Heart Breaking..... (Fuji Astia)

[RattyMouse]

Just to add a bit more to the overall general sadness...

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Just beautiful. Also Astia?

 

[RattyMouse]

These are all great shots but I suppose we'd need to see, say, prints of the same scene from Portra or maybe Ektar to see if there is a definable or even indefinable difference

pentaxuser

In my hands I have never, ever been able to make shots that I considered even half way as good with Portra film. I wish that I could, as this film is still in the shops. But for whatever reason, I havent been able to do so. The colors just are not as beautiful to me. I am meaning to try again, this time rating the film a bit lower than box speed. That's the only thing I can think of that would perhaps improve things.

 

[craygc]

Just beautiful. Also Astia?

Of Course ...probably have about one more 5-Pack of 120 left in the freezer!

 

[peter k.]

craygc..
OH ... What a SHOT!!!

On the one hand it makes me want to cry, and put my camera's away, and then the next, ..
GO FER IT!!!
YES!

 

[spatz]

More astia:



Seriously if I could live with only 2 films for the rest of my life it would be tri-x and astia. Oh if only Fuji had the heart to restart astia production...
I have 4 rolls of 120 left and I dont know what I'll do for colour film after that. I like velvia 50 for some things but how does provia rate against astia? Is there any filtration that could reduce provia's inherent 'coldness'? perhaps a warming filter or redhancer?

 

[darkroom_rookie]

I like velvia 50 for some things but how does provia rate against astia? Is there any filtration that could reduce provia's inherent 'coldness'? perhaps a warming filter or redhancer?

Start developing it yourself, if you already aren't. Shorten the first developer just slightly, dilute reversal bath by 25% and add 4 mol NaOH to the colour developer. That worked for me. Or underexpose and do a longer first developer, but the shadows could get blocked, depending on the light. I did tests with two grades of 81 filters and there was almost no difference in colour.

 

[StoneNYC]

Start developing it yourself, if you already aren't. Shorten the first developer just slightly, dilute reversal bath by 25% and add 4 mol NaOH to the colour developer. That worked for me. Or underexpose and do a longer first developer, but the shadows could get blocked, depending on the light. I did tests with two grades of 81 filters and there was almost no difference in colour.

You're no darkroom rookie with talk like that!!!

 

[TheToadMen]

This one popped up in the Classified section: FS Fuji Astia in 220 (not 120) roll film.
(there was a url link here which no longer exists)
I would be interested, but he's only shipping within US.
Maybe some of you folks need to restock and are willing to pay his price?

 

[giannisg2004]

add 4 mol NaOH to the colour developer.

Isn't that 4*(23+16+1) = 160 grams?

Sounds quite a big quantity.

 

[StoneNYC]

This one popped up in the Classified section: FS Fuji Astia in 220 (not 120) roll film.
(there was a url link here which no longer exists)
I would be interested, but he's only shipping within US.
Maybe some of you folks need to restock and are willing to pay his price?

Wow that's a great price!

 

[DREW WILEY]

Darkoom Rookie - Astia 100 was on triacetate base; 100F was a signficantly improved product on dimensionally stable polyester base, with
distinctly finer grain, but otherwise similar in color balance and contrast. The improved base made all the difference in the world when true
darkroom punch and register controls were in play. The 100F was also, incidentally, the best chrome duping film ever made, if you corrected
it for tungsten colorhead lighting. I've got one box of 8x10 left in the freezer. But the sad fact is, that Astia films sold poorly in general, simply
because people didn't understand how well it reproduced. The average chrome shooter slaps something down on a lightbox and wants something vivid like Velvia, because they don't realize the difference between how a chrome looks backlit and actually printed. Now they just slather honey and jam all over the sugar cube with Fauxtoshop hyper-saturation. So the demise of Astia doesn't surprise me at all, though
it really leaves a void in chrome film versatility, especially since Kodak E100G is also gone, which was the next closest thing.

