andybarton Posted July 22, 2013 Share #21 Posted July 22, 2013 Advertisement (gone after registration) I am resigned to the fact that I will no longer be able to enjoy photography in the medium that I prefer. Nobody's fault. No blame can be attached. Just one of those things. I am also resigned to the that fact that should I wish to take colour photographs with my Leica in future, I'm going to have to buy a new Leica. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted July 22, 2013 Posted July 22, 2013 Hi andybarton, Take a look here Neopan 400 and Provia 400X RIP. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
telewatt Posted July 22, 2013 Share #22 Posted July 22, 2013 Will anyone here miss Fujichrome Provia 400X or Neopan400? I often hear people extol the virtues of TriX or FP4 but not the Fuji films? Where? In Germany, the Neopan 400 is very much used, and that a long time. After a break the film is back to buy again. Something has changed. The interruption was probably a problem with the health doing the production. Something has changed in the material. regards, Jan Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joop van Heijgen Posted July 23, 2013 Share #23 Posted July 23, 2013 Where? In Germany, the Neopan 400 is very much used, and that a long time. After a break the film is back to buy again. Something has changed. The interruption was probably a problem with the health doing the production. Something has changed in the material. regards, Jan I agree. Fuji produces their films in batches. Like the Leica MP:) And that is today in fact the most economical way to produce films. Fuji is no Kodak... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
digbyhp Posted July 23, 2013 Share #24 Posted July 23, 2013 Far too pessimistic, Andy, so don't jump just yet. The narrowing of film products is bound to go on a while, but I don't think that must just inevitably continue in a linear fashion to a death of outright availability, even with colour. Yes, transparency film remains the most vulnerable given its tricky and expensive production regime, but even there I think there must be room for someone to have 'right sized' production that would give profitable and sustainable output. The question is - is that Fuji? A niche market can always be viable for someone, but perhaps not a large public company. Anyway, hope we're all around on the forum in another 5 years to see how it turned out. But I'm looking forward to a retirement of many many film images. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sblitz Posted July 23, 2013 Share #25 Posted July 23, 2013 Andy -- I think you will always be able to shoot color film, portra is around and as are other print films, and b&w is fairly broad as well. film sales, at least at stores in NYC appear to be up. No one is saying film goes back to pre-digital levels of sales, never going to happen, but I think sales are stable enough for there always to be a few films to choose from. Steve Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
CalArts 99 Posted July 24, 2013 Share #26 Posted July 24, 2013 It was sad to read Andy's lament. I could feel his anguish. But I totally agree, the end is not here. And the 'end' may never arrive. Look at people doing archaic wet collodion production. Or palladium printing. And look at this film: Artists & Alchemists | About the Film "Artists & Alchemists is a feature documentary film that explores the resurgence of 19th century chemical photography..." The point being is that there have always been people doing these sorts of production techniques even when we had assumed that those processes were long dead. Bostick and Sullivan, Photographer's Formulary... they are still with us. And there's the 2013 APIS (Alternative Photography International Symposium) coming up in October. The distribution of film will no doubt change, but I firmly believe that it will be always available. It may require a bit more effort (just like using those arcane processes that we all assumed were long gone.) But film will be around in some form or another. And there is a 'film resurgence' for sure. It won't support the manufacturing of film on the levels of the past, but there will be enough interest to keep it alive. Almost every day I meet a young person who grew up with digital and who has 'switched' over to film. In LA there are Super 8 and 16mm film clubs (e.g., Echo Park Film Center) And a new trendy thing for urban hipsters is to show slides at small parties. Projectors are cheap and everyone gets excited seeing slides in their glorious colors projected onto a screen. And yeah, much of it is about being 'retro' and it won't keep Fuji from deciding to end E-6, but it does get new photographers and artists interested in what preceded digital capture. Just like those people who got interested in archaic alternative processes during the height of modern film and long before digital. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
joeswe Posted July 24, 2013 Share #27 Posted July 24, 2013 Advertisement (gone after registration) While its certainly sad to see a particular film go, I find the fatalistic "I'm gonna jump off a cliff" or, worse yet, "I'm gonna convert to digital altogether" reactions a bit harsh. If Provia 400x was (for whatever reasons) the only film that worked for you and you feel like your fate as a film photographer is attached to it, maybe it would be good to see its demise as a chance or inspiration or challenge to try something new, e.g. a different slide film, try b&w slides, try a pin hole ,a different style of photography ... whatever (as long it's not digital )... So, I rather try to look at the bright side of things: We still have some wonderful high quality slide films around, films that we could have only dreamed of twenty years ago, and recently b&w slides have gathered some attention, including from me. Last year I invested a bit in a medium format slide projector and quality projection lens, fully knowing that color slide film is an endangered species. But I will not worry about it, I will just shoot it as long as it's there and the day it's gone, I will certainly be shooting b&w slides and I don't think they are going away anytime soon... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
