Frustrated!! Places to buy 120 film in the Dallas Area?

[Jenny Z]

I've spent all morning looking around, and had no luck... all the stores are digital/35mm only.

Also, are there any places around here that develop 120 film? I have no darkroom experience, and no place in my house to do it myself anyway...

[engstrom]

Did you try BWC? They might develop 120.

[rdcole]

Competitive Camera or Arlington Camera for the Film and BWC to get it developed.

[Jenny Z]

D'oh!! Competitive is closed by 4 on Saturdays... guess I should have planned ahead. But there's always next weekend :)

Thanks guys!

[srwatters]

BWC does not sell film.

It is getting harder to buy pro film in the area. I know Dallas Camera has some Fuji and Kodak films in the fridge, but I can't tell you which ones.

[venchka]

First of all, developing your own B&W film at home is a piece of cake. I do it in my tiny apartment in Houston. The laundry room (basically a closet) off the kitchen is dark enough. The top of the washing machine holds several 4x5 film holders, a box of film for loading the holders and a big Jobo tank to hold the exposed film. For 120 film, a changing bag is really all you need. You can load the tank in the changing bag in the middle of day. When the tank comes out of the bag, you don't need a darkroom. One container for developer and one for fixer and you're in business.

As for film: it's becoming increasingly neccessary to buy film online. The price of gasoline alone makes this obvious. Use GOOGLE and look for the following:

Precision Camera & Video in Austin, TX. Might as well spend your dollars at home, hey?

Freestyle Photo. They have a $25 minimum order so it's best to wait until you need a lot of stuff. They have chemicals too.

B&H Photo-Video-Audio. The Granddaddy of all photo stores.

Good luck! Enjoy!

[Big Dog]

Jennifer:

I second the recommendations for:

Competitive Camera to buy film.

BWC for processing.

And Wayne is right, you can develop it yourself. One doesn't need a darkroom to process film, just a changing bag (or a dark closet). Loading the film onto the reels is done in the dark, everything else with the kitchen or bathroom lights on!

Printing - another issue ...

[Debbi]

This is not Dallas but I would highly recomment Barron Photographix in FTW. Not only can you buy 120/220 film there but they will develop it and do an excellent job! I'm making this recommendation from experience.

[nash]

Not only is 120 film hard to find locally, but you can purchase several rolls for the price of one purchased locally. I keep 40-50 rolls on hand normally, usually ordered from Freestyle. But you could check with the other places already mentioned. And, yes, try to learn to process your own film. If you don't want to do the wet darkroom, several scanners allow scanning 120 film, and you can then pull the images into Photoshop.

[Jenny Z]

Originally Posted by nash

Not only is 120 film hard to find locally, but you can purchase several rolls for the price of one purchased locally. I keep 40-50 rolls on hand normally, usually ordered from Freestyle. But you could check with the other places already mentioned. And, yes, try to learn to process your own film. If you don't want to do the wet darkroom, several scanners allow scanning 120 film, and you can then pull the images into Photoshop.

Oooh... see, that's what I was wondering about, what I'd do after I processed the film, if I were to do it myself. I'll have to look into that. My husband is more photoshop savvy than I am, maybe I can make it a joint venture :)

[mjfalk]

You can also get film at Film Depot. They opened a new location in the same plaza where BWC used to be.

[timbertoes]

Originally Posted by mjfalk

You can also get film at Film Depot. They opened a new location in the same plaza where BWC used to be.

And indeed, they have 120 film there. Ilford.

OTOH, ordering from B&H or places that are specifically film oriented is fun.

BWC "north" has moved to 616 Sherman St. in Richardson.



You can elect to senroll, to Audit (or take the credit) for "Photo 1" class at Collin Co. Comm. College. you will learn B&W developing and such.

[nash]

FYI, you would need to purchase a changing bag, developing tank (the same diameter is used for 35mm and 120 film), and 1-2 developing reels. The initial outlay will probably be about $100. If you want to develop two rolls at a time, make sure to get a developing tank large enough to hold two reels. You can get larger tanks to hold even more reels, but this should be sufficient. I don't know how much you know about processing, but common film developers are Kodak D-76 (powder form) and Rodinal (liquid form). Both will require mixing to the amount of developer you will need. Be aware that Rodinal is classified as hazardous (on the off chance that the plastic bottle might somehow be pierced in transit), so can only be sent by ground. You'll also need a fixer. Any will do (Kodak, Edwal, Ilford, etc.) Water will do for a stop both. My advice is to keep it simple and learn one set of chemicals. You can find instructions by an Internet search. The hardest thing for people to learn is to load film onto reels in the dark or a changing bag. I would suggest practicing on a blank roll of film. (I keep rolls that came out bad for students to learn on.)

Actually, any flat bed scanner will produce acceptable scans of 120 film, though not great. For better quality get a scanner with a holder for 120 film. A popular model for scanning larger negatives is the Epson V750, a flatbed model that has holders for up to 4x5 film and even a glass holder for larger sizes. Also popular are the Nikon Coolscan scanners, which are not flatbed but dedicated film scanners that load from the side. These are somewhat expensive, good investments if this will be a longtime pursuit. There are other, less-expensive models. You'll see them advertised in photo magazines. Just double-check that the scanner comes with holders for 120 film or a glass plate for odd sizes. (With glass plates you'll need to be careful to not get Newton rings, essentially pockets of air. But you'll learn about that if necessary.)

Some people will say that digital is sufficient, but for some images I still like 120 and larger film.

[venchka]

Originally Posted by nash

...

Some people will say that digital is sufficient, but for some images I still like 120 and larger film.

The Nutshell Scanner list for medium format film:

Epson V700 or V750: Very similar scanners. The difference in price is mostly due to the Silverfast software that comes with the V750. $500-$720

Microtek ArtixScan M1 & M1 Pro: Like the Epsons, near twins. The M1 Pro adds Silverfast software and an extra set of holders. Having two sets of holders is nice. $600-$750

The Microtek scanner is new. Early reports indicate that if you are starting from scratch, The Microtek M1 is capabale of producing slightly better results than the Epson V700-V750 twins.

All of the above scanners will handle film from 35mm up to 8x10.

Nikon CoolScan 9000: The best dedicated film scanner for 35mm & 120 size film between the ones mentioned above and pro models costing several thousand dollars. $2,000 OUCH!

BTW: What camera or cameras are you using the 120 film in?

Good luck!

[venchka]

ps: If you ask real nice, you may find film tanks and reels for free from members of Forums like this one or the Rangefinder Forum. Very nice people belong to both of these forums. A good thermometer is essential and worth paying real money for. The timers on your microwave and oven will handle the only critical time of the process: how long to leave the film in the developer. I have been using D-76 diluted 1:1 and Rodinal diluted 1:50 or 1:100 since forever. Someday I may try the newer developers. Or not. Old habits die hard.