35mm Velvia 50 is back and very expensive!

DREW WILEY · Oct 30, 2022

Bill - There was a period of a few years when Galen tried to set up a big gallery and workshop setting in this area and partnered with Bill Atkinson, who was a 4x5 shooter and very accomplished at pre-press digital skills. When he was making and mounting big prints for Galen, they came out best by far I've ever seen his work because Bill attempted to faithfully replicate the look of the original transparencies. But when Galen's son Tony got involved later, in relation to the Bishop Gallery on the other side of the state, the PS color saturation was ratcheted way up to the point of unbelievability, at least to anyone familiar with real "mountain light" and not just sugary postcard stereotypes tailored to passing-through tourists.

The previous gallery in Emeryville was a total bellyflop. For one thing, who wants to attend a gallery opening wearing a bullet-proof vest? It was a rough neighborhood; but any fancier venue would have been utterly unaffordable in this entire area. It seems Bill Atkinson has himself now passed away.

Alan - in person Galen candidly recognized that he was not even remotely in the league of serious art photographers; and he wasn't. It was just his marketing persona, his temporary braggadio mask, for sake of making a commercial living and funding his expeditions. With all the really heavy hitters in both photography and world-glass climbing in this neighborhood, one puts on that kind of disguise only for sake of the general public, or Natl Geo readers. Otherwise, someone far more accomplished will give you that "look", and you know what it means.

Alan Edward Klein · Oct 30, 2022

It might be because I'm 3000 miles away on the East Coast, but I enjoyed his photographs and his writings. Considering he shot film mainly with a 35mm running and climbing most of the time shows some pretty good work.

galen rowell - Google Search

DREW WILEY · Oct 30, 2022

Considering some of us hauled large format camera gear in heavy packs up those same places puts things in a different perspective, even more, the early surveyors who lugged their transits up atop those summits before any of our own parents were born, putting all of us to shame. It's all relative. I've been atop some of those high place and found obsidian chips thousands of years old from ancient bighorn sheep hunters overlooking things or trying to get away from the mosquitoes.

And viewing doctored up book and print colors when the true light is far more beautiful is almost an insult to me personally. But I don't ascribe that habit to bad motives in his case; he just didn't see it; too busy trying to bag a story, which is what he was best at anyway, a trendy kind of outdoor photojournalism of that brief era. Nowadays, everyone wants daring videos instead. If you want a payday, put on a bat suit, strap a GoPro camera to your forehead, jump off a cliff, and when the last thing it records is a big red splat, hope your widow gets some of the royalties.

1kgcoffee · Nov 3, 2022

koraks said:
Is this confirmed information? Because it does not match up with the recent reappearance of apparently Japanese manufactured Superia 200, which was briefly rebadged Kodak 200, but the current product seems to be genuine Fuji again.

I wonder what the commonality is between the manufacturing facilities for Instax and regular camera film. I imagine that key components like coaters are shared between them.

It's notoriously difficult (impossible) to get reliable information on the internal workings of firms like Fuji, especially their Japanese facilities.

Last year they announced the discontinuation of 4x5 Velvia 50 and 120 pro160NS. 120 400H discontinued for seemingly legitimate reasons, Acros now produced by Ilford. Slide film is difficult to come by, so whats left? Old stock 400h in120 and some 35mm superia. If you can find slide film, it will be priced ridiculously. Their best products are either discontinued or damn near impossible to come by.

Superia may be temporarily back, but the stuff we're getting now could very well be frozen old stock. It's mere inference, I admit. But a well run company as Fuji has no difficulty manufacturing and delivering to market complex products like digital cameras and instax lineup. Why is manufacturing and delivery of film such a dumpster fire? They lack the will, not the ability. Film is at best an afterthought.

I recall a few years ago, a Japanese member of photrio claiming Fuji had shuttered their last non-instax film coating facility. They shared a picture. Could they continue to make some film with instax facilities? Maybe.

I don't begrudge Fuji for doing whats best for them. I suspect it's cultural, 'saving face'. How would it look for one of the original big players in analog photography to abandon their film customers? Would those die-hards purchase Fuji digital cameras? All speculation. They seem to be focusing their efforts on digital medium format, and I'm honestly impressed by what they've done.

Is this confirmed? No. But as the old saying goes - action speaks louder than words. They can throw their hands up in the air - Covid, chemical availability, supply chain issues - not our fault. Plausible deniability. But do I believe the brilliant people at Fuji would not be able to find a way if there were a will?

I have plenty of stock in the freezer to keep me going for many years. I feel sorry only for the newer film photographers.

Minolta93 said:
You think that an expensive pro film was their most popular film compared to the boxes of superia in walmarts and pharmacies?

