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Cheaper prices for Kodak 16mm stock


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Hi All,

 

I am in the UK and currently get my Kodak Vision 3 16mm stock from Frame 24.

 

100ft is £36 and 400ft is £108, plus shipping. This is certainly cheaper than what Widescreen Centre is charging.

 

My Bolex takes 100ft loads, so even if I stripped down a 400ft can into 100ft reels, the saving is peanuts really.

 

Apart from getting lucky on ebay and/or getting recans or short ends, has anyone found a better cost for new 16mm stock in UK or Europe?

 

I only get through about 2000ft per year, but its getting a very expensive hobby these days! I saw that B&H photo in New York sell 100ft for $48 which is about £40, so is this the going rate for film these days?

 

All comments / help very welcome!

 

Many thanks

Julian

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I suggest buying processing and telecine included. My personal experience is that 16mm has gotten much cheaper over the years. Nine years ago I had to pay for 90 minutes of 16mm neg (recans+new) and processing&HD telecine some 4500 Euros (incl. VAT). Now with factory sealed film the same would cost me under 2300 Euros (incl. VAT).

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  • 8 months later...

Is it feasible to send exposed film half way around the world for developing and subsequent scanning? Eg. from Australia to Europe. Or does the x-raying at airports damage the film?

 

 

I wish I could answer that with certainty but rules/laws keep getting more and more retarded as the population expands, so things keep changing for the worse. I went to the hospital last week and just for a visit I had to go to through a metal detector/body scanner and they are in the process of installing an x-ray machine for belongings.

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I'm as keen as mustard to help the real film biz here. I believe competition and choice are healthy things but at the same time we have to support our network of infrastructure or there won't be any real film. I'm seeking a look and thinking of options. I think my biggest problem is the look of film as it comes through the digital process - I am not impressed so far and would have to make big changes somewhere. It was a first reel, and my criticisms are aimed at myself and my skills. I'm exploring ideas of trying out different looks. It would be wrong to make judgments on that. I will definitely be going back to Neglab. Thanks so much Werner!

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Just collaborating on a feature movie idea right now that might be a hot plot. Not saying what about - too good of an idea for other scriptwriters to hear about. It's a story that just barrels along and tells itself ... the best kind.

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G'day Gareth, great to hear from you. Neglab is all motion picture negative processing, no reversal that I know about. That's fine. So good to have Neglab there!! Good to know about artist film workshop in Melbourne, I will check it out.

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I agree that using 16mm is much cheaper now than it was a few years ago; I have also experienced a different and better attitude towards hobbyists from labs, in the past it seemed they only wanted to know if you had lots of films to process. I think that in the UK Frame 24 is the best place to get film from, just checked their prices and it’s £38.40 for 100ft spool and £108.00 for 400ft, I don't think there is anywhere that’s cheaper, their processing and scanning packages are great value too. I do think splitting a 400ft roll into four daylight spools is the cheapest route as you can save around £45.60, I don't think such an amount is peanuts, anything saved is worth it. I always split film myself, it’s petty easy to do just in the dark even without any major tools, I have built a daylight loader/spooler to make the job easier.

 

Pav

Edited by Pavan Deep
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for what its worth, Im in california and I've ordered 16mm stock from frame 24 before with 0 problems (after you hit a certain quantity, is cheaper than ordering from kodak direct). I was expecting the 500T to show signs of xray damage, but shot the whole roll at 500 and it turned out great.

 

not sure if they have some handshake agreement with how the shipper handles it or not re: customs or if vision3 is just that tough.

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