Where to Find Analogue Photography Stuff in the UK

You might imagine that it’s hard to get hold of film and analogue photography equipment now in the late twenty teens, but fear not! There are actually a growing number of businesses specialising in film photography. To make life easier for people just getting back into film I thought I’d compile a list of businesses I’ve come across while on my analogue journey. This is not an exhaustive list by any means, but should give you a solid starting point.

Last Updated May 2020

7DayShop

Location: Guernsey, Channel Islands
Pros: Excellent prices on film – 5 packs of 120 generally £5-6 cheaper than elsewhere. Good range of Fuji and Kodak films. Bulk discounts.
Cons: Only Fuji, Kodak and Ilford films, no chemistry, cameras or lenses. Ilford film prices no cheaper than anywhere else.
Other services: No.
Shop you can visit: No.

Ag Photographic

Location: Birmingham, England
Pros: Great selection of films, darkroom papers, chemicals and processing equipment. Excellent prices on Ilford films – FP4 and HP5 120 rolls and 24 exposure 35mm films under a fiver. Discounted 10 packs of Ilford film.
Cons: Very limited selection of camera equipment. Prices on Kodak film not great. Separate website for ordering film processing.
Other services: Full range of development, scanning and printing options here. Darkroom workshops.
Shop you can visit: Yes

Analogue Wonderland

Location: Amersham, England
Pros: Massive selection of fresh film including many obscure and new brands. Every imaginable format. Sample shots for each film. Now carry developing chemistry, analogue merch and more.
Cons: Many of the more interesting items tend to go out of stock quickly. Prices are fairly good, but multipacks can be found much more cheaply elsewhere.
Other services: No.
Shop you can visit: No.

Aperture

Location: London, England
Pros: Good place to look for high end film cameras like Leicas, Rolleis, Contaxes, Hasselblads etc. They also carry a lot of Nikon film bodies and lenses.
Cons: They don’t sell cheap cameras and it can be hard to spot things without four figure price tags – but they are there if you look hard enough! You can’t order online and have to rely on them keeping the stock list on their website up-to-date.
Other services: Camera repair and film processing.
Shop you can visit: Yes

Camera House

Location: Birmingham, England
Pros: Good range of second hand darkroom equipment, often at competitive prices. Lots of inexpensive low-end film cameras.
Cons: Website can be a pain to navigate unless you search for specific items. Tend not to have much mid-range or high end gear.
Other services: Offer gear rental and part exchange.
Shop you can visit: No

Dale Photographic

Location: Leeds, England
Pros: Small selection of second hand film cameras and films. Helpful and knowledgable staff. Good prices on Ilford film. Selection of Ilford papers and darkroom chemistry.
Cons: Very limited film camera and lens selection.
Other services: Repair service.
Shop you can visit: Yes

Ffordes Photographic

Location: Inverness, Scotland
Pros: Great selection of second hand analogue equipment, fair prices. Excellent prices on Ilford film with discounted 10 packs. They now carry B&W film chemicals and Kodak film.
Cons: Second hand camera stock tends to be limited to less desirable or very expensive models.
Other services: No.
Shop you can visit: Yes

FirstCall Photographic

Location: Taunton, England
Pros: Huge selection of new photography equipment with a great selection of film, darkroom papers and chemistry. Occasional very good deals on expired/short dated film and darkroom supplies. Good range of Jobo tanks, processors and accessories.
Cons: No secondhand equipment. Several times I’ve ordered from them and have had films substituted without warning.
Other Services: Digital to film transfer (yes you read that right).
Shop you can visit: No

Ian B. Foto

Location: Rickmansworth, England
Pros: Specialises in medium format Bronica, Mamiya and Fuji studio cameras and accessories. Good range of obscure accessories. Fair prices with small discount for paying by bank transfer.
Cons: Very limited selection of complete camera systems, this store is best for accessories and lenses. Doesn’t seem to list new items that often.
Other services: ECN2 processing.
Shop you visit: No, but does allow collections.