It was very popular and affordably priced until the discontinuation announcement last year.

Huss · Nov 4, 2022

Velvia 50 is expensive. But worth it when you need it.

dscottjorgenson · Nov 4, 2022

I just received two 5-pack boxes of 120 Velvia 50 from a US retailer which I found in-stock and ordered off their web site. They shipped the next day and I had the film in possession here at my home in California a few days after that. It was expiration-dated Dec 2023 - as fresh as usual, same as ever for the last 25 years in my purchasing of this film.

Besides this particular retailer, I know of two other US retailers who currently state on their web sites that they also have 120 Velvia 50 in stock. I have ordered from them in previous months this year as well. Each time I received the expected film within a week or ten days of ordering, expiration-dated between 12-18 months out, just like the most recent order I received - all good.

True, last year, 120 Velvia 50 was impossible to find for months at a time across the USA. This year, it is difficult but not impossible, which is an improvement. Many major US retailers are sold-out right now and have been for months, but some others, tending to the smaller side, have had it in stock, somewhere or another, every time I have gone online to look for and order it this year (which has basically been every couple of months). Compared to last year, this is looking up.

As for the price of this film, it has definitely gone up - by 25% to 50% everywhere I have ordered from this year, compared to last year. I am not happy about this. But it just corresponds to the huge price hike for film that Fuji announced in (I believe) April - no surprise then that the price has indeed shot up, as they said it would.

dscottjorgenson · Nov 4, 2022

Lest I sound too positive, I will also note that, until the pandemic, I never had any problem finding 120 Velvia 50 at any US photographic retailer catering to the film crowd for at least a portion of its business. B&H, Adorama, etc, etc - they almost always had plenty of it in stock. That is not the situation now, not by a long shot. Finding this film in-stock in the US now is problematic compared to those good old days, but at least it is not impossible, which is a noticeable improvement over where things stood in 2021.

Ernst-Jan · Nov 4, 2022

Minolta93 said:
You think that an expensive pro film was their most popular film compared to the boxes of superia in walmarts and pharmacies?

Pro 400H was the cheapest 120 colour film, it was €33,95 when discontinued. Portra was close to or already over €50. The shop sold tons of it, although they weren't particulary specialised in analogue.

DF · Nov 6, 2022

MattKing said:
By the 1990s, even in Eastman Kodak's eyes Kodachrome was a legacy product, maintained only because of the loyalty of the fan base.
In most of the world, during most of the critical parts of its life, Kodachrome was sold with Kodak processing included. The film and processing package was looked at as a single product, with attention being paid to the profitability of that package as a whole.
While working retail I sold thousand of rolls of 135-36 processing included Kodachrome at prices between $12 and $14 CDN. People could buy that film from my workplace at the beginning of the day and, if they so desired, quickly shoot a roll, get it back to us before the afternoon pickup and, in many cases, come and pick up the processed slides the next day after the delivery - all for that $12 to $14 CDN cost. The huge volumes that made that possible were what made Kodachrome possible. During the busiest seasons, the processing machine(s) that developed that film, which were the size of a small bus, ran 24 hours a day - operators staffed three 8 hour sh

MattKing said:
By the 1990s, even in Eastman Kodak's eyes Kodachrome was a legacy product, maintained only because of the loyalty of the fan base.
In most of the world, during most of the critical parts of its life, Kodachrome was sold with Kodak processing included. The film and processing package was looked at as a single product, with attention being paid to the profitability of that package as a whole.
While working retail I sold thousand of rolls of 135-36 processing included Kodachrome at prices between $12 and $14 CDN. People could buy that film from my workplace at the beginning of the day and, if they so desired, quickly shoot a roll, get it back to us before the afternoon pickup and, in many cases, come and pick up the processed slides the next day after the delivery - all for that $12 to $14 CDN cost. The huge volumes that made that possible were what made Kodachrome possible. During the busiest seasons, the processing machine(s) that developed that film, which were the size of a small bus, ran 24 hours a day - operators staffed three 8 hour shifts.

Kodak hardly did much to promote Kodachrome in the 90's. There priorities were further developing & improving of the various Ektachromes.

blee1996 · Nov 6, 2022

This is strange: fresh Provia 100F is about double the price of Ektachrome 100, 120 size 5 pack in B&H. Thank goodness both are in stock, but the price difference is just staggering!

benjiboy · Nov 7, 2022

How much do you think Kodachrome 64 would be if it ever came back, and who the hell could afford it ?.

faberryman · Nov 7, 2022

benjiboy said:
How much do you think Kodachrome 64 would be if it ever came back, and who the hell could afford it ?.

