'Fujifilm Japan Stops Accepting Orders for Color Film'

[Anbaric]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

https://petapixel.com/2023/03/29/fujifilm-japan-stops-accepting-orders-for-color-film-amid-supply-issues/

'Fujifilm has announced that it will no longer accept new domestic orders for a range of color negative 35mm film as well as reversal film in both 35mm and 120 formats due to a shortage of raw materials. The company says that it will be taking steps to try and ensure a stable supply of the materials necessary to create these products as soon as possible, but will need to cease new domestic orders for nine types of film as it is halting production of them until further notice. In Japan at least, the affected film types will likely become more difficult to acquire. Fujicolor 100, Superia Premium 400, and Superia X-TRA 400 are the three color-negative 35mm film types affected by the production pause. In the reversal film category — otherwise known as slide film or transparency film — Velvia 50, Velvia 100, and Provia 100F production will be paused in both 35mm and 120 format sizes.'

B&H and Adorama seem to have given up on Superia, listing it as 'discontinued'. Here in the UK, Superia is usually only available for scalping prices, though I grabbed a few rolls when they were (very briefly) available at Boots for £9.99 a while ago. Other forum members reported availability of multipacks in the US at drug store chains a few months back - if that is still the case, you may want to stock up.

And now:

https://kosmofoto.com/2023/04/new-fujifilm-400-film-unveiled-by-us-retailer/

'The new Fujfilm 400 film is listed as being made in the USA, according to an image of its box on US photographic dealer B&H. This mirrors last year’s rebranding of Fujicolor C200 as Fujicolor 200 in the US. This film was also made in the US and analysis of its datasheet showed it was exactly the same as Kodak Gold 200 – including Kodak’s terms for colours, rather than Fujifilm’s. ... This has fuelled speculation on social media that the film may have replaced with Kodak UltraMax 400 labelled as Fujifilm in the US, at least temporarily.'

It will be a real shame if the 'pause' on making Superia turns out to be permanent, or if it ends up being replaced by rebadged Kodak (which can't even meet the demand for Kodak-branded film!). Superia 400 has been my favourite general-purpose film since I first tried it.

[Anbaric]

The packaging of the new 'Fujifilm 400' makes it look like a generic 'white label' product, which I assume is exactly what it is.

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!

As noted by Kosmofoto, it's made in the US, which means Kodak. When Fuji did the same thing with their 200 ISO film, the initial batches were also from the US, but batches produced in Japan turned up later. The obvious assumption would be that Fuji have stopped caring about having a unique consumer film offering and will just supply whatever they can make or dig out of the freezer or buy in under the same branding. We probably can't assume Japan and US emulsions will be the same, either (if they were, why wouldn't Fuji have kept the Superia branding for the US production?) and the guess that US Fujifilm 400 may just be rebadged UltraMax seems plausible. Perhaps Superia 400 will return at some point as Fujifilm 400 made in Japan, but the production difficulties mentioned by Petapixel suggest this may not happen any time soon.

[Advertisement]

The Leica Q3 is available for pre-order at B&H Photo Video and Adorama

[250swb]

I disagree but may be proved wrong. The fact that Fuji still want to be identified in the film marketplace shows commitment even if it is badged Kodak, otherwise what is the point if the income is the equivalent of pocket money? And I think they are still converting into smaller scale manufacturing which isn’t easy if they have machines that are only economical to run if they make 250,000 rolls per week when they only want to make 50,000 rolls. Both Kodak and Ilford have made the transition to production processes that downsize the production line, I would hope this is the good news if Fuji are trying to get into a similar position. In the meantime ‘not taking any orders’ can be seen as good news in that they can’t keep up with demand, or bad news if you want to be pessimistic and negative.

Edited April 12, 2023 by 250swb

[Anbaric]

2 hours ago, 250swb said:

I disagree but may be proved wrong. The fact that Fuji still want to be identified in the film marketplace shows commitment even if it is badged Kodak, otherwise what is the point if the income is the equivalent of pocket money? And I think they are still converting into smaller scale manufacturing which isn’t easy if they have machines that are only economical to run if they make 250,000 rolls per week when they only want to make 50,000 rolls. Both Kodak and Ilford have made the transition to production processes that downsize the production line, I would hope this is the good news if Fuji are trying to get into a similar position. In the meantime ‘not taking any orders’ can be seen as good news in that they can’t keep up with demand, or bad news if you want to be pessimistic and negative.

We can only hope! Ilford seem to have handled the transition better than anyone else, while Kodak probably wish they hadn't downsized quite so much at this point.

[Yachtbuoy]

It's been challenging to source Fujifilm for some time in my experience - I'm not sure this changes anything practically on the ground. When I first started with film I was able to source a roll of Velvia 100 but I think all last year I probably only handled a couple rolls of Fujifilm in total, and mostly slide film.

I'm still not over the loss of real C200, was a nice and different cast relative to Gold/Kodacolor.

[Anbaric]

10 hours ago, Yachtbuoy said:

It's been challenging to source Fujifilm for some time in my experience - I'm not sure this changes anything practically on the ground. When I first started with film I was able to source a roll of Velvia 100 but I think all last year I probably only handled a couple rolls of Fujifilm in total, and mostly slide film.

I'm still not over the loss of real C200, was a nice and different cast relative to Gold/Kodacolor.

C200 may still be out there in the guise of Fujifilm 200 if you can find the Made in Japan packs (or at least, that's the general assumption about this version).

[grahamc]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

The made in USA version of fujifilm 200 (not c200) is certainly Kodak gold 200. I’ve shot it and gold is one of my favourite stocks. I agree it’s probable that USA 400 is Ultramax

i can’t get any of the Kodak stuff or Fuji badges anywhere tho !

[George Stoichev]

On 4/14/2023 at 11:59 PM, Yachtbuoy said:

It's been challenging to source Fujifilm for some time in my experience - I'm not sure this changes anything practically on the ground. When I first started with film I was able to source a roll of Velvia 100 but I think all last year I probably only handled a couple rolls of Fujifilm in total, and mostly slide film.

I'm still not over the loss of real C200, was a nice and different cast relative to Gold/Kodacolor.

Write me and I can offer you fresh Fuji color 100, Superia X-TRA, Superia Premium 400 and Provia 100.