For those who may have taken time to sign the petition and followed the updates here is a message I received last night.
It took a bit of time but Fuji did respond to the on-line petition that was signed by almost 2000 LF photogs.
The person who started the petition, Stef Dunn in Brisbane Australia, gets full credit for all his efforts to date and he is also following up with them on the response letter listed below.
He has also posted a bit of information on the response on the petition site as well. I've not seen that to date, but Stef asked that I post this information on any photog sites I had access to.
PDF Letter without the header info listed:
Thank you for your constant patronage.
I am Norihiko Sakata from Photo Imaging Products Division, responsible for photographic film products.
I am writing in reply to your letter of September 5, 2012 sent to our management including the CEO. We again realized how much photographers supported and loved “Velvia 50 sheet film” after receiving numbers of petition for continuation of the product.
Until today, we have made our best effort to keep our production to supply regularly. However, the demand of “Velvia 50 sheet film” has drastically dropped which is only a few percent compared to peak usage period. Therefore, we had to reduce the variety of photographic films including Velvia50 sheet film in order to sustain the film supply over the future.
We will try our best to examine what we can do based on your petition, but please understand that we will not be able to guarantee whether we can fully meet your expectation or not under this severe situation.
Once again, thank you very much for your continuous support.
Hi Paul, thanks for this update.
Great to see that these petitions can have impact, even if it is only a mail that is the result.
But let's see what will happen.
Posted by Eva McDermott on November 10, 2012 at 9:05 AM
While I like V-50, I prefer V-100 and Astia 100-F. Fortunately, I have a decent stash of Astia cut sheets and QL's that should last for a while, but I have no V-100.
It sure would be nice nice if V-100 and Astia were once again available in cut sheets. I'd also like to see Fuji bring back their 4x5 color neg material. The Pro S-160 was a very nice film.
The last time I looked at B&H (in mid-Octobe)r, the only 4x5 chrome available was Provia. I never liked it much, but I'll use it when my stash runs out, assuming it's still available.
I just sent 10 sheets of Kodak Portra 160 color neg in for processing. The stuff was almost $4.00/ sheet at B&H last month! That really sucks! Ektar was less expensive, but still no bargain.
I guess that we LF photographers will just have to see where all this goes. It's unfortunate, but we have little or no power other than buying the films that remain available.
Preston,
I agree with your comment about seeing where it all goes. I know the few companies still involved have costs of doing business, however, they are slowly driving folks off the playing field. Not sure if it will ever change at all a bit more in our favor or at least slow the cost increases.
I find the transparencies much easier to deal with then the negatives with regard of seeing what you got on a light table without bothering to scan to find out. That to me is worth the loss of a little bit of exposure latitude gains. Although, if E-6 goes maybe we are forced to go with C-41 in the end.
"I find the transparencies much easier to deal with then the negatives with regard of seeing what you got on a light table without bothering to scan to find out. That to me is worth the loss of a little bit of exposure latitude gains. Although, if E-6 goes maybe we are forced to go with C-41 in the end.
Likewise, Paul. I do find chromes much easier to to evaluate. However, with a bit of practice you can at least get an idea of how well exposed (density and focus) a color negative is along with a general idea of your composition.
I don't know if you've tried it, but VueScan will do the conversion from negative image to positive for you in it's preview function so you don't have to run a full scan to see if things are in the ball park.
Sure, it's not as easy, and is more time-consuming than looking at a nice chrome on the light table, but it gets the job done. I use the 64-bit Pro version and it works just fine with my Microtek scanner and Win 7.
Just a quick thought for you...You do a lot of shooting in the desert. I would think that using a neg film, with it's greater dynamic range, would help preserve the luminosity in your scenes. You can place the shadow values higher on the scale without blowing out the significant high values. It's worth a look, in my opinion.
You do a lot of shooting in the desert. I would think that using a neg film, with it's greater dynamic range, would help preserve the luminosity in your scenes. You can place the shadow values higher on the scale without blowing out the significant high values. It's worth a look, in my opinion.
Totally agree with that idea, Preston. I've still got a good amount of V-50 right now, but will need to make an adjustment eventually. Although I'm a BIG fan of V-50 I'm open to try other items in the future. The only thing I do not like is the continuous up & down flux of the whole program. It's just too much shifting around with the products.
I've still got a good amount of V-50 right now, but will need to make an adjustment eventually.
I still have a pile of Astia sheets and QL's too, but decided to start working with color neg now so that the transition (if needed) is smooth. One thing I have discovered is that I have to get out of the 'transparency' mindset. Color neg is a different ball game in terms of look and feel, and I really like the way Portra looks. I'll post something in CANP soon.
