scans and prints (darkroom style) quite well.
There are also the no-name equivalent films, such as Arista Premium 400 which for all intents and purposes functions as Kodak Tri-X 400.
Keep it local
If you spend a little money up front, you should be able to reap the benefits in time. Frequenting your local and paying the top dollar they charge in order to keep themselves in business has the benefit of keeping you in their good books. Occasionally this might lead to a free roll of film now and then, perhaps even discount or free processing, or may even the lend of a camera. And in my case, gifts of old film cameras that customers bring in when they have no further use for it but want it to go to a good home.
Keeping up with your local also helps with the networking side of things. It could be that if you live in a small town that your local can help you out by passing on the jobs he/she hasn’t got time to cover and so you gain work in order to afford more film.
Try to make friends with the local colleges/universities/schools. Even if you aren’t a student. Chances are that if they haven’t got rid of their old film equipment just yet, it will soon be on the cards. If you happen to be in the right place at the right time, then they may even pay you to “dispose” of their old equipment for them. Sounds improbable? Trust me, it happens.
Suggestions?
Got any other suggestions for cheap materials? I know I covered film mainly here, but other equipment such as enlargers can often be picked up cheaply too. I’ve even heard of them eing put out for rubbish collection….
June 29th, 2010 at 1:43 am
on a sweden equivalent of craigslist I often see things like enlargers accompanied by other darkroom gear offered free if you come pick it up. it seems as long as they don’t have to do anything to get rid of it, they’re pleased to give it away.
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June 30th, 2010 at 9:15 am
In Canada we also have Kijiji which is essentially a fancied up version of Craigslist. There are often enlargers or even whole darkroom kits too.
On the camera store front, I find the one in my town every once in a while gives me 10% off my purchase. They have me on file, so I’m not sure if it’s related to how much I’ve spent there since the last discount or if the girl at the cash just thinks I’m cute…. Happens all the time, honest.
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July 3rd, 2010 at 8:23 am
Unfortunately, people do charge for their enlargers here in Japan. It seems the film photo hobby has managed to stay alive and well enough that this complete collapse of darkroom equipment prices never happened.
Also, fewer people ever set up their own darkroom here than in the relative spacious apartments and houses of northern Europe and America. Rental darkrooms used to be everywhere, and are still available. So with much fewer people hoarding old darkroom stuff in the first place, the market for the stuff just never crashed.
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July 3rd, 2010 at 1:20 pm
I could not agree more with that last point; I have been using the same lab for 6 years and they started giving me a 15% discount about 3 years ago. They also give me free contact sheets when I don’t ask for them, and rush jobs without charging. You get MAJOR perks from staying loyal to your lab.
For cheap film, it’s also a good idea to ask local camera shops if they have any recently expired film; I just got some Fuji Provia that has only been expired for a couple of months for $2 a roll from a 1 hour photo lab.
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