Provia 400X seems to be back in production!

[rjstep3]

The OP shouldn't get people's hopes up - I used to use this film all the time with my Mamiya 7, still have a freezer drawer full of the stuff, much only just expired because I bought a load when they announced its demise. Seeing this thread tempted me to thaw a couple of boxes ...

Here's one I took years ago in the Lake District - Mamiya 7 + Provia 400X.

 

[Skiff]

I have CR200/Agfa RSX II 200 exp. 8/15 in the sales out (Eur. 2,95) and still not sold. So you can imagine what the regular interest in E-6 film is. It is how it is: Expensive and only for a very few people.

No surprise at all:
- for years you are telling your customers how bad slide film is
- and then you also offer the by far worst slide film on the market, which looks crappy compared to the competition. Instead of offering the excellent stuff.

Sorry, but you don't know the 1x1 of business. You damage your own customer base.

 

[Skiff]

A pity that Pro 160 NS is not available in 135-36.

+1. It is an excellent film. But why haven't you told that the people in the last years?
It is your task as a film distributor to do that, to encourage people to use film.

Let us hope the last Fuji B&W film, Acros 100 will stay in production.

Nonsense. If Fuji would have to stop colour film production, BW film will be dead, too.
BW is the niche at Fuji. It is completely dependant on color film production to keep the lines running.
Same at Kodak: When color fails, BW will be dead, too.
Those who want Kodak and Fuji BW film alive should also use their color films.

 

[Skiff]

I'd love to shoot chrome full time but these days it's so uneconomical. $20 for a roll of 36 then another $20 for processing isn't good at all. "You gotta pay to play" just doesn't apply here. It's obscenely priced. Being a 100% film shooter and having access to C41 and BW films at a fraction of the cost I can't help but feel sodomized every time I shoot chrome.

That said, I love the results I get from chrome. The colors are great, the fact that I get a more correct color right away is a huge advantage to scanning the stuff and I wont even start about looking at MF or LF on a light table. Its pure magic.

If it wasn't so costly then I would shoot it more often. If I ever bash chrome it will be because of the price not the results or "culture".

Maybe you find a cheaper solution for mail order processing here:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1075121995/e-6-film-processing-in-toronto-canada

http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=137289

 

[Skiff]

The OP shouldn't get people's hopes up

At the time I've posted it my local distributor told me there is a new production of Provia 400X.
The discontuniation notice came some months later, unfortunately.

- I used to use this film all the time with my Mamiya 7, still have a freezer drawer full of the stuff, much only just expired because I bought a load when they announced its demise. Seeing this thread tempted me to thaw a couple of boxes ...

Here's one I took years ago in the Lake District - Mamiya 7 + Provia 400X.

Excellent picture!

 

[KM-25]

If Fuji would have to stop colour film production, BW film will be dead, too.
BW is the niche at Fuji. It is completely dependant on color film production to keep the lines running.
Same at Kodak: When color fails, BW will be dead, too.
Those who want Kodak and Fuji BW film alive should also use their color films.

But you are for the most part preaching to the choir, you know that, right?

I can only use so much color film per year, I don't have the ability to just snap my fingers and add another 100 days to a given year, life is today and today is what we have got. My gut told me ten years ago to largely divest my self from color film and concentrate on something I can actually hand print well into the future and for many that is black & white on silver gel.

And up until it's surprise announcement of a purchase by a private equity firm, Ilford was seen as the most solid footing out of anyone. It's all written in jello Skiff, everyone does their part and in turn shows the best work they can with it. But it can change in an instant so we all stock up in our own way and shoot the stuff in the same manner.

Another ten years from now we could only be shooting very expensive grass roots sized company's film and no Fuji, Kodak or even Ilford as we know it, the industry is that niche folks.

I see too much crying and not enough trying on these topics, if you want to call out Fotohuis all by his lonesome that is one thing. But these blanket call outs & pleas only make you out to be someone to ignore. I have read Fotohuis's comments on here and other places for years, I don't really give a crap what he or anyone else says ( honestly can't remember ) as I use my own judgement and instincts to decide what I am going to buy and use.

I bet that rings true for a lot of people actually.

 

[Pioneer]

Let's be honest here. Who even shoots slide film anymore. I mean, there is nothing more stunning than a beautiful slide on a light box, but I haven't fired up my slide projector in so long that I can't even remember where I stored it. How many of you have given a slide presentation in the last six months?

I think we all realize that the market for film is quite small. The slide film market is a vanishingly small portion of the film market. And that small market is dying even quicker than film itself. Face it. Projection is now a digital construct. You can mix digital image files with Powerpoint and other graphic constructs.

Will it die out entirely? I doubt it. Fortunately very, very few things actually die away entirely. People still make wooden barrels even if the market is tiny. But things do become very expensive boutique items. But there will only be one or two choices. Maybe something from Ferrania, or perhaps Fuji Provia. Heck, for all we know it will be CR200. 😀

 

[Fotohuis]

I have two Zett 250W projectors and a few times in the years I am giving a show. Mostly in 40x40mm superslides from my M645 pro camera.

