Why is Astia so hard to get?

StorminMatt

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Velvia and even Provia seem to be everywhere. But if I want to buy Astia without waiting a week for it, I would have to drive two hours each way to get it. What is it about this film that makes nobody want to carry it? Seriousy, I can get Kodachrome more easily than Astia.
 

ann

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Isn't this film "boxed" for Freestyle sale?
 

2F/2F

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I would ask the folks at the shops you are talking about. They will have more than a guess, which is all anybody here will have.
 

ann

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oops, sorry. insert foot into mouth
 

Lopaka

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I don't what part of the world you are in, and you don't specify format, but B&H has Astia in stock in 35mm, 120 and 4 x 5.

Bob
 

Chazzy

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You've concealed your location, so it's a little hard to help you. This is one of the reasons why we need mandatory location disclosure on APUG.
 

fotch

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Chazzy said:
You've concealed your location, so it's a little hard to help you. This is one of the reasons why we need mandatory location disclosure on APUG.
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Or at least what country the poster is in. Same with an ad that states "Pick Up Only".
 

Slixtiesix

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So why don´t you just wait the week? (I assume it´s the time your store needs to order it?)
See it the positive way: you´re always getting fresh film! I have to mail order all of my stuff.
I think it´s the same with most people here?
Just buy a bit more than you need and put it into the fridge.
Benjamin
 
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StorminMatt

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Chazzy said:
You've concealed your location, so it's a little hard to help you. This is one of the reasons why we need mandatory location disclosure on APUG.
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Actually, I live in Sacramento, CA. And buying Astia without having to wait would mean a drive to the Bay Area.
 

2F/2F

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StorminMatt said:
Actually, I live in Sacramento, CA. And buying Astia without having to wait would mean a drive to the Bay Area.
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If you talk to some of your local places, I am sure they will special order a quantity for you, and then you can stash it for the future.

Or, Freestyle down here in L.A. will have it to you pretty quickly. Even though I am 30 minutes away, I ordered one time because I couldn't find a good window of time to drive out to Hollywood, and I needed some stuff. It got here the next day, even with ground delivery. I am 30 minutes away, of course, but it goes to show that they do get orders packed up and shipped out quickly.
 

Phormula

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I think it is because Astia is less known than the other Fuji emulsions. I can find it without problems here in Italy, but I need to order it in advance.
 

ljsegil

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How about finding Astia in 8x10? I haven't seen it anywhere but Megaperls (or whatever it is called now) and they sell it for over $14/sheet.
Ouch.
LJS
 

Poisson Du Jour

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ljsegil said:
How about finding Astia in 8x10? I haven't seen it anywhere but Megaperls (or whatever it is called now) and they sell it for over $14/sheet.
Ouch.
LJS
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I have a colleague looking for Astia in 5x4 (he doesn't like the strong Velvia palette), which does not seem to be available (Melbourne, Australia) like the other Fuji Velvia lines. Probably because Astia is not a pro-level film, but this is speculative.
 

accozzaglia

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Really? I thought only Sensia was a non-professional line, whereas Astria, Provia, Velvia, Trebi and Fortia were marketed to professional consumers. I only see Astia in pro camera shops and only in their refrigerated area. This is a domain ordinarily reserved for pro films.
 

Poisson Du Jour

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I don't know what Astia is in terms of level. Too far back for me: I last used Astia in 1995. I suspect he's going to come back tomorrow with Provia 100F given that Velvia has not met with his approval in the past...
 

benjiboy

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StorminMatt said:
Actually, I live in Sacramento, CA. And buying Astia without having to wait would mean a drive to the Bay Area.
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I shoot a lot of portraits and Astia is my favorite slide film, why not keep a stock of a few rolls in your freezer as I do, and once the stock becomes low re-order so you never run out ?. My local Pro dealer only keeps Velvia in stock, and he will only order Astia or Provia if I buy it in 20 roll bricks and pay in advance ,no way !, so I order it online and can get any quantity I want and at a much cheaper price.
 
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benjiboy

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Astia is a definately member of the Fuji professional range of colour reversal films, pro dealers keep it in their refrigerated area if youre lucky, my local "pro" dealer keeps it in a cupboard, and if you ask why it's not refrigerated , he looks at you as if youre crazy !
 
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StorminMatt

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benjiboy said:
why not keep a stock of a few rolls in your freezer as I do, and once the stock becomes low re-order so you never run out ?.
Click to expand...

Because I have never tried it before. And honestly, I don't know how much I will like it. So I am not about to buy a whole bunch of it. In any case, I already made my trip to the Bay Area and bought a few rolls. The first roll turned out good enough, although it is certainly not Kodachrome (despite all you hear about Astia being the best possible E6 Kodachrome substitute, I think both E100G and EPN are better in this regard). Anyway, I will just have to go out and shoot more stuff to find out how well I will like this film, and what it might be particularly good for.
 

ljsegil

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But does anybody know of a US source for 8x10?
LJS
 

benjiboy

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I would contact Fuji USA they will be able to put you in touch with stockists in your area.
 

Photo Central - AT

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Astia is indeed a Pro-level film, but it is not well known. To give you a sense of its popularity (and reason for being so scarce), there was a brief time before the 100F version came out that Fuji Canada stopped selling Astia altogether. When I inquired (I shot a fair amount of it, especially once Agfa RSX dried up, and my store normally stocked it), we were told that our store accounted for over 50% of Astia sales in Western Canada. I was rather shocked, as I don't think we sold more than 200 roles a year or so (compared to thousands of rolls of Velvia, Provia, etc).

Even with the new version, I've never seen a large interest in it, despite the fact that everyone I suggest it to seems to love it. For the record, we do stock it in 135 and 120. It sells slowly, at best.

Cheers,

Andrew
 
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