Fuji Sensia R.I.P

Steve Roberts · Aug 11, 2010

Further to my post yesyerday in which I bemoaned the poor processing standards of Sensia in Fuji's 'official' UK lab, I was speaking to the proprietor of a local photographic shop about an hour ago and he mentioned a rumour regarding Fuji's long-term (or otherwise) commitment to film production. I did a quick internet search and came up with this: http://www.bjp-online.com/british-journal-of-photography/news/1727476/fuji-sensia-rip
Another one bites the dust!
Steve

benjiboy · Aug 11, 2010

Fiji's professional range slide films are a lot better than Sensia IMO and although Ektar is excellent film you can't project it.

2F/2F · Aug 11, 2010

Too bad. I thought it was an excellent film for the price. I always wished that they made it in medium format. R.I.P.

Steve Roberts · Aug 11, 2010

2F/2F - I'd say it was fine film regardless of the price. Interesting though that they chop what is perceived as the 'consumer' slide film rather than one of the 'professional' films in their range. I'd have thought that Sensia would be the last in the range to go rather than the first but clearly sales figures say otherwise.

benjiboy - I've seen Ektar raved about as a replacement for or alternative to slide film on many occasions. As you say, this seems to be oblivious to fact that you can't project Ektar (well, you can, but the novelty would soon wear thin!) and so perhaps there are a higher number of people than I'd have thought who like to shoot film and then scan it.

Steve

Tom Kershaw · Aug 11, 2010

benjiboy said:
Fiji's professional range slide films are a lot better than Sensia IMO and although Ektar is excellent film you can't project it.

How did you find the Fuji professional films better?

Tom

railwayman3 · Aug 11, 2010

Steve Roberts said:
2F/2F - I'd say it was fine film regardless of the price. Interesting though that they chop what is perceived as the 'consumer' slide film rather than one of the 'professional' films in their range. I'd have thought that Sensia would be the last in the range to go rather than the first but clearly sales figures say otherwise.

Steve

Don't forget that they've already, quite recently, chopped Astia and 64T slide films (and, I believe, some of the color neg films.). And the loss of Sensia is, effectively, three further different films gone.

Wasn't Sensia the only Fuji slide film available "process-paid", which I assume was mainly for consumer rather than Pro users. Perhaps the writing is also on-the-wall for the Leeds lab?

(With Kodachrome and Sensia gone, this seems to just about the end of the long tradition of slide films sold with processing included? Boots Colour Slide seems the only one now hanging on....and that is, SFAIK, a Sensia 200 clone?)

2F/2F · Aug 11, 2010

railwayman3 said:
Don't forget that they've already, quite recently, chopped Astia and 64T slide films (and, I believe, some of the color neg films.). And the loss of Sensia is, effectively, three further different films gone.

Wasn't Sensia the only Fuji slide film available "process-paid", which I assume was mainly for consumer rather than Pro users. Perhaps the writing is also on-the-wall for the Leeds lab?

(With Kodachrome and Sensia gone, this seems to just about the end of the long tradition of slide films sold with processing included? Boots Colour Slide seems the only one now hanging on....and that is, SFAIK, a Sensia 200 clone?)

Is Astia really gone? I hadn't heard that one!

Tom Kershaw · Aug 11, 2010

2F/2F said:
Is Astia really gone? I hadn't heard that one!

Fuji Astia is still available in mainland Europe. No import tax going into the UK:

http://www.macodirect.de/fujifilm-fuji-astia-100f-c-416_417_418_497.html

Tom

railwayman3 · Aug 11, 2010

2F/2F said:
Is Astia really gone? I hadn't heard that one!

Fuji UK stopped importing it into the the UK some months ago, though I believe that it is still manufactured and isavailable in some others countries in Europe, and, I'd guess, the US.
Sorry if I panicked you unnecessarily!

(If Sensia is no longer economic to make, I wonder if Fuji are still producing some of the weird-and-wonderful films which they sell in other countries....Fortia, Natura, etc.?)

2F/2F · Aug 11, 2010

railwayman3 said:
Fuji UK stopped importing it into the the UK some months ago, though I believe that it is still manufactured and isavailable in some others countries in Europe, and, I'd guess, the US.

Couldn't you have just said that instead of simply calling it "chopped," especially when listing it alongside T64, which truly has been discontinued in manufacture? This is how bad information about film discontinuations gets around the Internet.

Grainy · Aug 11, 2010

That's sad. I thought Sensia was one of the volume sellers. I do not use slide film, but it's always sad when someone stop making a film.

bob100684 · Aug 11, 2010

railwayman3 said:
Fuji UK stopped importing it into the the UK some months ago, though I believe that it is still manufactured and isavailable in some others countries in Europe, and, I'd guess, the US.
Sorry if I panicked you unnecessarily!

(If Sensia is no longer economic to make, I wonder if Fuji are still producing some of the weird-and-wonderful films which they sell in other countries....Fortia, Natura, etc.?)

pretty sure fortia is gone too.

2F/2F · Aug 11, 2010

I really liked Sensia. I mostly used the 400 and sometimes the 100; never the 200. Hopefully we still have Elite Chrome when we need a good-enough, cheap slide film.

fotch · Aug 11, 2010

The last sentence sums it up "a world that is rushing nowhere like a lot of headless chickens."

Tom Kershaw · Aug 11, 2010

2F/2F said:
I really liked Sensia. I mostly used the 400 and sometimes the 100; never the 200. Hopefully we still have Elite Chrome when we need a good-enough, cheap slide film.