The set up:

Film: Fuji Provia 100F and sometimes Rollei/Agfa Gevaert CR200. The few E-6 films I can develop myself but it is not economical for me. So in the past they went to PLM in Tilburg a professional lab but even they stopped in the beginning of this year with E-6 developing. I also have a few Ektachrome 64 left in the freezer. E-6 films in my freezer are almost finished. So I will see what will be the next step. Maybe Ferrania or continue with expensive Provia 100F or the really cheap Rollei CR200 film.

 

[DanskDynamit]

being 2015, I don't think 2017 is a new batch.

 

[Tadeyev]

It's Alive !

It's Alive !

Let's be honest here. Who even shoots slide film anymore. I mean, there is nothing more stunning than a beautiful slide on a light box, but I haven't fired up my slide projector in so long that I can't even remember where I stored it. How many of you have given a slide presentation in the last six months? 😀

As a avid slide film user, I have to disagree wholeheartedly with the above, although I do accept that slide is under fire. With all respect, I think some of you here really don't 'get it' :bang: as 99.9% of what I shoot is slide and I almost never project. So the simple connection made between projection and slide is strange for me.

I can't speak for others, but I think if we are honest, per roll, I am more than pleased if there are 1, 2 or 3 shots that are even close to being special enough to want to share or print. Often enough not even that. Maybe I am a really crappy photographer compared to others here.

I use digital for making those kinds of 'shoot everything' tourism or family moments and use film when there is time (and the subject material) for special work. Decided long ago that I do not want to deal with a darkroom and chemicals, as I have no time for it to do it really well.

So: I shoot slide film, have it developed, and then trawl through it with a good loupe and keep the very few interesting shots, scan them, and throw the remainder away or chuck 'em in a drawer.

For me anyway, it takes up much less space, and costs less than printing photographs of bracketed frames and useless results that are destined for the waste bucket...All (perhaps?) much better for the environment to boot :angel:

As a stubborn old s.o.a.b. I don't understand why more people are not using slide film more, and I think printing all those useless negatives that will never be used is a complete waste of time, paper, money and energy 🙁

Rant over.

 

[nickthetasmaniac]

As a stubborn old s.o.a.b. I don't understand why more people are not using slide film more...

I'd love to shoot more slide film, but at $28.30AUD for a roll of Velvia 50 135 (before you even get the bloody stuff developed), I'd say it's pretty clear why more people don't use it...

 

[__jc]

I like slide film, too, and have no plans to stop using it. True, I don't use as much as I used to due to the cost, but I still like it way better than the look of digital. Most of my photography now is black and white.

 

[Tadeyev]

Slide film

Slide film

I'd love to shoot more slide film, but at $28.30AUD for a roll of Velvia 50 135 (before you even get the bloody stuff developed), I'd say it's pretty clear why more people don't use it...

That depends if you want to stay stuck only on Velvia, which in my view is highly overrated. (Egads, the heresy!) I could never get to love those weird greens 😱

For color, Agfa Precisa (rebadged Provia 100) is really worth a 2nd look, the price is +/- EUR 6 a roll, about AUD 9.40 ?

B/W slide film is cheap and gives truly exceptional results. It can be so chromatic from black to white that you might not miss color at all..

 

[Fotohuis]

For color, Agfa Precisa (rebadged Provia 100)

But not in roll film ....

 

[nickthetasmaniac]

That depends if you want to stay stuck only on Velvia, which in my view is highly overrated. (Egads, the heresy!) I could never get to love those weird greens 😱

B/W slide film is cheap and gives truly exceptional results. It can be so chromatic from black to white that you might not miss color at all..

It doesn't really... Provia 100F is about $24.30AUD... I had a look at Agfa Precisa 100 and it seems to be priced about the same as Provia 100F at all the usual suspects?

I didn't realise B&W slide film was still a thing. Can you still buy it in 135?

 

[rjstep3]

As a avid slide film user, I have to disagree wholeheartedly with the above, although I do accept that slide is under fire. With all respect, I think some of you here really don't 'get it' :bang: as 99.9% of what I shoot is slide and I almost never project. So the simple connection made between projection and slide is strange for me.

I can't speak for others, but I think if we are honest, per roll, I am more than pleased if there are 1, 2 or 3 shots that are even close to being special enough to want to share or print. Often enough not even that. Maybe I am a really crappy photographer compared to others here.

I use digital for making those kinds of 'shoot everything' tourism or family moments and use film when there is time (and the subject material) for special work. Decided long ago that I do not want to deal with a darkroom and chemicals, as I have no time for it to do it really well.

So: I shoot slide film, have it developed, and then trawl through it with a good loupe and keep the very few interesting shots, scan them, and throw the remainder away or chuck 'em in a drawer.

