Fujifilm Japan has announced two further film discontinuations, including some of its last remaining Velvia slide formats.
The Japanese film producer has announced the discontinuation of Fujichrome Velvia 50 in large format 4×5 and 8×10 20-sheet packs. The 8×10 is due to be axed in December 2021 and the 4×5 in March 2023.
It is also axing Fujicolor 160NS in five-roll 120 packs. The film, the last of the company’s professional colour negative films, had previously been discontinued internationally but was still available in Japan.
The latest cancellations come after the axing of two of Fujifilm’s most popular films this year. Fujicolor Pro 400H film was discontinued in both 120 and 35mm in January this year, while Fujichrome Velvia 100 was banned from sale and processing in the US in the summer, though at time of writing it is still available in other countries.
“As frustrating as it is to see more beloved film stocks some to an end — Fujicolor 160NS Professional sheet film was discontinued in 2016 and the 120 format version was made ‘Japan-only’ in 2018 — it’s an inevitability given Fujifilm’s ongoing shift away from traditional photographic film for consumers and the creative industry,” wrote EMULSIVE in a report on the film’s discontinuation on Friday (15 October).
EMULSIVE also notes that the discontinuation leaves Fujifilm offering only two colour films in 120 or large format sizes – Velvia 100 and Provia 100F.
In a press release, Fujifilm japan said: “Because it became difficult to procure some of the raw materials used for production, we have no choice but to discontinue production and sales.”
I'm a New Zealander who has been living in London since the mid-1990s, shooting film seriously since the year 2000. Kosmo Foto was launched in 2012 and has since become a film brand, with the release of my first films Kosmo Foto Mono 35mm (2017) and Kosmo Foto Mono 120 (2019).
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