Unacceptable Price Hike Of Fuji Provia

George Mann

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The prices are currently trending @ $50 for 3, and $80 for 5. Are you kidding me?
 

Larry Cloetta

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When I was a kid, I could see three movies downtown on Saturday for a dime. At the town’s most upscale theater, it was 25 cents for one movie. Now, it costs me $15, which bothers me a lot more than the price of film, but so it goes.

If companies can make enough of a profit producing something to make it worth their while, they will keep producing it. There are howls of indignation every time Fuji drops a film stock, as if we are owed. I dearly miss Provia 400X, but again, we obviously were not buying enough of it. If Fuji raises prices enough to make it feasible to keep providing it, there are howls for that as well. It’s one or the other. Expensive or gone.
I like using transparency film, and I like using Provia and Velvia, and I have not really liked the new Ektachrome at all, unfortunately, so I will keep buying this until it hurts a lot more than it does now. We don’t buy it, then it will go away. So, the raised pricing might cause me to sigh a bit, but I accept it. Fine with it actually, given the alternatives, or more precisely, the lack of direct alternatives.
 

Luckless

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Larry Cloetta said:
It’s one or the other. Expensive or gone.
Click to expand...

That of course assumes that they don't shoot themselves in the foot by burning their own market out of existence... Upping prices can be a quick way to jack up overhead-per-unit from decreased sales, which decreases profit margins, which in turn 'encourages' further price hikes to 'keep things profitable', to which fewer customers stay on board, which lowers units moved, which jumps overhead-per-unit again... and the cycle spirals down into a flaming wreck...

[Part of the reason why I think the long term life of film stands a decent chance of eventually ending up existing in basically converted polebarns in the midwest from some kid's of farmers who were into chemistry and engineering and dive into low volume coating runs of traditional style films...It isn't that there is no profit in film, it is there is no profit supporting ancient overhead from 'the good old days'.]
 

Sirius Glass

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It is simple to keep the slide film prices from spiraling out of control, buy and shoot more film!
 

Henning Serger

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14.99$ a roll:
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/prod...4883175_RDP_III_135_36_Fujichrome_Provia.html

11.99$ a roll with 5 rolls short-dated:
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/369450-USA/Fujifilm_RDP_III_135_36_Fujichrome_Provia.html

I am shooting much more colour reversal film than colour negative film. For a lot of different reasons (quality, versatility). But one reason also is:
The costs per shot are lower for me compared to professional colour negative film. If I want high quality with colour negative film, I need high quality prints and / or high quality scans. Both is expensive.
With colour reversal film I have already perfect quality after processing: The developed slide is a perfect positive picture which can be used with best quality. No further work needed!
And another important point for me: Considering inflation E6 processing is cheaper than 25 years ago. Both at professional labs here in Germany, and when I am processing it at home with my JOBO processor (which I am doing mostly). E6 processing at home is extremely cheap.

I will continue shooting colour reversal film. It is an absolutely unique photographic medium with unsurpassed quality and versatility. I love it!

Best regards,
Henning
 

Sirius Glass

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I have about a dozen 4"x5" Portra 160 that has been in my freezer since I bought it. Can I interest you in buying it?
 

wyofilm

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George Mann said:
First Kodachrome, and now this. I have had enough!
Click to expand...

Enough of what?

Take a look at Instax, Fuji's instant film (a successful product for Fuji). About 60 cents per exposure is about as good as you are going to get. Not a good product when shot out of the toy instax cameras. Emulsion photography costs.

What should a roll of 135 slide film cost?
 

cjbecker

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I would be extremely happy to buy Ektachrome for 10$ a roll. But I will gladly pay 12.99$ a roll for it now. At my rate I'm not going to keep kodak alaris in business but I'm doing my part. Shooting slide film for me rounds off to be about 25 rolls a year.

I was shooting fuji slide film before the new ektachrome came out, but its been all kodak since the release. Im just happy to be shooting slides, it worked out well for me that I really like the new ektachrome.
 

mshchem

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My Dad bought flashbulbs for a silver dime a piece. Today that dime's melt value is $1.25. The money is worthless and our wages are not keeping up with inflation. I bought a bunch of close date Provia F from B&H for something like 6 bucks a roll, right before the Ektachrome debut. When Ektachrome 120 comes out I'm going to be shooting a lot. I only take 35mm slides from time to time. Nothing better than a slide show, especially when you have 6x6 slides shot with a Bronica or Hasselblad .
 

Grim Tuesday

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One of my biggest mistakes in the film game was not buying out B&H when they had short-dated 35mm Provia and Velvia for $5/roll of 35mm a year ago. I only bought five rolls of each because I was moving to medium format. I wish I had bought 100 rolls of each and now I could trade them 1:2 for 120!
 

Sirius Glass

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A 6x6 slide is stunning. The color and detail are spectacular.
 

mshchem

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Sirius Glass said:
A 6x6 slide is stunning. The color and detail are spectacular.
Click to expand...
IMAX for the still photographer. My wife was a museum curator for 30 years, when I first showed her 120 slides, with my humble Kindermann projector she flipped. It's no different than prints. I've got the first generation fixed lens Fujica 6x17, just maybe I will make a projector .
 

mohmad khatab

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Fuji is a naturally evil company.
Fuji is a savage pragmatic company.
* Despicableness, misdemeanor and greed are inherent meanings of the Fuji Foundation, which originally stole (Agfa-ORWO) patents through the then Italian intermediary (Ferrerania), taking advantage of the prevailing communist law at the time that there was no such thing as a patent and that patents should be on the public domain. Anyone who believes in communist ideology - Ferranía has benefited from this law, obtained patents (Agfa-ORWO) and produced the film (3M), and leaked patents to Fuji and the latter developed those formats to be registered in her name - and Suddenly arose from nowhere a photographic company produces a color film.
 
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wyofilm

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A look at B and H makes me think that they are trying to off-load expired 1/19 expired Provia by raising the price of the fresh stock. (I assume there has been a price hike - I have't looked in while.)

1/19 expired Provia is selling for $11.99, while fresh stock can be had for $14.99. How much did the ektachrome release cut into Provia sales?
 

mohmad khatab

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Everyone should boycott Fuji products, that evil enterprise greed.
 

Agulliver

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Fuji axes some film products......howls of indignation and anger
Fuji raises prices of some film products....howls of indignation and anger

Everything appears to cost more than during our childhoods. This is for a variety of reasons, not least inflation. But also wages. Sure, I could see a film for 75p in 1980....at a single screen cinema where the screen was literally held together with tape, had mono sound, no snacks available and the staff were paid a pittance. Today a film at the very same cinema costs £10...but it's been totally refurbished, has Dolby Digital and 4K as well as 35mm film projection, a food stall and all staff earn at least £10 per hour. Additionally when one counts for inflation that 75p is now nearly £4. So the price has gone up but so has the quality of the service on offer and the wages of the people delivering it. Who knows, maybe they can even afford a room to live in?

With regards to photographic film....what was once a huge global exercise in mass production is now more of a boutique operation. Of course prices will go up. But also that £4.99 roll of Fuji I used to buy in 1995 would now be £10 accounting for inflation. Given the downsizing of the market and inflation prices are bound to rise.

If that is "too expensive" then don't buy it.

The only way any of us can do anything about this isn't through hand-wringing or angry internet posts....the only thing we can constructively do is buy more film.
 
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