For me anyway, it takes up much less space, and costs less than printing photographs of bracketed frames and useless results that are destined for the waste bucket...All (perhaps?) much better for the environment to boot :angel:

As a stubborn old s.o.a.b. I don't understand why more people are not using slide film more, and I think printing all those useless negatives that will never be used is a complete waste of time, paper, money and energy 🙁

Rant over.

+1 for this reply - I am in complete agreement with you.

I got fed up with digital as a medium - it was just too easy, and I gave up photography other than for holiday snaps. I got my M7 II out 3 years and haven't looked back. My favourite would be slides - I don't project, but like you I go through the results and pick out the best which get the Photoshop treatment. I like it.

The only thing making me doubt film at the moment is the shortage of GOOD processing. Even in London, England, I am appalled at the sloppy results I get back from supposedly dedicated film processors. It means one Hell of a lot of clone stamping to get the chemical stains, liquid marks, thumbprints etc out of the final scanned image.

But you can't beat the colours you get from slide, even after scanning them in. It is just wow factor. I have experimented with a lot of other print films - 160NS, Fuji 400, Portra at all speeds, Ektar, even Kodak Gold (!), but I keep coming back to slide.

I can only quote my wife, who is by no means a fan of photography, let alone film. She saw a shot I had scanned in on my monitor and said, "you know, it is funny but even scanning in a film shot, it has a sort of 3D quality that digital shots just don't have." Case proved.

The future is dire, but let's be positive, it's not all black and white, just don't be so negative.

rjstep3

 

[Spanik]

+1 again for both posts. Slide is great, even if you scan. I find it far easier to scan than colour negatives.

Still have 400x in the freezer and hope to keep going a few years if I can combine with 100f. But having no iso400 slide film anymore means that handheld shooting with medium format becomes hard. And a tripod isn't always an option.

 

[Tadeyev]

Hi rjstep3,
Glad I am not the only one in slide fan club!
I hear you about processing; I think we can be sure that all the little guys will disappear in that respect. However, the work will become centralized in a few locations; I doubt it will die out completely. Right now I use Studio 13 in Germany and they are very efficient, and do a good and neat job of it, so i count myself lucky in that respect. It is always a bummer when your stuff gets ruined by third parties.

My 'apocalypse' plan if film gets hit hard, would be to at least learn slide development, and just get my own chemicals and do it myself. But then there are limitations to the types of film one can work with.

Film developing and film itself will continue to get more expensive for sure (doesn't everything?) but I suspect it will merely come into the hands of specialist stores/developers, as already is happening.

All we can do until then is keep shooting, and support new ventures like Ferrania (i pray their film will be good!) as well as hoard like squirrels in the arctic.

 

[Fotohuis]

In B&W slides you can use all type films with Clear layer:

Fomapan R100, Rollei Retro 80S, Retro 400S, Silvermax, Scala 200 and a few others. Klaus Wehner in Germany has an excellent developing kit for it where the first developer is later used as second developer. I tested the kit with the Aviphot 200 E1 / Rollei Retro 400S E.I. 125. Perfect B&W slides! But a lot of work although in the Jobo CPA-2 with elevator just half an hour processing.

 

[J enea]

I love shooting slides and, assuming I can get the film at a decent price I will continue top shoot it. I develop it at home at a cost of about $1.50 per roll using the tetenal chems from freestyle. not bad. I have about 150 rolls of 35mm and 400 rolls of 120/220 left in the freezer from a hoarding run I did 2 years ago before the huge price increases. at current prices I would shoot a lot less but would still shoot slides as nothing I have seen can match them when projected. For me the turning point came when my local used camera store had a like new hasselblad 80 projector for a more than cheap price. Had to get it and see for myself (if 35mm slides impressed me then what should I expect from a 6x6 slide). WOW was all I could say. my shooting changed and everything fell into place from there.

I think slide shooters are a different breed of photographers in today's world. I laugh at the dig crowd who think they are bad ass because they can shoot with 50MPX's now and that 35mm only has 20 or 25 or 36 or however many MP's they are when scanned. SO WHAT. you then ruin the capture by showing them in all their glory on a 3mp screen. most HD TV's are only 3mp. well guess what I lose little if anything from old school projection. when push comes to shove, all my digital friends admit my viewings are much better but then ramble off excuses to justify their digital cameras. I grin and have more wine as I know I'm happy with what I have. This is just my opinion and I am in no way trying to convert them.

I have lots of 400x left but find that I keep coming up with excuses to not shoot it, to save it for the perfect moment (same goes for my astia stash). deep down I know thats me lying to myself. Its just when its gone its gone. I spent the last week going over B&W negs to enlarge and viewing many slides and feel bad about wasting some great films on lousy subjects just because I could buy more film. pretty stupid. I also have gotten my B&W reversal process down so I can make B&W slides. I gotta say, a slide from Rollei retro 80s is a thing of beauty!

anyway, keep shooting slide film and shoot often and then buy often. I talked to the fuji guy in charge of film sales for north america at a camera convention a year ago and he told me very quietly that Fuji never says no more and that if sales justified it any film could be re-introduced. so we have that going for us, which is nice.