 

[shashinzukuri]

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.

 

[darkroom_rookie]

Gianni, you're right, not moles, percent. So 4% NaOH, and just a few ml. Quite the difference, obviously.

Drew, thanks, so the curl has something to do with the base, other than the 2003-2012 expiry dates. I've developed many 100F/100 sheets for an aspiring photographer recently and Astia truly is a gorgeous film.

 

[StoneNYC]

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.

As I mentioned in the other thread, I spoke with a lab that does a lot of business and is Kodak certified, and he said that he's already hooked up with fuji to start using their chemicals and there would be no interruption in processing of E6 and that he was still a certified Kodak lab because they were ok with it since they stopped producing it. So... it's all good, spring is here and you should use it, that said, if you decide to sell it I'm sure you'll have a few buyers.

 

[DREW WILEY]

Darkrm Rookie - don't confuse what I said about sheet film with 120 roll film, which was always flimsy acetate. But yes, in 4x5 there would be
a distinct difference in behavior between the old and new Astia with humidity changes etc. Working with acetate film is hell when long-term
registration is required. After about a decade it seems to shrink to the point of being relatively stable, but with no guarantee of it. The old
Kodak Graphic Arts guides actually held table to predict such things, but everyone knew that polyester or mylar sheet was the only way to go. 120 Astia sold the worst of all, and I completely gave up on it, since by the time it sold, there was already frequently fog or crossover. I hope others had better luck. But I timed this whole sad funeral for the demise of Cibachrome, since that was my objective with Astia anyway. I'll use the last of it for shots intended for dye transfer printing. But one can only make a few of those anyway, given the labor-intensity.

 

[j.c.denton]

If there could only be one slide film, Astia 100F would be my choice. Although Velvia produces stunning landscape slides viewed on a light table, Astia makes extremely lovely colors as well, is finer grained and much, much easier to scan. It was the film you could do the most with. I discovered it too late, after discontinuation. When I got hold of the few pieces left, I settled on E100G as an alternative. When that came to an end, I was wise enough to invest to stock up. I can live pretty well with my E100G stock, but Astia is really missed, because I found it better in every aspect.

I suspect, Provia will be the last to remain available, and although is technically a good film, in terms of colors it is visibly behind E100G and considerably inferior to Astia.

Chris

 

[snapguy]

the law?

"Digital shooter." Ain't that against the law or is it considered a mercy killing?

 

[TheToadMen]

"Digital shooter." Ain't that against the law or is it considered a mercy killing?

"digital shooter" - you mean like this?

 

[Andrew O'Neill]

When I lived in Japan, Astia was all that I shot when I wanted colour. I did some work for an architect friend. Great reciprocity characteristics. Very special film. I haven't used any for years (or colour for that matter) until I went back for a visit in '09. My wife's uncle gave me a bag of expired 120 film and there was a role of Astia. I brought it home with me and it sits in my freezer. I'm not a colour guy, but I may use it for something...

 

[StoneNYC]

"digital shooter" - you mean like this?

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Will that drone shoot you down if you are speeding? In other words... How do they "enforce"??

 

[Sirius Glass]

Will that drone shoot you down if you are speeding? In other words... How do they "enforce"??

They are equipped with Hellfire missiles.

 

[TheToadMen]

Will that drone shoot you down if you are speeding? In other words... How do they "enforce"??

First they scan your license plate, then they follow you home and then ...
Well, just ask this guy. He knows!!

 

[DREW WILEY]

Well yes, Andrew.... the very stable reciprocity was what made Astia such a good duping film, along with its very accurate color, ease of adjusting to tungsten illumination, very fine grain, and slightly longer scale than other chrome films. A true homerun film. Unfortunately, not
many people bought tickets to that ball game, so realized its potential too late.

 

[DREW WILEY]

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.

 

[Sirius Glass]

First they scan your license plate, then they follow you home and then ...
Well, just ask this guy. He knows!!

I hope that both of them were wearing Depends!