Have you tried buying film in the UK today?

I preface this by revealing that my father worked for Kodak and Polaroid so film was a part of my childhood.

You wouldn't belive the boring hours in a dark, cold, wet, bathroom with our own projecting enlarger and development tanks!

As an experiment, I asked about buying film recently at chemists (pharmacy) and photography shops in our biggest city - London - even though I live in rural Wales. Its nearly impossible to find stocks in-store. A couple of specialist shops held stock in refridgerators but these were the sort of shops with in-house engineers who could restore vintage Hasselblad and Leica film cameras and mill their own spare parts. Thus, film is essentially dead for all but the most dedicated in the UK. By the way, the engineers were Japanese guys.

Japan is a different story with Fuji Film still alive.

Kodak is out of business and I don't know where people develop their Ektachrome stock after 2013???

Ilford Photo is gone.

Regards,

MTF

Leica SL impressions

By: Echi : November 21st, 2015-01:09

I found myself in an unusual situation a few weeks ago when I kidded Manila about arranging a demo unit with the Tokyo office for me to test. I had a short vacation lined up and it was going to be scheduled a week before the 1st year anniversary program o...

it's strange to see you shoot in color ; )

By: cshimokita : November 21st, 2015-02:15

I enjoyed reading your Leica SL impressions... can't help but think back to your visit to Tokyo and the [too] short time to connect during your recent travel to Japan. I am getting pressure from various sides to visit Manila, so let's see where that leads...

Short but not a second wasted!

By: Echi : November 21st, 2015-04:58

Yep, I think the SL will have its market. Btw, I had a challenging time inserting photos and editing. I may been doing it inefficiently. I also see weird gray boxes on paragraph text now that I'm looking at after clicking on the "insert" button. Upside th...

The new Leica M (Typ 262) also looks interesting

By: cshimokita : November 21st, 2015-05:25

But maybe not for you since it has a lot in common with the M (Typ 240)... I wonder how good the SL adapter to M-mount is / will be... doesn't seem 'fair' to have to buy two 50mm Lux lenses in different mounts. You might consider hand coloring your B&...

What I don't like about the 262...

By: Echi : November 21st, 2015-18:50

and I'm saying it only because I've found it useful and has nothing at all to do with the design philosophy behind the paring down of features... well, they took out live view. If you're the kind of guy who wants to do landscapes with the best lightweight...

Thanks for your impressions, Echi.

By: RJW : November 21st, 2015-17:26

A pleasure to read your impressions, Echi. I was fortunate to be at the Sydney launch function for this camera. Leica ambassador Kristin Dowling was the guest speaker and his low light photos were mind blowing, but his photos always are. One highlight was...

Thanks for reading through the badly formatted text...

By: Echi : November 21st, 2015-18:44

I got a tutorial from Casey last night. Bless our mod I say! Hope you can take it out for a spin and share some impressions on it. I'm not in the market for one at the moment but just like watches, we keep a year round working list :p Best, Echi

Thanks for your personal thoughts

By: MTF : November 27th, 2015-16:00

The current Mrs MTF has been hankering for a Leica...any Leica digital camera for years. I pointed out that the Panasonic is a Leica without the red dot and bought her the Lumix.. She took some shots on a week holiday in Gambia and has never held the came...

re: forest of trees...

By: cshimokita : November 29th, 2015-05:37

I think you're missing the big picture here... your wife should visit the local Leica boutique, try all the digital Leica cameras, pick [at least] one that she likes, send you the bill, and live HEA... Recently I took a look at the Panasonic Lx100 / Leica...

Have you tried buying film in the UK today?

By: MTF : November 29th, 2015-09:16

I preface this by revealing that my father worked for Kodak and Polaroid so film was a part of my childhood. You wouldn't belive the boring hours in a dark, cold, wet, bathroom with our own projecting enlarger and development tanks! As an experiment, I as...

I love click bait...

By: cshimokita : November 29th, 2015-17:16

Any industry that has an 88% decrease in financial results in five years... might have serious issues ; ). One does not need to look into the detail when trying to understand the trend... In the case of photography, the industry repositioned itself with t...

I wrote a long reply but the system lost it

By: MTF : November 30th, 2015-05:01

The long reply listed all the contenders and their pros and cons. I'm too pissed off to write it again but the bottom line is she did not like the colour balance and slo autofocus of the Lumix Leica clone. I promised to check the WB and other settings in ...

The LX100 has some decent controls for WB...

By: cshimokita : November 30th, 2015-14:58

The LX100 has some decent controls for WB... 01) the normal selections for standard lighting conditions (including AWB) 02) Custom WB where you shoot a white target (subject) when the light changes 03) Ability to store four (4) preset custom white balance...

In my lost long reply, I came to the same conclusion about the Fuji X100T

By: MTF : November 30th, 2015-17:35

I tried it in the London shop and came to the same conclusion as you did. The face recognition is amazing (in a store full of Black Friday customers) and the fill-in flash good to 10 m distance. The camera size is not too bad as she does not carry 'purses...

Hi MTF...

By: Echi : November 30th, 2015-22:46

Apologies for my late reply. It seems that Mrs. MTF wants the red dot and also seems to value haptics as well. I'd go have her try the C, Q, Dlux Typ 109, even the M in the Leica boutique. The C might be a good way to start her off. Fits in a bag. Good fo...