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The future of Fuji film (?)


CalArts 99

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I sometimes use Fuji Eterna film stock in my Eclair ACLII 16mm camera (converted to super 16 and which uses single perf 16mm film.)

 

The other day I was in the Fuji North American Motion Picture Group offices in Burbank picking up a few cans. I was told that Fuji has decided to end manufacturing motion picture film. In six months they will shut down their facilities. Like Kodak, they produce an archive film and will continue to do so (the industry still prefers film stock for storage and archival purposes.)

 

Part of this has to do with Kodak's contract system with the studios (locking in Kodak's share) and Fuji's smaller share in the industry overall. But I hope it's not a signal of what may become of Fuji still film products in the near future.

 

Here's an article in one of the trade magazines: Fuji to stop production of film stock - Entertainment News, International News, Media - Variety

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Fuji has also dropped all but one pro color neg film, at least in the U.S. - 400H: Fujifilm USA | Products | Professional Photography | Film

 

Seems like Kodak and Fuji are slowly dividing what remains of the color film market (Kodak doing the negative films, including motion picture stock; Fuji handling positive/slide films).

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This clip is the key detail from that article. I presume it is referencing motion picture film only.

 

"The three biggest makers of film stock globally are Eastman Kodak with a 55% share, followed by Fuji with 35% and Agfa with 10%. From 2007 to 2011, however, worldwide demand fell 70%."

 

So I wonder how large a market is left and what it is projected to be in a few more years.

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On the one hand, while it is still early in its demise, I deeply regret the diminishing diversity of film, and the subsequent rise in prices for the 'good stuff'; on the other hand, it will be there for the rest of my life which is largely behind me.

 

Man, I am kicking myself for not doing 8x10" color reversal.

 

BTW - I got some of the last stock of 4X5" Efke (near) IR for a project too long delayed. (Just finished putting together the special IR large format camera with exception of the vacuum back which I will probably omit). The film arrived last week. It expires next month. How's that for cutting it close?

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This clip is the key detail from that article. I presume it is referencing motion picture film only.

 

"The three biggest makers of film stock globally are Eastman Kodak with a 55% share, followed by Fuji with 35% and Agfa with 10%. From 2007 to 2011, however, worldwide demand fell 70%."

 

So I wonder how large a market is left and what it is projected to be in a few more years.

 

AGFA? I didn't know they were still producing any kind of film.

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  • 2 weeks later...
BTW - I got some of the last stock of 4X5" Efke (near) IR for a project too long delayed. (Just finished putting together the special IR large format camera with exception of the vacuum back which I will probably omit). The film arrived last week. It expires next month. How's that for cutting it close?

 

 

I am very well stocked at 100 rolls of IR 820 in 120 and 500 sheets in 4x5. I ran a roll of 120 last week and it is really a gorgeous film, the closest to HIE we will ever have I think, not near IR but really IR.

That being said I *love* Rollei IR 400 just as much for it's stark look and tight grain, been shooting a lot of it this week for Fall colors. I hope that film sticks around awhile. As for the tight expiration date on your film, don't sweat it, The roll I shot last week was not even the new stock, had an expiration of 2009 and it looked perfect, no base fog, no demons.

 

To put it in perspective, a few years ago, I bought 50 rolls of David Romano's 2424 70mm Aerographic re-spooled into 120. I am thinking it expired in 2003, the year before he ran out and stopped doing it. Like all my 400 speed and other infrared films, it was consistently frozen at -10F or better. I still have 45 rolls of it left, shot a roll over the Summer and it is still perfect. I am thinking that based on my own personal experience, living closer to the sun than most at 8,000 feet, these films are good for at least 10 years if always kept frozen.

 

As for the thread in general, it is a bit misguiding, it should read the future of color which is in my opinion much, much more uncertain than black and white, regardless of who makes it although Fuji is less likely to be a player in the future than Ilford.

 

From what I am hearing, Ilford is well positioned to fill and definitely thinking about the hole that Efke left. Not only are they strong, but they are going to continue to get more and more attention and business as the market continues to morph into what will be the true long term outlook. Ilford really is a full service black and white operation at this point with top notch film, special run ULF, paper, digital paper, chemistry and even fun new cameras like the Harmon Titan 4x5 and 8x10 pinholes and soon to be announced XP-2 single use products.

 

So maybe change the title to the future of Fuji color....?

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So maybe change the title to the future of Fuji color....?

 

The thread was "the future of Fuji film" and not the future of film or the future of B+W film or who's the lead player of manufacturing B+W film.

 

I'll repeat what was said in the post: "what may become of Fuji still film products in the near future?"

 

btw, here's other news:

 

"Fujifilm announcement: The list below expands two B+W films that have been added to the ranks of discontinued analog products. Even though they have been marked for elimination, some of them might be available for a little longer, especially from some mail order houses."

 

Neopan 400 (120)

Acros 100 (120, 4x5)

 

btw, I realize your campaign is to keep the internet from claiming that film is dead and that you believe these sorts of threads will only serve to scare potential film users into not using or purchasing film. But there is the reality of what the industry is doing with their existing product lines. And talking about it isn't going to change film users (like myself) from buying film or discussing what's happening (which we have little control over aside from buying the film like we've been doing all along.) And we should be allowed to discuss it in any way we see fit.

 

Non-film users aren't going to use film despite what the 'internet says.' Film users will keep on using film and buying it. And being informed about where the industry is headed is part of a film users dialogue and always will be. We aren't going to stop supporting film just because of what we read on the internet and in the news.

 

And buying and storing huge amounts of film implies that you have your own doubts of the future of film products. I think we're all just being practical here and have no agenda either way.