Godwin's Law states that in an online discussion, it is only so long before someone brings up Hitler. Except on photography forums, where the corollary comes into play which states in an online discussion it is only so long before someone brings up Kodachrome.

benjiboy · Nov 7, 2022

faberryman said:
Godwin's Law states that in an online discussion, it is only so long before someone brings up Hitler. Except on photography forums, where the corollary comes into play which states in an online discussion it is only so long before someone brings up Kodachrome.

I apologize if my remark offends you, but I'm tired of members of this and other forums going on and on about Kodachrome coming back, that's clearly never going to happen.

faberryman · Nov 7, 2022

benjiboy said:
I apologize if my remark offends you, but I'm tired of members of this and other forums going on and on about Kodachrome coming back, that's clearly never going to happen.

Your remark doesn't offend me in the least. When someone mentions Kodachrome, I just roll my eyes, and I was a big fan of it back in the day. You just want to try to avoid the old folks home vibe when you talk about stuff like that.

DREW WILEY · Nov 7, 2022

Who wants Kodachrome 64 back. At least ask the Genie in the bottle for Kodachome 25, and preferably in sheet film sizes while you're at it. Or win the Lottery and set up your own coating plant and processing line. Statistically, in terms of the probability of any of the above, just how many zeros can one fit across this screen anyway.

Alan Edward Klein · Nov 7, 2022

Why K24 over K64?

DREW WILEY · Nov 7, 2022

Kodachrome 25 had better neutrality, saturation, and grain. The only advantage 64 had besides a little more speed was that it was briefly available in 120 roll film too.

1kgcoffee · Nov 9, 2022

The only way kodachrome could come back is as a c41 or E-6 stock. I could see Kodak trying this, but would be difficult to replicate the colours of old kodachrome

DREW WILEY · Nov 9, 2022

Then it wouldn't or couldn't be Kodachrome at all. Some of its special characteristics were dependent upon its special complicated process.

Sirius Glass · Nov 9, 2022

Kodachrome is long dead and not coming back use Ektachrome or what you can get from Fuji.

pentaxuser · Nov 9, 2022

faberryman said:
Godwin's Law states that in an online discussion, it is only so long before someone brings up Hitler. Except on photography forums, where the corollary comes into play which states in an online discussion it is only so long before someone brings up Kodachrome.

pentaxuser

takilmaboxer · Nov 14, 2022

I was a diehard fan of Kodachrome 25. But then I was also a diehard fan of Ektar 25 and Panatomic-X.
Oh well.

takilmaboxer · Nov 14, 2022

DREW WILEY said:
Anyone who worshipped Galen had a miserable role model. I knew the people who printed his work, right down the street from my office, and he was sure no expert with exposure. His statistical success rate was rather low. He lived just up the hill next door to a backpacking pal of mine. Much of his later stuff was grossly Fauxtoshopped per color enhancement, especially after he relocated to Bishop. He had a deserved reputation as a climber and travel guru, but was really just another dime a dozen photographer, except for the fact he went exotic places. His workshops were sponsored by Fuji, and his mantra was to shoot as much film as possible and hope to get lucky - machine gunning, in other words. More film sales for Fuji; that was the whole point. Velvia worked against him in terms of usability in published images - too much contrast; complaints from those tasked with the scanning. But his timing per content was fortuitous, with high demand at the time for SUV ads, ski resort posters etc - he made most or his income as an outdoor sports stock image agency, prior to the airplane crash tragedy. Interesting guy, somewhat different in person from his marketing persona.

He was a climber, not a photographer. He told me that he shot zillions of shots in hopes of getting one winner.

DREW WILEY · Nov 14, 2022

Yep. My nephew, obviously of a younger generation, got his own entire climbing expeditions paid for with a few 35mm shots each time which just happened to "accidentally" have some North Face or Sierra Designs logo at the edge of the frame in the foreground, on a jacket sleeve or tent fly, overhanging some remote extreme cliff, or with an exotic mountain range in the background. He bagged a few front cover shots to climbing magazines that way too. Fine art was not the point. He did all that with the little Pentax MX I gave him, which was entirely reliable as long as the meter battery didn't get too cold.

Some of the older legends of extreme mountaineering he hung out or climbed with, like Kurt Diemberger, or certain local superstars of extreme high altitude climbing of my generation like Martin Zabeleta, were very enthusiastic photographers themselves. But their rather amateurish shots would attract very little interest were it not for their significant value to mountaineering history itself, and the extraordinary conditions those were taken in.

NB23 · Nov 14, 2022

S

takilmaboxer said:
He was a climber, not a photographer. He told me that he shot zillions of shots in hopes of getting one winner.

Sounds like Winogrand

35mm Velvia 50 is back and very expensive!

Privacy & Transparency

Privacy & Transparency