We can’t continue shooting analog if there is no viable way to buy film. In recent years we have seen several legendary film types bite the dust (I miss you already FP-3000B!). On the other hand new, young enterprises are emerging, hoping the support and demand from us, the analog community, can keep them going. Film Ferrania, an Italian producer of photographic film recently ran a very successful Kickstarter-campaign to build a new factory, to survive and revive their company.
Kodak, Harman and Fujifilm still produce their most popular series of film, while relative newcomers like Impossible Project, Lomography and Cinestill are trying to innovate and find new paths for film. But where do we get our film from?
Almost 50% say they get it from a local store and about 40% from online stores. When buying from the Nordic countries film will be cheaper on foreign web shops, but with shipping and tax it’s not worth it unless you buy a lot, so usually those who buy bulk do so online and some people get together to buy lots a couple of times a year. The more casual photographer will get a few packs from a local store when needed. Almost every analog geek I have met makes a point of supporting local shops and services when they can. We are dependent on them staying afloat after all.
The selection of film is definitely greater on the big international sites like Macodirect and B&H, but the proportion of analog photographers that shoot Infrared or other special film is low, so there should be a future in selling film in the Nordic countries, especially in bigger cities.
The following places to buy film were the most frequently suggested in our survey:
Denmark:
Finland:
Iceland:
Norway:
Sweden:
Outside Nordics:
macodirect.de (Germany)
fotoimpex.de (Germany)
camerafilmphoto.com (Hong Kong)
nordfoto.de (Germany)
Author: Johan B. Skre