Apart from price, do you see any other advantages in Fuji Sensia or Kodak Elitechrome?

Tom

hrst · Aug 11, 2010

If Astia is gone too, as rumored, which I would believe because Fuji doesn't mention it as a replacement for Sensia, even though being the closest replacement -

Then this means that Fuji no more has any normal-to-low contrast slide film with a bit warmish, realistic but not subdued colors. This, on the other hand, may be good for Kodak. I've been a fan of Sensia 100 - I've called it "neg-like slide" because of it's all-around contrast - as any other Fuji product cannot do this anymore (if Astia is gone), what about Kodak E100G?

Tom Kershaw · Aug 11, 2010

hrst said:
If Astia is gone too, as rumored, which I would believe because Fuji doesn't mention it as a replacement for Sensia, even though being the closest replacement -

Then this means that Fuji no more has any normal-to-low contrast slide film with a bit warmish, realistic but not subdued colors. This, on the other hand, may be good for Kodak. I've been a fan of Sensia 100 - I've called it "neg-like slide" because of it's all-around contrast - as any other Fuji product cannot do this anymore (if Astia is gone), what about Kodak E100G?

As I'm planning to start Ilfochrome printing the lack of a low contrast slide film is not ideal.

Tom

hrst · Aug 11, 2010

Tom Kershaw said:
Apart from price, do you see any other advantages in Fuji Sensia or Kodak Elitechrome?

Absolutely. It's the only Fuji film that delivers nice, normal contrast and colors suitable for most scenes without any "special effect" look. I especially don't like the "digital" look provided by some chrome films, which comes mostly from blown-up highlights.

Velvia 50 gives exaggerated colors, especially skin tones. I like it, but it's not all-arounder by any means.
Velvia 100 and Velvia 100F are useless in most situations unless you shoot grey wall and want contrast and colors in it.
Provia 100F gives you blown-out highlights very easily. Very interesting and nice look in most situations but not all.
Provia 400X gives over-saturated, magentaish results. OK for some compositions.
Astia 100F is/was the only Fuji Professional film that is meant for photographing people, or mentioned as a low-to-normal contrast film.

Sensia was the "consumer" version of the previous version of Astia, IIRC. It has the same qualities. It's also the only film I can say that almost every shot was good. With 35mm, and when travelling, I usually have no time or interest to have several camera bodies with different films for different scenes. Or, when I have, the first one is for neg and another one for chromes. And, then I have to use an all-around chrome film, like Sensia 100. Velvia 50 would be my second choice. I find that all the other Fujichromes blow up highlights too easily.

But, now I finally have a reason to try Kodak slide films!

2F/2F · Aug 11, 2010

Tom Kershaw said:
Apart from price, do you see any other advantages in Fuji Sensia or Kodak Elitechrome?

Tom

They are a bigger bang for the buck than the pro films, by far. Two-thirds the price, but better than two-thirds as good, therefore a better value. They are more than good enough in quality for anyone doing general-purpose photography (as good as the pro films, IMHO); it is just that they are not available in all formats.

When it comes to 35mm color pix, I really don't mess around with pro films that often. I don't see much of a point. Amateur films are excellent now (those few that remain, at any rate), and 35mm is not about image quality for me, so it is not something I bother to chase after much if using the format.

railwayman3 · Aug 11, 2010

2F/2F said:
Couldn't you have just said that instead of simply calling it "chopped," especially when listing it alongside T64, which truly has been discontinued in manufacture? This is how bad information about film discontinuations gets around the Internet.

I could, and should have said that......and I have already corrected my original statement and said "sorry". I am also sorry that I am not perfect.

(Although it always amazes me that people actually rely on ANY information published on the Internet without checking.....)

lilserenity · Aug 11, 2010

Try out Kodak Elite Chrome 100 (not the extra colour version) -- I have always liked it more than Sensia 100 (although Sensia 100 was a decent film.) It's also about 2/3rds the price of E100G.

To my mind, Elite Chrome 100, Elite Chrome 100 Extra Colour and Elite Chrome 200 are some of the best E6 materials on the market at a reasonable cost.

nickrapak · Aug 12, 2010

Tom Kershaw said:
Apart from price, do you see any other advantages in Fuji Sensia or Kodak Elitechrome?

Tom

I find Elite Chrome 100 to be slightly warmer than E100G, which improves color in the shadows and in overcast light.

benjiboy · Aug 12, 2010

Hi Steve, I shoot quite a lot of Ektar in both 35mm and 120 , I get them processed at a pro lab and get excellent results with it , I may be old fashioned and don't own a scanner but I firmly believe in shooting prints on neg. film and slides on reversal film, to me correctly exposed slides projected with a good projector have a beauty that neg film or digital can't match.

benjiboy · Aug 12, 2010

Tom Kershaw said:
How did you find the Fuji professional films better?

Tom

Because you can choose an emulsion that has a colour saturation, contrast level and colour palate that's most suitable the task in hand .

IloveTLRs · Aug 12, 2010

I've shot Fortia 50 and Fortia 50 SP (even more saturated) a few times in 120 - the saturation boggled the mind. It used to appear in stores around cherry blossom viewing time here in Japan (late March/early April.) This year and last year alas, it didn't show up

I can't say I'm surprised at Sensia being discontinued (though I'm not happy.) On the contrary I've been amazed that Fuji still makes so many E-6 emulsions: Velvia, Sensia, Astia, Trebi, Provia and T64. Perhaps this latest news is Fujifilm circling the wagons and protecting what emulsions it still makes. That's good news for us.

Fuji Sensia R.I.P

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