State of Fuji film?

[skysh4rk]

Is it ? For 35mm I can see Portra 400 discounted in quite a few places, not so much Pro 400h which seems to stick to it's £11ish price.
120 looks to be roughly similar between Pro and Portra

I can't comment on 135, as I haven't shot it in years, but I've been able to purchase 400H for better prices than Portra 400 over the last few months. In fact, just a short walk up the street is Calumet/Wex and they are selling 400H in 120 for just under £30, which looks to be the best price in the country for the two films (except for 7dayshop who are currently out of stock).

It's a bit of an ebb and flow, however, as Portra 400 in 120 was cheaper at this time last year.

Ultimately though, the price differences in the UK pale in comparison to Japan where Portra 400 was nearly twice the price of 400H! It made my purchasing decisions very easy.

 

[halfaman]

Not many years ago Portra 400 was cheaper than Fuji 400H. In 2015 I bought a box of 5 120 rolls of Portra 400 for 28 €. Now the same box in the same store is 36 €....

 

[Sirius Glass]

Not many years ago Portra 400 was cheaper than Fuji 400H. In 2015 I bought a box of 5 120 rolls of Portra 400 for 28 €. Now the same box in the same store is 36 €....

And now you can see one of the reasons that I stockpile film in my freezer. Also if there is a film which I like and it is going to be discontinued, I stock up on the film. I still have a stash of Kodak UltraColor 400 and Kodak Plus X in 135 and 120 and well as Kodak VividColor 160 in 4'x5" in my freezer.

 

[foc]

Is it ? For 35mm I can see Portra 400 discounted in quite a few places, not so much Pro 400h which seems to stick to it's £11ish price.
120 looks to be roughly similar between Pro and Portra

Was interesting listening to the Sunny 16 podcast with Ag Photographic talking about when they started up. Ilford and then Kodak were quite happy to supply them with film with good margins (especially Ilford). Fuji in the UK didn't want to know, and it took more or less an intro from one of the Directors of Ilford for Fuji to relent and offer an account. It then took 3-4 years for Fuji to bring it's unit prices down for them.
Noticed this with other smaller labs in the UK - stock Ilford and Kodak, but no Fuji either because they can't get an account or margins are too low to bother.

I have found the opposite. Ok I am based in Republic of Ireland and I have dealt with Fuji for 32 years and they always offered better paper and film prices to gain market share.

Even in the heydays of the 1980's & 90's, Kodak and Agfa (locally) I found couldn't compete with Fuji's wholesale prices. Of course in any business there will always be special price deals, based on turnover , market share and penetration.

AFAIK Fuji distribution in UK is different to ROI (which is a very small market). In UK, Fuji use direct and indirect ( independent distributors).

 

[Poisson Du Jour]

In UK, Fuji use direct and indirect ( independent distributors).

That's what we have here in Australia too.

 

[Arcadia4]

Well, I'm glad you can buy 160NS without a problem. I shot a fair amount of it when Fujifilm discontinued Reala suddenly. It was an OK substitute. But then it too was gone.

Whilst I recall there was an official discontinuation of the Pro 160NS sheet film in 2017 according to Ag Photographic in the UK Pro 160 NS is discontinued...

'120 Roll Film, 5 Roll Pro-Pack.

Please note: this product is now discontinued by Fujifilm. The only other colour negative film of a similar speed available in 120 is now Kodak Portra 160'.

it is also notably absent from the fuji online uk shop as well suggesting its time may be limited..

 

[Prest_400]

I was checking UK prices, as last time I bought off 7dayshop and it amounted to about 30-31€. I checked again their site and while out of stock I've seen GBP 36 listed for P400 120. Yikes if it hikes like that! Should have bought more.

I have some 220 160NS I bought a couple years ago from an Asian retailer, just because it amounted to the old 2x120 pack pricing and it would be convenient to have for a trip.
160NS is a weird case. In 2015-16, before another culling, Japan had this film in almost all formats, 220; minus 135. US had none.

 

[RattyMouse]

Whilst I recall there was an official discontinuation of the Pro 160NS sheet film in 2017 according to Ag Photographic in the UK Pro 160 NS is discontinued...

'120 Roll Film, 5 Roll Pro-Pack.

Please note: this product is now discontinued by Fujifilm. The only other colour negative film of a similar speed available in 120 is now Kodak Portra 160'.

it is also notably absent from the fuji online uk shop as well suggesting its time may be limited..