Ilford Photo

Location: Mobberley, England
Pros: Everything Ilford makes direct from the source.
Cons: Unfortunately you can find everything cheaper elsewhere. The price differences aren’t massive but will add up if you’re making a big order.
Other services: They have a separate photo processing service called Harman Lab.
Shop you can visit: No

Janet Green Photographic

Location: Halifax, England
Pros: Fair selection of films and a window full of secondhand cameras. Very attractive prices on some of their second hand camera gear!
Cons: No website. Film prices higher than you’d pay online.
Other services: Photo printing. Not sure if they offer development.
Shop you can visit: Yes

Nik & Trick

Location: Folkestone, England
Pros: Good selection of films including bulk rolls. Sell 127 and 620 film! Good range of chemistry and darkroom supplies.
Cons: Limited selection of secondhand cameras. Items often out of stock.
Other services: Full range of development (C-41, E6, B&W, ECN2), printing and scanning services.
Shop you can visit: Yes

Parallax Photographic Coop

Location: London, England
Pros: Good selection of films including some rarer emulsions like Fuji Industrial and JCH StreetPan. Sell single rolls of films that usual only come in multipacks. Bulk rolls of Foma films. Fair selection of chemistry (including for alternative processes) and processing equipment. Nice selection of premium photo books and zines. Good selection of darkroom papers.
Cons: Their film prices are slightly higher than you can find elsewhere. At any one time quite a few things tends to be listed as out of stock.
Other services: No.
Shop you can visit: Yes.

Real Camera Co.

Location: Manchester, England.
Pros: Great selection of second hand film cameras and lenses. Nice new website and also an eBay store.
Cons: Limited selection of cameras online, tend to be more premium end (Rolleiflexes, Leicas and Hasselblads). Limited selection of film in store.
Other services: Offer camera repairs.
Shop you  can visit: Yes

Secondhand Darkroom

Location: Midway between Cheltenham & Oxford, England
Pros: Great selection of darkroom equipment, mostly used but also some new. Fair selection of cameras and lenses. Ilford film, papers and chemistry. Good prices for Ilford film.
Cons: Some of their camera and lens prices are ridiculously expensive (although this isn’t universally the case). Clunky website.
Other services: No.
Shop you can visit: Yes

SilverPrint

Location: Poole, England
Pros: Good selection of film at very reasonable prices (24 exposure rolls of FP4 and HP5 for less than £4!). Good selection of European films like Adox, Rollei and Agfa. Very good selection of B&W and colour chemistry, including in individual C-41 components. Also stock chemistry for alternative processes. Good array of darkroom bits and bobs, paper etc. Good prices on Jobo 1500 series development tanks.
Cons: Film cameras limited to disposables and pinholes, no secondhand stock.
Other services: No.
Shop you can visit: No

Speed Graphic

Location: Bordon, England
Pros: Good selection of films, including Bergger and Adox as well as the usual Kodak, Ilford and Fuji ones. Excellent prices on Ilford film. Broad selection of chemistry for B&W, colour and alternative processes. Good array of darkroom equipment and paper. £4.99 next day delivery.
Cons: Kodak and Fuji film prices nothing to write home about, although they do have Portra 160 120 5 packs for under £30. No secondhand film cameras or lenses.
Other services: No
Shop you can visit: Yes – warehouse.

West Yorkshire Cameras

Location: Leeds, England
Pros: Great selection of second hand cameras and lenses. Fair selection of film. 3 month warranty on second hand equipment. Often have a few rolls of expired film for grabs fairly cheaply. Small selection of Ilford chemistry.
Cons: Film and chemistry only available in store.
Other services: Offers film development via a 3rd party service.
Shop you can visit: Yes

European Sites that Deliver to the UK

MacoDirect

German based MacoDirect sell a huge range of films and analogue photography equipment. They’re also responsible for the Rollei branded line of products, including films and darkroom papers. Take advantage of your ability to easily import things from the EU while you still can 😦