After reading this post remember that it is always 5 o’clock somewhere so have a stiff drink ready…
I have yet to get the “official” release from Fuji but from what I gather the following is true:
Discontinued:
Velvia 50 4×5 quickload
Velvia 100 4×5 quickload
Velvia 100F 4×5 quickload
Provia 100F 4×5 quickload
Color 160s and 160c: 35, 120, 220, 4×5, 8×10, and 4×5 quickload
Color 800z: 35mm 5pack, 120 and 220
T64 in all formats
Neopan 400 in 120
Not gone only new packaging:
Provia 100F 4×5 and 8×10 now in 20 sheet boxes
Provia 100F 120 now in 5-packs
Arcos 100 120 now in 5-packs
Arcos 100 4×5 now in 20 sheet boxes.
Velvia 50, 100, 100F 4×5 and 8×10 now in 20 sheet boxes
Velvia 50, 100, 100F now in 5-packs
From what I gather this is effective immediately. So what does this mean?… 1. get a freezer and buy a lot of what you love and 2. Support companies like Kodak as they are quickly becoming the best option for the future of film…. did I mention they just released Ektar 4×5 and 8×10 sheet film? Fuji still has many amazing films so don’t despair…
One final thought… discontinuing of certain films may be ok in the long run as I mentioned in a recent interview with Scott Sheppard
Executive Producer/Anchor of Inside Analog Radio … as there are currently too many films offered for the existing size of the film-shooting market… I suspect that this attrition process will continue until we have hit a point at which each company produces their “best” films only and in a quanity that can be sustained financially by film-shooting photographers.
If anyone has additional info please share…
Figital Revolution 
So I guess their statement of “The last man standing in film,” from two short years ago was more a statement than actual policy.
But, let’s hope they keep SOMETHING for us to use.
I worked for Kodak for four years, but was the first to say that Fuji made great, affordable products. They still do, only fewer of them.
A copy of their press release can be found here:
http://www.photographyblog.com/news/fujifilm_retires_three_films/
I saw on the news wires today that Pentax is coming out with a medium format digital camera. I did not see a price mentioned. Fortunately, Acros is still available.
Re: 800z.
Actually, on an official Fuji website (I forget which one, I think Fuji.co.uk?) Fuji announced that due to the overwhelming nature of emails and phone calls, they have decided to to continue producing 800z.
Update: Found it. Halfway down the page
http://choose-film.com/?page_id=25
“We were amazed by the reaction from our customers following the announcement that Fujifilm was going to discontinue Pro 800Z. We have received many calls and emails from photographers who appreciate the natural skin tones and fine grain that Pro 800Z gives them. Many people were genuinely upset about the withdrawal so we have bowed to this pressure and decided to continue production for the time being.”
Shame about the Neopan 400. Rollei Retro 400 comes close to tonal replication, but doesn’t push as well as Neopan does.
It sounds like Fuji is changing their mind again about 800z, which would be a shame because I think it’s better than Portra 800.
At their price premium I’m not surprised Quickloads don’t sell well.
My reading of the press release is that 160C will be retired and 160S will simply use the same nomenclature as the Japanese version of the film, so the emulsion itself is probably not being discontinued.
These consolidations are painful but inevitable. I’m shooting film for as long as anything decent is still being manufactured and their is still LOTS of variety and good stock to shoot. Buy film!
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I find it interesting that for Neopan 400 120 they say in the Photography Blog post (linked in the comment above) that it is due to “…environmental concerns over one of the raw materials used in its production” rather than a lack of demand.
I wonder if Fuji will change their mind again about certain films if enough people complain enough? Discontinuing 800z doesn’t make so much sense after their earlier announcement.
Would be nice to see an “official” fuji announcement though….
Here’s what Fuji need to do:
They need to leverage their expertise in film, optics and electronics and fill the gaping hole in the quality film scanner market.
How many people shoot some film, scan it on a flatbed and then walk away? How many people are serious about film but their only quality scanner alternatives are old and out of production?
The film market needs an affordable scanner for film with ICE that can do good scans quickly. It needs the resolution of a Coolscan and the DMAX of a Coolscan but and batch scan capability. It needs to be affordable and fast. I’m sure the six or seven years of sensor and electronics development since the last serious scanner was developed should make this possible. Especially for a company like Fuji that already produces a sharp scanner with almost instant scan times and ICE (in their “digital printing” Frontier machines).
C’Mon, people! Wake up! If you are serious about selling film how about helping your customers to get that film onto websites and into high-quality files for today’s digital printing!
Sam
Sam,
That’s a great point. I would love to have something that is a production type scanner but doesn’t fill a room or require a separate pc to run like the scanner part of a frontier.
While the cost of those is not that high on the used market, space is at a premium..
Would be interesting to see what they could come up with if so inclined.
Paul
I mentioned this to Kodak as well… several times… but as of now nothing!
I’ve been mentioning this to my industry buds and there is a near immediate and forceful, “never happen,” response.
These are the same industry insiders that said to me years ago that film production would be done by now and that no new films would be released so why wastey time with FR… Ektar 4×5 and 8×10 prove that if enough people want something and are willing to buy it… Very important element… then anything is possible.
Just a quick followup.
A Frontier as it stands is no substitute for a Coolscan. Otherwise we’d all be happy with the CDs from our corner developer. The scans are low res and oversharpened and can’t penetrate the shadows.
What I’m saying, though, is that what a Frontier scanner does it does in something like one second per frame. Surely, a company that can do that can make a scanner that could do a decent scan in less than a minute per scan and then mass produce it. Judging by the price premium people are currently paying for an in-stock Coolscan 9000 I think they could sell lots. If they are smart and sell it cheap Flickr would be overrun with GOOD film shots. Film may even have a renaisance as a result.
C’mon Fuji (and Kodak, for that matter)! I mean, especially Kodak (they of the original PhotoCD)!
Sam
Please listen to and pass along the next post here on FR as it addresses many of the comments here on scanners:
https://figitalrevolution.com/2010/03/15/scanners-the-achilles-heel/
Viva la Revolution- Stephen