Back into film...

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JennyGW

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Thinking about getting back to film. I mentioned a while ago, I have a Minolta 7000.

I have no idea what is out there on the market for film now. I had a look around, but I wouldn't know good from bad.

I'd like to get some cheapish film to mess about with to get going on film again, then something fairly decent for when I've got the hang of it.

Recommendations much appreciated for which film, where to buy it and where to get it processed.

Thanks!
 
Poundland, Agfa Vista, large Asda or Tesco ;)

Seriously, many Poundland stores stock Agfa Vista, normally in rolls of 24 exposures and ISO200, which is rebranded Fuji C200. You might get lucky and find some 36-exposure rolls, you might get very lucky and find some ISO400, which is rebranded Fuji Superia. Large Asda and Tesco stores often offer development and scanning to CD for a couple of pounds, the quality can be a bit hit and miss but it's ok for testing and messing about. Failing that, there's Snappy Snaps and a few Jessops stores that also develop though the scans might be a little more expensive.

Have a poke about in the forum stickies, the resources thread is a great, erm, resource for information :)
 
Just in support of Strappy. Do not underrate the Poundland film on any account of being so cheap. Most of us have it stuffed in our fridges and freezers. Another potential processor, are the surviving small independent photo labs.
 
Agree. Definitely don't underrate the performance of the Vista 200. There have been some terrific photos taken on it posted here.

The best photo that I took last year was on Pounding Vista. It beat anything that I took on Portra 160.
 
DNH said:
Agree. Definitely don't underrate the performance of the Vista 200. There have been some terrific photos taken on it posted here.

The best photo that I took last year was on Pounding Vista. It beat anything that I took on Portra 160.
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You're pointing your Portra at the wrong stuff :lol:
 
Yep don't underestimate Vista or even if you can get Kodak colorplus dirt cheap as on the right subjects can give very good results....the only problem I find with them is they tend to show more grain, but I've always been a grain hater but others don't mind.
 
Get some agfa apx Black and white. You can get 6 delivered for £19.99 on the bay.
 
If you want to try out some black and white without the faff, have a look at either some Ilford XP2, Kodak BW400CN or some Fuji Neopan 400CN. All of these can be processed just as a colour film would be processed (same chemicals), so any high street 1 hour lab can develop them for you. I often use the Fuji and get it developed and scanned to CD at Asda in an hour, and it costs around £3 per film.
 
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Nikon_Nick said:
If you want to try out some black and white without the faff, have a look at either some Ilford XP2, Kodak BW400CN or some Fuji Neopan 400CN. All of these can be processed just as a colour film would be processed (same chemicals), so any high street 1 hour lab can develop them for you. I often use the Fuji and get it developed and scanned to CD at Asda in an hour, and it costs around £3 per film.
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I would assume the Asda girls would be more used to colour, are the scanned B\W images any good?
 
excalibur2 said:
I would assume the Asda girls would be more used to colour, are the scanned B\W images any good?
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Ive always been pretty pleased with them to be fair. Theres 1 girl who works in my local one that seems more knowledgeable than her colleagues. These 2 are from Asda scans of Neopan. No adjustment from me afterwards...

12839400945_ed51b5e4fa_z.jpg


16398357317_cb41771290_z.jpg
 
RaglanSurf said:
You're pointing your Portra at the wrong stuff :LOL:
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Pointed both at the same Granddaughter & in daylight, honest. Don't have any of the Portra scanned, but this is the one taken with Vista.

14570848230_69e658775e_c.jpg


Have to admit though, that as nice as the current Portra 160 is that I prefer the old 160VC.
 
Don't forget that Boots have a permanent "buy one get one half price" offer on the film they stock: various Kodak colour, Fuji Superia 200 and 400, but most interesting to me, Ilford XP2, sometimes Kodak BW400CN, and also Ilford HP5. HP5 requires proper black and white processing, which you can do at home but is harder to find in local stores. However, XP2 and BW400CN (officially discontinued but still around someplaces) are black and white film using the "C41" colour process, and can be processed pretty much any high street processor. I really like XP2.

For colour (C41) 35mm film, I reckon you can't beat Photo Express in Hull for their price and the quality of their scans; you get a 6mp rther than a 2mp scan from them, and they give a 50p per film discount for TP members, and a 2-3 day turnround from posted to doormat!

Edited to add: ASDA scans can be rather over-sharpened which can produce a brittle-looking image, although on other occasions they'll be just fine.
 
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Beware of snappy snap prices as there is no uniform price.......120 film dev at Watford £3.50 and called into the one at Uxbridge and he said £7 and I said "are you sure" and he said yes :eek:...you could get a top lab for that, what a rip off.
 
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excalibur2 said:
Beware of snappy snap prices as there is no uniform price.......120 film dev at Watford £3.50 and called into the one at Uxbridge and he said £7 and I said "are you sure" and he said yes :eek:...you could get a top lab for that, what a rip off.
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Quality can vary too in my experience - the one I used to use near our business was excellent [ok, helped by the fact I knew the couple that owned that one], but the scanning there now with new owners, and at at my local branch is diabolical. SS are basically franchises, so its pot luck how good/bad/indifferent they are.
 
Yv said:
Quality can vary too in my experience - the one I used to use near our business was excellent [ok, helped by the fact I knew the couple that owned that one], but the scanning there now with new owners, and at at my local branch is diabolical. SS are basically franchises, so its pot luck how good/bad/indifferent they are.
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... when you have plenty of work which this SS probably has then they are just like other trades\businesses (who also have plenty of work) i.e. if you don't particularly want to do a job then you charge a silly price, and if the customer agrees it's a bonus and fat profit...win win.
 
Beware the Boots offer. The till at my local store didn't flag the offer that was clearly marked on the shelf.

Initially one member of staff gave it a load of b*llsh*t that it was limited to Kodak film, but I persisted and her colleague came back with the shelf tag that was unequivocal.

The b*llsh*tter then said she would remove the shelf tag. I asked why, as I might want to buy some more next week and the offer wasn't ending until later in June, and she said until the till is fixed. More b*llsh*t.

I suggested I would buy it on line for store pick up which her colleague agreed with. Don't worry I know who she is and a call to Nottingham will follow. Some people are just so unhelpful.
 
I picked up two rolls of HP5 from my local Boots today that I ordered yesterday afternoon. Can't fault it for the price. Maybe we need to start pushing them to branch out into slide film :0)
 
As stated, your local 'Poundland' store should have Agfa Colour 24exp for a quid. My local store has an abundance of it in stock.

Enjoy!
 
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