Welcome to Phototrio. I'm sorry to hear that Fujifilm has axed yet another great film, 160NS.

 

[FujiLove]

Welcome to Phototrio. I'm sorry to hear that Fujifilm has axed yet another great film, 160NS.

Really? It’s still listed on the Fuji website (http://www.fujifilm.com/products/films/color_negative_films/index.html) and for sale in about a thousand shops.

 

[RattyMouse]

Really? It’s still listed on the Fuji website (http://www.fujifilm.com/products/films/color_negative_films/index.html) and for sale in about a thousand shops.

Ha ha ha ha ha ha!!!! Fujifilm's web site is an appalling joke of a page. They listed that they sold DSLR's nearly 5 years after discontinuing them.

Acros is not listed on Fuji's page at all. I guess that is discontinued too right?

 

[Oren Grad]

The Fujifilm English language website is not kept up to date and is not a reliable indicator of the current status of their films. The home-market site is much better maintained. For the most part their catalog pages are not too hard to decipher even if you don't read Japanese.

Color negative film:

http://fujifilm.jp/personal/jan/color.html?pSch501010101

Color transparency film (from top to bottom, the films listed are Provia 100F, Velvia 50, Velvia 100F and Velvia 100):

http://fujifilm.jp/personal/jan/film.html?pSch501010110

Black-and-white negative film:

http://fujifilm.jp/personal/jan/monochrome.html?pSch501010101

The columns in each table, from left to right, are film format, number of exposures or sheet size, number of units (rolls or sheets) in the package, price (specified as "open price" for all items, so not informative), JAN code (Japanese bar code number), and physical size of the package.

IMPORTANT: just because a film is listed on the home market website does not mean that the Fuji subsidiary in your country or region is selling it. But it is a more reliable indicator than the global English site or the country sites as to whether the film is still available at all.

EDIT: for those who are wondering, the tables below the two for ACROS roll and sheet film list, respectively, B&W paper, safelight filters, and one enlarging lens.

 

[FujiLove]

Ha ha ha ha ha ha!!!! Fujifilm's web site is an appalling joke of a page. They listed that they sold DSLR's nearly 5 years after discontinuing them.

Acros is not listed on Fuji's page at all. I guess that is discontinued too right?

I don’t understand. You’re saying it’s discontinued, but it’s still listed by Fuji, and being sold all over the world?

What’s your definition of discontinued then?

 

[Poisson Du Jour]

I don’t understand. You’re saying it’s discontinued, but it’s still listed by Fuji, and being sold all over the world?

What’s your definition of discontinued then?

There is uncertainty about ACROS 100; it is an indent item at dealers, but widely available on eBay!
There was only one box of 5/120 at one of my own stockists recently, with no known stock replenishment date.
If you are finding supposedly "discontinued" films in stores, that is very likely legacy stock.

By the way, I would be very, very careful about speculating a product or products has been discontinued here on Photrio without providing solid, concrete evidence to support such a statement. A Fuji website does not fall into the category, but an official Dealer Bulletin would.

 

[FujiLove]

There is uncertainty about ACROS 100; it is an indent item at dealers, but widely available on eBay!
There was only one box of 5/120 at one of my own stockists recently, with no known stock replenishment date.
If you are finding supposedly "discontinued" films in stores, that is very likely legacy stock.

By the way, I would be very, very careful about speculating a product or products has been discontinued here on Photrio without providing solid, concrete evidence to support such a statement. A Fuji website does not fall into the category, but an official Dealer Bulletin would.

I agree. However, I was discussing 160NS, not ACROS 100.

Edit: ignore me. Looks like loads of places are selling off old stock.

 

[skysh4rk]

...according to Ag Photographic in the UK Pro 160 NS is discontinued:

Please note: this product is now discontinued by Fujifilm. The only other colour negative film of a similar speed available in 120 is now Kodak Portra 160'.

Ahh man, did I really jinx myself earlier in this thread:

I would also be careful of trying to read between the lines regarding Fuji's plans. In an apug thread four years ago, members of the forum were already proclaiming the demise of 160NS in 120 because it didn't receive a new box design like 400H. While I can understand the thinking, four years later, 160NS production continues (hopefully I haven't jinxed this...).

At any rate, I haven't seen any official announcement, so I'm not completely convinced yet, but I did just buy 10 boxes of 160NS in 120 format a few minutes ago just in case. There is still plenty of stock out there.