Another consideration is, assuming you start using color neg in the near future, you'll have a stash V-50 for a 'rainy day'.
"The only thing I do not like is the continuous up & down flux of the whole program. It's just too much shifting around with the products.
Discussion
7 repliesIt took a bit of time but Fuji did respond to the on-line petition that was signed by almost 2000 LF photogs.
The person who started the petition, Stef Dunn in Brisbane Australia, gets full credit for all his efforts to date and he is also following up with them on the response letter listed below.
He has also posted a bit of information on the response on the petition site as well. I've not seen that to date, but Stef asked that I post this information on any photog sites I had access to.
PDF Letter without the header info listed:
Thank you for your constant patronage.
I am Norihiko Sakata from Photo Imaging Products Division, responsible for photographic film products.
I am writing in reply to your letter of September 5, 2012 sent to our management including the CEO. We again realized how much photographers supported and loved “Velvia 50 sheet film” after receiving numbers of petition for continuation of the product.
Until today, we have made our best effort to keep our production to supply regularly. However, the demand of “Velvia 50 sheet film” has drastically dropped which is only a few percent compared to peak usage period. Therefore, we had to reduce the variety of photographic films including Velvia50 sheet film in order to sustain the film supply over the future.
We will try our best to examine what we can do based on your petition, but please understand that we will not be able to guarantee whether we can fully meet your expectation or not under this severe situation.
Once again, thank you very much for your continuous support.
Norihiko Sakata
Senior Operations Manager
Imaging material & Camera solution group
Photo Imaging Products Division
FUJIFILM Corporation
7-3, AKASAKA 9-CHOME, MINATO-KU
TOKYO 107-0052, JAPAN
Great to see that these petitions can have impact, even if it is only a mail that is the result.
But let's see what will happen.
It sure would be nice nice if V-100 and Astia were once again available in cut sheets. I'd also like to see Fuji bring back their 4x5 color neg material. The Pro S-160 was a very nice film.
The last time I looked at B&H (in mid-Octobe)r, the only 4x5 chrome available was Provia. I never liked it much, but I'll use it when my stash runs out, assuming it's still available.
I just sent 10 sheets of Kodak Portra 160 color neg in for processing. The stuff was almost $4.00/ sheet at B&H last month! That really sucks! Ektar was less expensive, but still no bargain.
I guess that we LF photographers will just have to see where all this goes. It's unfortunate, but we have little or no power other than buying the films that remain available.
--P
I agree with your comment about seeing where it all goes. I know the few companies still involved have costs of doing business, however, they are slowly driving folks off the playing field. Not sure if it will ever change at all a bit more in our favor or at least slow the cost increases.
I find the transparencies much easier to deal with then the negatives with regard of seeing what you got on a light table without bothering to scan to find out. That to me is worth the loss of a little bit of exposure latitude gains. Although, if E-6 goes maybe we are forced to go with C-41 in the end.
Likewise, Paul. I do find chromes much easier to to evaluate. However, with a bit of practice you can at least get an idea of how well exposed (density and focus) a color negative is along with a general idea of your composition.
I don't know if you've tried it, but VueScan will do the conversion from negative image to positive for you in it's preview function so you don't have to run a full scan to see if things are in the ball park.
Sure, it's not as easy, and is more time-consuming than looking at a nice chrome on the light table, but it gets the job done. I use the 64-bit Pro version and it works just fine with my Microtek scanner and Win 7.
Just a quick thought for you...You do a lot of shooting in the desert. I would think that using a neg film, with it's greater dynamic range, would help preserve the luminosity in your scenes. You can place the shadow values higher on the scale without blowing out the significant high values. It's worth a look, in my opinion.
--P
Totally agree with that idea, Preston. I've still got a good amount of V-50 right now, but will need to make an adjustment eventually. Although I'm a BIG fan of V-50 I'm open to try other items in the future. The only thing I do not like is the continuous up & down flux of the whole program. It's just too much shifting around with the products.
I still have a pile of Astia sheets and QL's too, but decided to start working with color neg now so that the transition (if needed) is smooth. One thing I have discovered is that I have to get out of the 'transparency' mindset. Color neg is a different ball game in terms of look and feel, and I really like the way Portra looks. I'll post something in CANP soon.
Another consideration is, assuming you start using color neg in the near future, you'll have a stash V-50 for a 'rainy day'.
Amen!
--P