Discontinuation of FP100C

bvy · Mar 5, 2016

Theo Sulphate said:
If the rumor is true, that's great news. I wish we could get FP-3000B back, because I really like it. Was there a similar outcry when it was discontinued?

Yes. And a petition, too, that filled up fast. Fell on deaf ears.

Wayne · Mar 5, 2016

I signed the petition but can't imagine 10,000 signatures makes Fuji change their mind. But I admire those who say no to apathy and put up a fight.

Diapositivo · Mar 5, 2016

Wayne said:
I signed the petition but can't imagine 10,000 signatures makes Fuji change their mind. But I admire those who say no to apathy and put up a fight.

According to the rumours, it's not the petition, but the sudden spike in price that had them reconsider the things. As it was properly said here, "money talks".

I'm considering, if they put the stuff in production again, to look for some camera being able to use it. Not my usual material, but certainly now that I have got "the lesson" I would like to contribute to the preservation of this kind of material.

Ken Nadvornick · Mar 5, 2016

Roger Cole said:
I'm sure the price will come down but I think their goal is still around $6 - $7 a sheet. I can see if you have a commercial use that might be fine but it's just too much for me.

But I applaud their efforts and wish them much success.

Yes, $6 - $7 per sheet was the initial target. But that was before the outsourced receiver sheet coating issues came up. Now they have just begun coating the receiver in-house on a self-designed prototype machine. This should not only speed up the previous fall-back hand-coating process, but should increase the quality of the resulting direct prints as well.

I've committed to purchasing at least one box (5 sheets) per month at the current elevated price. In the rainforest where I live the weather is just beginning to show signs of an earlier than usual return to briefly workable for outdoor photography. So I'm hoping to use these sheets in the near future, and perhaps posting some of the results in our new gallery.

This stuff is for the moment certainly expensive. But they are trying mightily to recover from an unforeseen (and, realistically, unforeseeable at the time) financial setback and get a reliable small-scale industrial capacity up and running.

If anyone reading this thinks they might like to eventually give this stuff a try when the price comes down, you might consider helping out right now by purchasing just a few boxes at the current fundraising price to help make that possibility eventually work out.

Consider as well that several of the principles in this project are themselves working without any compensation at all in the effort to get this operation into the black...

New55 Online Sales

Some related images

Ken

Roger Cole · Mar 5, 2016

Well I might Ken, but I don't have a back that it will fit, so I'd have to buy that too. I do have - heck I can never keep the model numbers straight but the Polaroid back that works with the FP-100c quarter plate stuff being discussed here.

mehguy · Mar 5, 2016

The resellers are already hard at work....

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_sacat=0&_nkw=fp100c&rt=nc

Wayne · Mar 5, 2016

Diapositivo said:
According to the rumours, it's not the petition, but the sudden spike in price that had them reconsider the things. As it was properly said here, "money talks".

I'm considering, if they put the stuff in production again, to look for some camera being able to use it. Not my usual material, but certainly now that I have got "the lesson" I would like to contribute to the preservation of this kind of material.

No, the rumor said "big sales" not "big price".

At current prices (almost 30 bucks on Amazon yesterday) it wouldn't matter to me if they keep producing it. I couldn't buy it.

NedL · Mar 8, 2016

$17.99 at B&H now. My order shipped today, so the next batch is in.

Roger Cole · Mar 8, 2016

NedL said:
$17.99 at B&H now. My order shipped today, so the next batch is in.

Mine did not, or at least I was not notified by B&H that it had. I ordered the day the discontinuation was announced. Seems they got in enough to cover some orders but not even all the orders that were placed that day.

Ektagraphic · Mar 8, 2016

This price gouging of sorts by B&H and other big players is just sad and in bad taste.

Ken Nadvornick · Mar 8, 2016

First rule of (successful) business: Never leave money on the table...

Ken

davedm · Mar 8, 2016

Ektagraphic said:
This price gouging of sorts by B&H and other big players is just sad and in bad taste.

This is almost norm these days in analogue photo business.

I see people asking outrageous prices for even expired films on EBay and elsewhere.

Cary Lee · Mar 8, 2016

I would love to see if Fuji changes their mind and still produce the film...then all these price hogs will be stuck with overpriced stock and take a hit on their wallets at the same time.

RattyMouse · Mar 8, 2016

Ektagraphic said:
This price gouging of sorts by B&H and other big players is just sad and in bad taste.

Not at all. The supply is limited and the demand is not. If the price does not adjust, then you will have zero stock instantly. You either get it at a higher price or you dont get it at all.

RattyMouse · Mar 8, 2016

davedm said:
This is almost norm these days in analogue photo business.

I see people asking outrageous prices for even expired films on EBay and elsewhere.

Reala 100 film went out of production without any warning at all. Previous to Fuji's discontinuation of this film, it was cheap and plentiful. One day that all changed and I found the price was $12/roll. I didnt want to pay that much so I stopped shooting color film for the most part. I was tempted at times to buy a box of Reala 100 and because of the high price, stock was available for quite some time after it was out of production.

I wonder if that store has any Reala 100 left.

RattyMouse · Mar 8, 2016

Ken Nadvornick said:
First rule of (successful) business: Never leave money on the table...