I managed to get slightly out-of-date stock for £19.63 per box, so it made the decision to purchase a bunch of boxes much easier.

 

[Arcadia4]

Links to statements on supplier sites regarding Pro160 NS availabilty;

Ag Photographic -" Please note: this product is now discontinued by Fujifilm". http://www.ag-photographic.co.uk/fuji-pro-160ns-120-5-pack-963-p.asp

Parallax Photographic - "This film has been discontinued by the supplier. See available Fuji films" https://parallaxphotographic.coop/shop/fuji-pro-160-ns-120-film-single/


The fuji UK online shop lists C200, 400 X-tra and Pro400H colour negative stock, with 160NS the only part of the Europe CN offer missing . https://www.fujifilmimaging.com/analogue-photography (incidentally prices range from good (acros) to crazy (400 x-tra))

No longer listed for sale by Silverprint, Discount films direct or Imaging warehouse all of whom stocked it a few months ago. It is however still listed in stock in a number of places including Process supplies and Maco (D).

The link to the fuji.jp website is interesting, and is certainly more upto date than the other fuji global sites, although it includes films which are officially discontinued such a Natura 1600 and Acros sheet film (all films with planned stock run out dates in Spring 18), so I suggest it doesn't guarantee the film is still in production, only its still available from stock.

The article in swiss website Fotointern from 2016 which predicted the demise of Superia 200 also lists Pro 160 NS as 'production ended'. https://www.fotointern.ch/archiv/20...lche-filme-gibt-es-noch-eine-marktuebersicht/

I will leave readers to make up their own minds, it may simply a withdrawal from the UK market only. Fuji generally withdraw films last from their home market. The position will probably be clearer either way by this summer.

 

[FujiLove]

Best shoot Fujifilm before the Trump trade-war kicks in

 

[Sal Santamaura]

...the tables below the two for ACROS roll and sheet film list, respectively, B&W paper...

Also note that the paper table's "WP" notation refers to "water protected," a local term for RC.

 

[RattyMouse]

Best shoot Fujifilm before the Trump trade-war kicks in

Fujifilm will have exited the film industry long before any trade war develops. That's the least of our worries.

 

[FujiLove]

Fujifilm will have exited the film industry long before any trade war develops. That's the least of our worries.

Best shoot Ilford film before the Trump trade-war kicks in

 

[NJH]

I like 400H much better than Portra 400, but it is priced pretty high so I don't use as much as I'd like. It is a strange film for Fujifilm to settle onto as their last final film. I expect 400H will be discontinued just like every other non INSTAX Fuji film.

I agree, very odd, and with the most recent posts it does look like consumer and pro 400 speed will be their last colour negative films. I also agree though with the other poster that its pricing here in the UK is very close to Portra, however that seems to be entirely down to the price of Portra 400 going up substantially over the past few years here.

Kodak really do have to get their Ektachrome out there in all common formats, I can live without these Fuji negative films to be honest but loosing Velvia/Provia would make me think about how and if I am going to do colour going forward.

 

[Oren Grad]

There is uncertainty about ACROS 100...

By the way, I would be very, very careful about speculating a product or products has been discontinued here on Photrio without providing solid, concrete evidence to support such a statement. A Fuji website does not fall into the category, but an official Dealer Bulletin would.

Here is Fuji's news release of May 26, 2017 announcing (among other things) that production of ACROS cut sheets is being discontinued, with expected end of sale in May 2018:

http://ffis.fujifilm.co.jp/information/articlein_0066.html

 

[Oren Grad]

I will leave readers to make up their own minds, it may simply a withdrawal from the UK market only. Fuji generally withdraw films last from their home market. The position will probably be clearer either way by this summer.

As per the Fuji product list linked above and per example retail listings below, 160NS and 400H are currently available from dealers in Japan:

https://www.yodobashi.com/product/100000001001704219/
https://www.yodobashi.com/product/100000001001219376/
https://www.yodobashi.com/product/100000001001704218/
https://www.mapcamera.com/item/4547410246209
https://www.mapcamera.com/item/4547410246094
https://www.mapcamera.com/item/4547410121582

As of this posting, all six of these listings say 在庫あり: in stock. Six months from now, who knows?

 

[FoidPoosening]

The annual report has this sobering graph, which really shows what a challenge it is for any photographic film manufacturer to stay in the business.
View attachment 196183

Is this chart available somewhere for 2012 and onwards?

 

[vdonovan]

Is this chart available somewhere for 2012 and onwards?

Not that I've seen.