Petition to save Velvia 50

rb1234 · Aug 1, 2012

Hi,

Slightly off topic but there is now an online petition to save Velvia 50 which Fujifilm announced they will stop producing in certain formats (initially 4x5 and 8x10). The news was announced in the BJP: http://www.bjp-online.com/british-j.../fujifilm-discontinues-two-professional-films

The petition now has over 1,000 signatures including some high profile photographers such as Joe Cornish. The petition can be signed here: Dead Link Removed

Cheers
Rick

DesertNate · Aug 1, 2012

Signatures are free, Velvia costs money. You might get a lot of signatures, but Fuji is paying attention to sales numbers, not signature numbers.

Marc Akemann · Aug 1, 2012

Signed.

Klainmeister · Aug 1, 2012

Do both Nate. The photographic community cried out loud last time and they listened. God hopes they'll do the same here.

rb1234 · Aug 1, 2012

Yes, ideally if anyone cares about keeping this film alive they should sign and then go and buy some film, shoot it and enjoy it...

Although FujiFilm are starting with some films in some formats it may not be long before other formats and emulsions start dissapearing soon...

As Klainemeister pointed out this film was actually brought back once before by the photographic community so it can't hurt to try, a lot to gain, and not much to lose we would say...

DREW WILEY · Aug 1, 2012

Might as well sign a petition demanding world peace. They'd probably be a lot more responsive if everyone on the list attached a thousand dollar preorder check instead of just a signature.

batwister · Aug 1, 2012

Something that might go a long way is people like Joe Cornish and David Ward being more vocal about film, perhaps making photography club/university visits showing their incredible slides - a la Ansel Adams.
These guys have the best argument for shooting Velvia 50 and it would be a shame if they went unheard during the next few months.

batwister · Aug 1, 2012

I believe he does professionally, but he's spoken about still shooting Velvia for personal work and has signed this petition. I think he's still a champion of film photography in general.

Matthew Wagg · Aug 1, 2012

For what its worth I've signed it. I do still buy my meager amount but I doubt the amount I buy or don't buy will have any effect on what Fuji do.

tron_ · Aug 1, 2012

Like someone said, there's not much to lose (maybe 30 seconds of your life) but a whole lot to gain. I signed the petition and will post it in a few other places to generate more signatures.

Poisson Du Jour · Aug 2, 2012

rb1234 said:
Yes, ideally if anyone cares about keeping this film alive they should sign and then go and buy some film, shoot it and enjoy it...

Although FujiFilm are starting with some films in some formats it may not be long before other formats and emulsions start dissapearing soon...

As Klainemeister pointed out this film was actually brought back once before by the photographic community so it can't hurt to try, a lot to gain, and not much to lose we would say...

It's not crystal-ball gazing, but a realistic development down the line. This is what I am worried about. But until such a thing actually happens, go and buy the stuff, and shoot it, process it and admire it. Back when Velvia 50 was "brought back", there were many, many, many more analogue photographers there in the market to support it. The problem is the market is not so analogue now, but oh-so-digital (eeeeeeek!).

We've got petitions on the go here in Australia too, but FujiFilm Australia has said nothing about discontinuation of the particular films.

rb1234 · Aug 4, 2012

Yep, obviously the best way to show Fuji you care is to continue to buy the film but I think it adds extra weight with a petition. There will always be nay-sayers/doom-mongers who believe these things never work... but they are probably the same folk who wonder why they never win the lottery even though they never bought a ticket

The petition has reached it's initial target of 1,000 signatures and now has a new target of 1,500... currently they are at 1,162...

Cheers
Rick

benjiboy · Aug 5, 2012

I have signed the petition, but it makes little difference in the U.K. if you buy a ticket to The National Lottery or not the chances are about 21/2 million to 1 which is about the same as guessing the phone number of a stranger you meet in the street, and in fact statistically greater than you being murdered, which is why I don't buy them :eek:

cabbiinc · Aug 5, 2012

benjiboy said:
I have signed the petition, but it makes little difference in the U.K. if you buy a ticket to The National Lottery or not the chances are about 21/2 million to 1 which is about the same as guessing the phone number of a stranger you meet in the street, and in fact statistically greater than you being murdered :eek:

Are you suggesting that by not signing this petition you may be a statistic?

benjiboy · Aug 5, 2012

cabbiinc said:
Are you suggesting that by not signing this petition you may be a statistic?

No, I'm not, and I'm not a statistic I'm a figment of my parents imagination .

SkipA · Aug 5, 2012

I won't sign the petition because I don't want to provide my personal information to Change.org. I don't like several aspects of their privacy policy. But I will buy some more Velvia 50 in 4x5, and use it, then buy some more. I hope that'll help.

Leigh B · Aug 5, 2012

This is just another nail in the film coffin. It's an unbelievably bad idea.

1) Velvia 100 is still in production, and will remain so if we support it. Advocating retention of Velvia 50 splits the market.

2) Such a petition undermines the decisions of the managers at Fuji who selected which films to retain and which to drop.
This is extremely bad for the future of film in general, as senior management may question the validity of the decisions.

Dumb.

- Leigh

dehk · Aug 5, 2012

Signed!

batwister · Aug 5, 2012

I think most people only shoot Velvia 100 because they're scared of ISO 50. They can't rate their DSLRs slower than 100 you see.
I genuinely believe that's the sole reason Velvia 50 won't be around much longer. It's only digi-film amateurs keeping it on the shelves after all.

rb1234 · Aug 6, 2012

The odds of winning the lottery may be 21/2 million to 1 if you bought a ticket... I'll give you that the odds are incredibly slim... but let me guess what the odds of winning would be if you didn't even buy a ticket.... hmmmm... I suppose you might find the lucky ticket flying about down the street... but now we're talking about the same odds as having a successful satellite land on Mars.... Doh! Wait just a minute!

benjiboy · Aug 6, 2012

rb1234 said:
The odds of winning the lottery may be 21/2 million to 1 if you bought a ticket... I'll give you that the odds are incredibly slim... but let me guess what the odds of winning would be if you didn't even buy a ticket.... hmmmm... I suppose you might find the lucky ticket flying about down the street... but now we're talking about the same odds as having a successful satellite land on Mars.... Doh! Wait just a minute!

What I'm saying is that if you put your money on backing a horse at 100 to1 you might not win as much, but you stand an infinitely better chance of winning.

Petition to save Velvia 50

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