Heart Breaking..... (Fuji Astia)

DREW WILEY said:

Ha drones... Everyone is fussing about what the NSA could potentially snoop into, when you're going to have town burglars and peeping toms
running drones everywhere, and even Amazon.com wanting to clog the air with zillions of them, and of course, starting a few forest fires and plane wrecks in the process. If you thought jet contrails in your landscape shot were annoying ... Nice opportunity for someone marketing low-cost attack drones to the public, to shoot down the encroachment of other drones. Kinda like the mosquito hawk against the mosquito. Ain't all
this techie stuff wonderful. I already have to sweep up the leaves after the storm... how am I gonna get the drone out of the branches, when
it got blown off course? Good thing that geeks didn't create the world in the first place. Bad thing that they want to re-create it.

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You need a landscaping drone...

The only thing I need that takes a battery is a spotmeter. Other than that... But you claim to be from an outdoor background, Stone. Maybe
a fun new sport will develop, like taking down drones with a 12ga shotgun.

DREW WILEY said:

The only thing I need that takes a battery is a spotmeter. Other than that... But you claim to be from an outdoor background, Stone. Maybe
a fun new sport will develop, like taking down drones with a 12ga shotgun.

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I was thinking about sending your drone to your base camp to carry your heavy gear...that way you can enjoy the hike in...

This is not April the 01 here but while hoping the fridge had something nice for a post flu hunger feast I found a 120 pro pack of Fuji 100 ISO E6!

wont help my hunger.

Yes, astia is the film I'm saddest about losing. And TMaxx 3200. Other than that I really wasn't interested in the emulsions we've recently lost. Sad to see Kodachrome go, even though I wasnt shooting it anymore. I do love provia though.

shashinzukuri said:

I have a pretty significant freezer box full of 120 Astia (including a few boxes from what I think was the very last run, just expired), from a time when I found a case in the back of a store's fridge and bought out their entire stock. With the recent (there was a url link here which no longer exists) I'm afraid I might not get to shoot it all before the chemistry runs dry. There's almost no point in shooting color in the PacNW once winter sets in.

Would anyone be interested? I can open up the box when I get home tonight and see what I can do for you guys.

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I'd be interested.

No need for a drone to carry miniature gear, Stone. That's for the smartphone generation (which will be obsolete once smart watches get popular). You need to invest in my helium-filled bellows patent. That way, the bigger the camera is, the lighter it will be.

You need to invest in my helium-filled bellows patent. That way, the bigger the camera is, the lighter it will be.

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8x10 aerials!

Andrew O'Neill said:

8x10 aerials!

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Didn't they make some kind of 9 inch roll film for war cameras? Just get a bomber plane and an old 9 inch roller film camera and you're all set no need for a drone

9" aerial film is still used. Look up Bradford Washburn to see how someone used one of those big camera from the ground several decades back.
But good ole spy planes still have their advantages over satellites. I don't know if they still use them, but not all that long ago the NSA had a
bank of six custom additive-color enlarger for true-color big spy plane prints from 9" film. I've seen the components and know how the enlargers work, and in fact, had the same subcontractor for their color feedback circuitry make mine. Almost everything else I built myself, cause I obviously have a far smaller budget than the govt. But the point of big real prints is that decision-makers like generals etc can view a detail scene and rapidly make decisions, whereas lots of satellite images require specially trained personnel (analysts) to interpret. The bldg
where these enlargers and the printing gear were housed allowed ZERO digital imaging capability. In other words, they wanted a truly unbiassed "second-opinon" option which could not be digitally faked. This kind of double-blind option is common with defense strategists.
Unfortunately, the final decisons have often been made by politicians who override the actual evidence. Most of the ole bombers are now
carrying borate for fighting forest fires, so I don't know if any are up for sale. Move too fast anyway. Those of us who prefer contemplative
view-camera style photography will prefer the more relaxed pace of my helium-filled blimp/camera. Just hope one of those little drones won't
puncture it !

Dr Croubie said:

I got a pack of 20 Astia Quickloads (expired, but allegedly freezer-stored by previous owner) last year (for only $8 plus $42 postage).

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I have five 20 sheet boxes in the freezer. I bought them when I heard Astia had been discontinued. Yeah, I know, load 'em up and use them. I want to visit the desert during the spring bloom. E100G in 8x10, Astia in 4x5, yeah, I'd be set!

brianentz said:

Yes, astia is the film I'm saddest about losing. And TMaxx 3200. Other than that I really wasn't interested in the emulsions we've recently lost. Sad to see Kodachrome go, even though I wasnt shooting it anymore. I do love provia though.

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Try Delta 3200. I started using it in 120 and stayed with TMZ in 35mm but I'm starting to think I like Delta even better. AND it's available in 120!

No argument about Astia though - my favorite slide film of all time, followed by Provia 400X which is just amazing for the speed.

I just got 20 more rolls of Astia film, in 220 size no less! Counting those as two I now have 45 rolls of Astia cooling in the fridge now.

I also found another source of Astia here in China...possibly another 20 rolls or so. I might as well buy it and shoot it now, for there is no later for this film.

I miss EB and EBX more. The EB had a very neutral color balance, high sharpness and very fine grain.

There's 472 rolls of EBX left at the business I work for, 188 of them at the shop I work at.