The description of grey market is posted on the B&H website,
most typically the film was produced outside of the USA or intially
made for shipment to countries outside the USA. Or was sold outside
the USA and returned, there is no way to know, or whether the product
was improperly stored while outside the USA. B&H buys from reputiable
other companies, so you are probably OK, but there is no gaurantee and good
luck returning it if a problem exists.

I don't know of anyone who has found one, famous last words, though.
Me, I've never had any problems or noticed any difference except that
the printing is in a Katakana font.

- and -

I don't know of anyone who knows why freight from Rochester to NYC
is cheaper via Tokyo.

Tom, two answers to your question about "gray market" film.

1.  The film may or may not be suitable for your needs, it depends on the
quality of the film's storage, your intended use and your own critical
facilities.  For my personal work I use short dated and out-of-date film
frequently but have a black and white densitometer and can monitor fog
levels.  For commercial work, I have in the past used only official channel
black and white films purchased locally and stored in my dealer's fridge.

2.  I personally would be "less" concerned purchasing film (gray market or
"USA") from one of the big boys (like B&H, for example) since they order in
larger quantities, store their film properly and turn their film stock over
faster than some of the smaller outfits.  Their purchasing power most likely
gets them better gray market goods as well (just a guess, but it makes
sense).

I used to buy all my film locally and through "official" channels but am
being forced to go mail order by the digital revolution.  I recently scoured
the city I live in and managed to find only 4 rolls of TMax 400-120 (no
Tri-X, no TXP, no Ilford--except three dusty rolls of Delta 3200, either)
after trying all three camera stores in town.  The film was for a rush job
and I had managed to find just enough film to shoot the job.  All three
stores offered to order the film for me, but I can order film myself and see
no reason to pay them to order it for me, I suspect they would all want a
minimum order of 20 rolls as well.  In the past I didn't like to keep a lot
of film on hand since my freezer space is limited.  Now I'll invest in a few
"bricks" of 120 and hope the situation doesn't get any worse.

BTW, I man be one of the only 10 people that remember octal but have lost
touch with the other seven.

--
darkroommike

----------

With respect, Tom, it is best to minimize the known variables when doing
such strident tests. Gray market film has extra unknowns. Would it not
make more sense to stick to a fresh, local film source?

There are a handfull of reputable photo companies and B&H is one of them.
A couple more to keep in mind is Calumet and Adorama.

I applaud your doing the film testing. In my never humble opinion you can't get
predictable results with the testing. As I understand it gray market stuff was
intended to be sold outside the US and imported. In the case of film it may mean
that the results may be unpredictable. For that reason I've alway stuck with the
higher priced US film. After all how much is the image that your taking worth?

That said I'm sure that a reputable supplier like B&H has a high enough volume that
you'll be alright.