Fuji 6-step E6 kits will be available from Freestyle if enough people are interested.

[ZoneIII]

After posting a question about using the Tetenal 3-step E6 kit, I remembered that I should probably mention something in a separate post. A couple months ago, I contacted Freestyle Photographic about the possibility of them carrying the Fuji Hunt 6-step E6 kits. Before contacting them, I got in touch with Ag Photographic, the make of the kit to ask if there was any possibility of getting those kits in the U.S. They said the problem was that one of the chemicals was in a container too large for shipping regulations but they were working on that and the problem would be solved soon. I let Freestyle know about that and they were going to check into it. Sure enough! Not long after that, Freestyle contacted me and said that they could now get the Fuji Hunt kits but they were only going to order a couple to see if there was interest in them. The problem was that the price would be about $200 for the 5 liter kit and they wanted to see if there were enough people willing to pay that much before they began stocking it as a regular product. I suggested that Freestyle announce the availability of the 5 - liter Fuji Hunt kits here but I don't know if they did so I thought I would mention it.

So..... if you are willing to pay the high cost for optimum results, let Freestyle know. In fact, I would be willing to pay twice as much for the six-step kits but I had already bought a Tetenal 3-step kit and I'm going to use that first.

BTW, I am about to use the Tetenal 3-step kit but I have a question about a discrepancy in the time listed for the color development step between information that Tetenal provides and what Jobo provides. If you use the Tetenal 3-step kit, please take a look at my thread about that. I can use your help. Here's a link:

(there was a url link here which no longer exists)

 

[fdonadio]

If Freestyle can ship that internationally (something I wouldn't hold my breath for), I would definitely get one of those kits!


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[Ken Nadvornick]

Passed this Fuji Hunt info along to some non-APUG individuals who are also interested. They say they will be contacting Freestyle tomorrow to add their voices to the chorus.

At a minimum, anyone here also possibly interested might want to occasionally perform a Freestyle product search just to register their interest as a website click metric.



Ken

 

[destroya]

when maco was able to ship to the US the fuji kit with shipping was about $170. why would freestyle be so much higher?

 

[Ken Nadvornick]

As promised, here they are...

Fuji Hunt Chrome 6X E6 Processing Kit - 5 Liters

Ken

 

[bvy]

Already out of stock? Or not yet in stock?

 

[nbagno]

sweet.

 

[fdonadio]

I am still dreaming of the day I'll be able to buy a kit like this in Brazil. I'll probably have to mix my own E6 from scratch.


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[destroya]

but is it worth paying twice the price as the 3 bath? i'm getting great results with the tetenal kit so would like to hear from someone who has tried both.

 

[Roger Cole]

Fuji 6-step E6 kits will be available from Freestyle if enough people are int...

but is it worth paying twice the price as the 3 bath? i'm getting great results with the tetenal kit so would like to hear from someone who has tried both.

In a word, no.

In two words, hell no.

I have not tried the Fuji but years ago I was using the Unicolor when it was all 6 bath and the three bath came out so I tried it. I used three bath after that.

But it makes some people happy and if that contributes to the survival of E6 that makes me happy.

Now if the price were more comparable ... maybe.


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[Ken Nadvornick]

but is it worth paying twice the price as the 3 bath? i'm getting great results with the tetenal kit so would like to hear from someone who has tried both.

Haven't tried both, but given that the capacity is listed as 40 (135) rolls at $214.98 (after shipping), that works out to $26.87 for a 5 roll set. And push/pull processing is free. I must do the work, but then it's also same day processing. Might even be one-hour, if it's important and I hustle my butt a bit.

At a high-quality and well-respected mail-order E-6 processor in Kansas, it currently runs $51.25 for those same 5 rolls. Push/pull processing for all 5 nudges that cost up to $76.25. I don't have to do the work, but I must wait approximately 4-6 days to see the results.

That makes out-of-pocket standard (non-push/pull) processing costs for true six-step E-6 processing a 47.6% discount in my favor over commercial processing.*

I don't factor in the cost of my time because it's a hobby activity, making that time spent a net plus to me anyway.

So it all depends on one's needs and budget and darkroom/equipment availability. Autumn is coming and is my favorite color transparency season. I just now placed a pre-order for one kit through Freestyle.

As always, YMMV...



Ken

* The abbreviated three-step processing would not be an apples-to-apples cost comparison, as there is a fair amount of opinion by those in a position to know that the three-step process is a less-than-optimal alternative over the long run. Again, YMMV.

 

[Roger Cole]

Fuji 6-step E6 kits will be available from Freestyle if enough people are int...

Of course it's cheaper than having it done. But the three step is still nearly 50% less than that.

Saw the edit - if you got the solutions separately I think the bleach and fix have different capacities and longer life than when mixed as blix so there might be some savings there. But I have been happy with the results from three bath as have others. I, and I bet many others, would be hard pressed to tell the difference in results. Not that there would BE no difference but to clearly identify "this is the better result" I'd bet would be inconsistent at best, if not impossible.


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