earleygallery Posted July 24, 2013 Share #28 Posted July 24, 2013 It's sad to see more film go, and it is getting an ever more difficult medium to work with in terms of availability and convenience. I'm lucky to live somewhere that I can still buy film over the counter (albeit a limited range) and still have it processed in an hour if I wish, but where there were many options a year ago, there are now just one or two. Having shot a wedding last weekend for the first time in some years, and using digital rather than MF film as I used to, I'm suddenly re-evaluating my workflow. I can't really imagine myself shooting such an event with film again, unless it was specifically requested. The infrastructure just isn't there to support it. There's a tipping point for pretty much every type of product/service out there. Film has almost reached it, in terms of the typical consumer or hobbyist. Motion picture film use is a parallel issue and not one I know enough about to comment on. For dedicated users (and I still think of myself as a dedicated film user) film is definately still an option. There is still a good range of choice, good range of processing services available by mail order, when time isn't of the essence, and of course the pleasure of home processing. I don't think we have yet seen the bottom of the curve in terms of film use/product availability. The future of Kodak is still very uncertain and no doubt some other well liked film products will fall by the wayside. But we have also seen new products in recent years and others will come into the market to fill gaps left by the likes of Fuji, in time. They will cost more however, that much is certain. Look at Polaroid. OK the new films are mega expensive in comparison to the good old days, but despite Polaroid going out of business, others stepped in to meet an existing demand and more interestingly, create new demand. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest malland Posted July 24, 2013 Share #29 Posted July 24, 2013 The irony of this twilight of film is that such great new films have been developed in recent years, like the new Portra films from Kodak, based, I believe, on some new ciné film emulsions. —Mitch/Bangkok Bangkok Obvious [WIP] Eggleston said that he was "at war with the obvious"... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
andybarton Posted July 24, 2013 Share #30 Posted July 24, 2013 Andy -- I think you will always be able to shoot color film, portra is around and as are other print films I don't like shooting colour negative film - it's a PITA to scan and get decent results and I am glad that I have now finally finished my remaining stock. My favourite colour film, Astia, has already been killed off and now Provia is joining it. Kodak slides have already gone too, of course. I will continue to shoot b&w. Ilford seem to be committed to the market for now, but I haven't noticed any new films from them in the last 10 years, and there are the very small companies in Europe that still produce it. But, for colour work, the wrioting is very much on the wall and the ink is drying. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sblitz Posted July 24, 2013 Share #31 Posted July 24, 2013 funny, here in nyc very few scan slides while all scan negatives. not exactly sure why. there is also the iso100 fuji reversal films. btw, i have the opportunity to get my hands on a few rolls of e100g but the expiration was 2/2013. it is a camera store so it has been stored at room temperature -- is it worth a shot? he wants $12/roll. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
CalArts 99 Posted July 24, 2013 Share #32 Posted July 24, 2013 funny, here in nyc very few scan slides while all scan negatives. not exactly sure why. I'm assuming that it's because the demand for scans is primarily from users of negative film and for no other reason. If you talk to most drum scanner operators, they will likely say that they prefer to scan reversal film. I used to operate an Aztek Premier drum scanner as my day job many years ago, and scanning reversal film was my choice. There's no orange mask (you can set a black point using the film edge), you have an original to correct your colors, and reversal film is much sharper and with less pronounced grain. I'm sure that a place like Laumont Laumont Photographics : Scanning (who was our East Coast 'competitor') will do an excellent job with reversal film. I'm guessing that many labs have workers who just feel comfortable with negative film since they get more of it and have figured out their own personal workflow. btw, i have the opportunity to get my hands on a few rolls of e100g but the expiration was 2/2013. it is a camera store so it has been stored at room temperature -- is it worth a shot? he wants $12/roll. The E100G is my personal favorite, but I wouldn't buy it for that price (plus unknown storage, etc.) when you can get current Provia 100 for under 10 USD. While the Kodak is very nice film, it's not some sort of miracle film. I doubt you'd notice that much of a difference unless you were able to use both for a period of time under different conditions. And if you did like it, you might get frustrated since you can't buy anymore. I have quite a bit stashed away but once it's gone I'll just switch over to the Provia. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sblitz Posted July 25, 2013 Share #33 Posted July 25, 2013 thanks for the answers, much appreciated, will get a roll or two of provia 100 and give it a shot ..... steve Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Ash Posted July 25, 2013 Share #34 Posted July 25, 2013 The loss of Provia 400X is very sad indeed. Goodbye! Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here… Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! Link to post Share on other sites Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! ' data-webShareUrl='https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/209283-neopan-400-and-provia-400x-rip/?do=findComment&comment=2382247'>More sharing options...
rjans Posted July 30, 2013 Share #35 Posted July 30, 2013 It is sad to see the Provia 400X go away. First the Sensia 100, 200 and 400. When I used slide film (but mostly color negative film) I was using Sensia. I shot my last slide film about 3 years ago, but still have some in the freezer. Just came across this: FILM Ferrania . Looks a bit like The Impossible Project. I know the brand name from many years ago but never used their film. Best Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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