Velvia II

[wickedmartini]

Valhalla, NY, November 14, 2006?FUJIFILM U.S.A., Inc. is pleased to

announce plans to re-introduce an ISO 50 Fujichrome Velvia professional film,

tentatively named Velvia II. Fujichrome Velvia (RVP 50) was the first high color

saturation, high contrast transparency E-6 compatible film when it was

introduced

in 1990 and was a favorite among photographers. Its discontinuation was

announced last year due to difficulties in procuring some of the raw materials

used to produce the emulsion.

?Since we announced the discontinuation of Velvia 50, we have been inundated

with requests from photographers worldwide to continue production,? said

Christian Fridholm, Director of Marketing, Picture Taking, Imaging Division,

Fujifilm USA. ?They had used Velvia for many years and consider it unmatched in

terms of quality and character. One of Fujifilm?s main priorities is to nurture

the

culture of photography, so we took those requests very seriously.?

As a result, Fujifilm research and development teams have developed substitute

raw materials and new manufacturing technologies that enable the company to

restart production. The new film is expected to be available in late spring

2007.

The characteristics of the new emulsion will mirror that of the previous

product.

?We are pleased to, once again, demonstrate our commitment to photographic

film and to our photographer customers,? concluded Fridholm. Specific details,

including naming, pricing and shipment dates will be announced when they

become available.

[dickhilker]

Great news -- thanks!

[randrew1]

I see at least three possibilities:

 

1. Velvia users are more vocal than Kodachrome 25 users.

 

2. Fuji listens to customers more than Kodak.

 

3. V-50 is more profitable than K-25.

[25asa]

http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=00IWzi&tag=

 

I'd like to see if anything at all improves or not. Will the grain size be the same? Sharpness? Velvia was the sharpest film produced after Ektar 25, Impressa 50, and Tech Pan were discontinued.

[john_shriver]

Fuji doesn't have to subsidize unprofitable K-14 processing lines to make Velvia useful. Kodak does for Kodachrome. Kodachrome is doing users a favor by keeping Kodachrome available, it can't be a profit center.

 

Of course, how long there will be E-6 lines to process Velvia II is an interesting question. Volume is collapsing.

[wickedmartini]

I would not look for any dramatic improvements to grain or resolution. The primary goal is to keep Velvia going in a form as true to the original as possible.

[pics]

The biggest pet peeve I had with this film was the poor reciprocity characteristics and ugly green color shifts under long exposures. I wonder if Fuji addressed any of this in the Velvia II edition? Maybe these "new manufacturing technologies" can be used to improve such flaws without altering the familiar "Velvia look" that many felt was lost in subsequent versions of the film. Otherwise I welcome the reintroduction of one of the all time classics.

[ben_hutcherson]

Velvia 50 is my absolute favorite film of all time, and Velvia 100 doesn't quite do it for me the way 50 does.

 

With that said, though, I'd love it if Fuji could make Velvia as easy to scan as the various Ektachromes(E100G, Elite Chrome, etc.) that I'm also fond of.

[a._t._burke]

My final answer:

 

2. Fuji listens to customers more than Kodak.

 

Tom

[drjedsmith]

Agreed, Fuji is 1. more willing to listen than Kodak...this could be due to the fact that more pros were using Fuji [velvia] than are/were using Kodak [Kodachrome].<BR>2. More committed to the survival of film...does anyone know if it is a larger % of their total product sales compared to a company like Kodak?<BR><BR>

For what it's worth, I have switched to shooting Fuji films exclusively due to my perception of 1. and 2. above; not to mention their chromes are excellent.<BR>

Jed

[pics]

Lets not pretend that Kodak stole K25 from the teeming masses who so desperately craved it. FWIW, Velvia is a large reason why K25 fell off of the map. The bold punchy colors made magazine editors go gaga and many pros who used Kodachrome as their old standby switched to Velvia in rapid fashion during the 90's With this in mind, it's hardly a suprise to see that K25 is now dead whereas Velvia is offered in several flavors with the original being reintroduced. Kodak listened rather well to its customers I think. Nobody shot the stuff so Kodak killed it, simple as that. Films like K25 and Tech-pan rotted on the shelf during the last years of their exisitence but only when they were killed off do such things become yet another rallying cry against the big, evil yellow stepfather.

[berk_sirman2]

As some responders above I did not like Velvia 50 but I am happy to see its return. We'll have to wait and see if Velvia II will be an improvement over Velvia 50 in terms of reciprocity, grain and longevity but I would not hold my breath. Fuji offers Velvia 100, 100F and several other reversal films that are superior to Velvia 50 in terms of what is mentioned above. I personally like Velvia 100 much more than original Velvia but I am by no means an authority on high contrast/high saturation slide films. Astia/Sensia for general shooting, and Velvia 100/Provia100 when I want more punch (depends on weather conditions)

 

E6 will be available for much longer than some people seem to think. You'll just have to mail your film. I started shooting slides in 2004, long after masses stopped using it, so I am used to mailing film. I am even optimistic about K-14, I am very happy about results I got from Dwayne's after the Swiss lab closed down. Much better to have fewer labs that do the job right, than have more that do a sloppy job. At least for an amature like me. For pros who need fast turn around time it a different story.

[william_bone]

I have an old Hasselblad C that is hungry for slide film. I suspect Fuji will manufacture limited batches of Velvia II (once or twice a year) similar to what Kodak did with Kodachrome in the waning years. I shoot lots of digital, but I'm just not convinced it will ever replace the unique characteristics of film. Besides, the old Hassy is a pure joy to use.