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Ah, sorry about that, I was a bit distracted and did my normal thing of trying to put a good twist on things, mostly to respond to Pico about IR film in terms of practical storage.

 

I stock up not so much because I have my doubts but more because I flat out don't want to shoot digital anymore so I am covering my bases...

 

Where did you get that bit about Acros? That's too bad, it's a great film.

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Where did you get that bit about Acros? That's too bad, it's a great film.

 

That was emailed to me from a colleague. Neopan Acros in 4x5 sheets is no longer on Fujifilm's USA website (although 120 is still listed.) I have quite a bit of 4x5 in the freezer and there's still inventory for sale locally and from most big places (like B+H.)

 

The Neopan 400 is still listed on their USA website as being available in 135 and 120. So I'm not sure about the message stating that 120 is discontinued, but maybe it's being phased out soon.

 

Neopan Acros in sheets is still available in Japan and on their Japanese website. But much of their B+W printing paper (like Fuji bromide Rembrandt V) has been discontinued.

 

Some of this discontinuing in the US may also be due the value of the yen. I think that might have been more of what was behind their recent price increase, rather then the affects from any diminishing sales (?)

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btw, I realize your campaign is to keep the internet from claiming that film is dead and that you believe these sorts of threads will only serve to scare potential film users into not using or purchasing film. But there is the reality of what the industry is doing with their existing product lines. And talking about it isn't going to change film users (like myself) from buying film or discussing what's happening (which we have little control over aside from buying the film like we've been doing all along.) And we should be allowed to discuss it in any way we see fit.

 

Non-film users aren't going to use film despite what the 'internet says.' Film users will keep on using film and buying it. And being informed about where the industry is headed is part of a film users dialogue and always will be. We aren't going to stop supporting film just because of what we read on the internet and in the news.

 

For me, the problem in these threads is that the incessant defeatist tone actually does deter people from using film. How do I know this? I myself was one of those digital users that was convinced film was dead. Just five years ago I hadn't ever heard of Portra or Ilford. I thought Kodak produced Kodachrome, Ektachrome and Gold200 (if that).

 

No-one was out there on the net saying how great Pro films actually were and ARE. And the tendency to focus on the negative instead of the positive continues to turn people off.

 

We should be able to discuss the disappearance of certain films, but I hate that film users dwell on the subject, and occasionally seem all too eager to immerse themselves in self-flagellatory gloom.

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For me, the problem in these threads is that the incessant defeatist tone actually does deter people from using film. How do I know this? I myself was one of those digital users that was convinced film was dead. Just five years ago I hadn't ever heard of Portra or Ilford. I thought Kodak produced Kodachrome, Ektachrome and Gold200 (if that).

 

No-one was out there on the net saying how great Pro films actually were and ARE. And the tendency to focus on the negative instead of the positive continues to turn people off.

 

We should be able to discuss the disappearance of certain films, but I hate that film users dwell on the subject, and occasionally seem all too eager to immerse themselves in self-flagellatory gloom.

 

I think I can understand from your perspective. Although I don't hear the "incessant defeatist" tone myself.

 

I've been using film (all kinds and all sizes) since I was 14-years-old. Before digital, the film manufacturers were constantly changing their portfolios. Films came and went. People's favorite films would disappear and there was a rush to buy existing stock and freeze it. There was "self-flagellatory gloom" going on long before the internet. :) Even existing emulsions have changed a lot over time; e.g., Tri-X.

 

However, I think that currently people do discuss how certain films are working for them and how good they are (and of course film choice is very subjective.) There are lots of posts here about favorite flavors of films and lots of advice about film, etc.. And there are plenty of web sites devoted to using film. My students (who were raised on digital) talk about film all the time and experiment with different emulsions (and developers in the case of B+W.) But I think film users can certainly discuss the current climate of film manufacturing in an informative and also speculative manner.

 

So I guess I personally don't see the discussion of the disappearance of film types as something necessarily "gloomy." I also don't feel there's a dwelling on the subject nor any immersing in gloom. And I believe that film will always available in some flavor or another. We may have to adjust, but again film users have been doing that all along (and especially when it comes to photographic printing paper.)

 

And I feel very positive about all the choices we have now in photography. Sure, there are some materials that no longer exist, but there are so many great options for making photographic prints whether from film capture or digital. I also believe that making art is about adapting to change (and change is always inevitable.)

 

(p.s., my grandmother used to say to me: if you don't like bad news then don't listen to it and just make up your own good news instead. :))

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  • 4 weeks later...
For me, the problem in these threads is that the incessant defeatist tone actually does deter people from using film. How do I know this? I myself was one of those digital users that was convinced film was dead. Just five years ago I hadn't ever heard of Portra or Ilford. I thought Kodak produced Kodachrome, Ektachrome and Gold200 (if that).

 

No-one was out there on the net saying how great Pro films actually were and ARE. And the tendency to focus on the negative instead of the positive continues to turn people off.

 

We should be able to discuss the disappearance of certain films, but I hate that film users dwell on the subject, and occasionally seem all too eager to immerse themselves in self-flagellatory gloom.

 

YES!! A man after my own heart. I grew up as a child of the digital age, I like to think. Got into photography a bit late maybe. Started out with normal DSLRs, moving on to Pro DSLRs and now I have moved on to 2, soon 3 analog M cameras. I will shoot film and only film as long as I can get film. You´ll have to take my last rolls of film from my cold dead hands.

 

My biggest problems are pricing on development and availability in Norway. I usually take it all with me whenever I visit Germany. A country where I still can get it done everywhere at fair prices.

 

I Love fim more and more, and I too get dragged down by folks who says film is dead. It´s only dead when none shoots it any more. So get out there with your M3s or M6s and shoot away!!

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