Ken

It seems that Fuji has reached maximum pricing for their films. In other words, any film available today will be discontinued rather than survive with a price hike. Every now and then we get general price increases over the entire product line but never for any product that is critically endangered.

Why can't we have it where Fuji says, FP300 (in this case) will have a price increase so that we can keep it around? It's always a sudden death, with no warning and no ability for people to pay more to keep a much loved film around.

A real shame.

bvy · Mar 8, 2016

RattyMouse said:
Not at all. The supply is limited and the demand is not. If the price does not adjust, then you will have zero stock instantly. You either get it at a higher price or you dont get it at all.

Or, perhaps more accurately, you get it a slightly higher price now or an egregiously higher price later.

mehguy · Mar 8, 2016

Ektagraphic said:
This price gouging of sorts by B&H and other big players is just sad and in bad taste.

Quite sad, really. Its now selling for nearly double the price now.

Theo Sulphate · Mar 8, 2016

Ken Nadvornick said:
First rule of (successful) business: Never leave money on the table...

Basic economics has the price rising according to demand - which sets the true value of a product. However, the problem I see here is that there isn't a counterbalancing action. That is, when the price is so high that there are a lot of people who want to buy but can't, then that offers an opportunity for a competitor to come in to satisfy that demand at a lower price. For example, you have people buying Canon rangefinders instead of Leicas. Well, that's likely not to happen here unless Impossible decides to make pack film - unlikely. Integral film isn't really a substitute for those who have and like to use pack film cameras.

A much more satisfying outcome would have been this:

RattyMouse said:
... In other words, any film available today will be discontinued rather than survive with a price hike. Every now and then we get general price increases over the entire product line but never for any product that is critically endangered.

Why can't we have it where Fuji says, FP300 (in this case) will have a price increase so that we can keep it around? It's always a sudden death, with no warning and no ability for people to pay more to keep a much loved film around.

A real shame.

Exactly. Thank you for writing that.

Ken Nadvornick · Mar 8, 2016

Precisely. And those who currently possess the product in demand know full well there is no counterbalancing action to be had in the near future. So for the moment it is a de facto monopoly situation. Someone wants it, and they possess all of it that remains. And they will continue to raise the price of it until there is one more than zero buyers remaining who can still stand the pain. Which is the definition of not leaving any money on the table.

I agree. But satisfying outcomes only happen when one is in control of all possible outcomes, and can therefore pick and choose. Sadly, that is not the case here.

Ken

NedL · Mar 8, 2016

FWIW: freezing fp-100c

Right now I've got 5 boxes here, expiration 11/2015. I'm going to double ziplock one of them, stick it in the refrigerator ( vertical ) for a week, then into the stand-up freezer in our garage. When my 30 boxes arrive on Friday, I'm going put them in my refrigerator. ( I have a small "dorm room" refrigerator in the garage for my vegetable seed collection and a small amount of film... it is set just above freezing and stays between 35 and 38 deg. F. ) I'm going to keep using the fp-100c as usual, so it will probably all be gone in 2 to 3 years, but if I change my mind in a couple years I can take the frozen one out and verify that it still works. That way I have an option of freezing some later if I decide to.

P.S. I'm not interested in selling it. I just like to use it.

cmacd123 · Mar 8, 2016

NedL said:
FWIW: freezing fp-100c

Right now I've got 5 boxes here, expiration 11/2015. I'm going to double ziplock one of them, stick it in the refrigerator ( vertical ) for a week, then into the stand-up freezer in our garage.

READ the data sheet, some of the self developing film does not like having the pod of chemicals frozen. keep it no colder than the data sheet indicates for coldest temperature.

Roger Cole · Mar 8, 2016

Data sheets are often very conservative. We all know what Fuji SAYS, but multiple people have tried freezing it and had no issues. Of course refrigeration is good enough for a few years storage so unless you buy a truck load or rarely shoot it or want to resell it at hideous scalper prices in 20 years there is probably no reason to freeze it. I have the stuff I already had in my film fridge. Some expired 2013 but is still good.

Theo Sulphate · Mar 8, 2016

Ken Nadvornick said:
... So for the moment it is a de facto monopoly situation. Someone wants it, and they possess all of it that remains. And they will continue to raise the price of it until there is one more than zero buyers remaining who can still stand the pain. Which is the definition of not leaving any money on the table.
...

Maybe not a monopoly. Some places may be selling it near $20 per box, but they may sit on a lot of unsold product at that price. That will leave an opportunity for others to undercut that price. Eventually the price will work its way down to the film's true value.

NedL · Mar 8, 2016

cmacd123 said:
READ the data sheet, some of the self developing film does not like having the pod of chemicals frozen. keep it no colder than the data sheet indicates for coldest temperature.

Thanks, don't worry, I'm being careful. I'm only testing one box in the freezer. The rest will be in the refrigerator. I doubt I'll end up freezing more because my supply will probably all be gone in a couple years.

I've read the data sheet, it does not address minimum storage temperature,it says:

For long-term storage, keep film in a refrigerator [at a temperature below 10°C (50°F)]. Place opened film packs into polyethylene or vinyl bags before refrigerating them.

Discontinuation of FP100C

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