Last orders for Velvia 50 QL in UK

[timparkin]

Fuji UK have no plans to stop importing Fuji Quickload in any formats currently in production (Astia and Acros are not in production!)

If it did happen (and there was no suggestion at all that it would), Fuji UK would make sure that they import a good 6 months supply to satisfy any demand.

They didn't appear to do that with Acros QL.

I raised this with Russ and he kindly replied as follows..

Acros 5x4 Quickload is a different story all together. It was only ever
brought in at the request of one or two UK dealers. It is only produced in
Japan on a yearly basis, so stocks are always limited. The decision to
discontinue this line was made in Japan, not the UK. Therefore we could no
longer purchase even a small amount. This coupled with the fact sales were
around 10 boxes per month in the UK alone, we decided demand was pretty
much none existent.

With regards to all other Quickload films we will announce discontinuations
in the normal way, through our press channels. Our decisions to discontinue
lines are not taken lightly and are only ever based on sales volume and
losses. We will not suffer losses on products any longer, as it effects the
margin generated on the healthy products as well.

[Thingy]

I have just spoken to my contact at Fuji and have been told that there are no plans for discontinuing Velvia 50 QL but, due to low sales, they will only be importing 100 boxes in December.

Of course, the reason they have not been seeing sales of the new emulsion over the last couple of years could well be down to the fact that V50 fans have massive freezers full of the old emulsion stockpiled; something that could take a few years to consume.

It looks like Fuji have put themselves in an awkward position, in that they created a massive demand for a product that they decided to discontinue, only to experience a slump in sales due to the previous massive demand. Methinks they would have been better off announcing the possibility of the new emulsion before discontinuing the old.

So, if you want to get a bite out of that 100 boxes, you may have to move fast

I ordered 2 boxes last month. I stocked up with Acros so still have 6 boxes of QL left. After Norway, I was impressed with the Pro 160S negative film and found the difference between Velvia 50 & 100 indistinguishable by eye for colour gamut, when photographing the Arctic Tundra at Longyearbyen and at Ny Aalesund. Sadly the cute looking arctic foxes dashed off as I was tilting my rear standard to try to photograph them by a hut, in Ny Aalesund!

[joolsb]

Sadly the cute looking arctic foxes dashed off as I was tilting my rear standard to try to photograph them by a hut, in Ny Aalesund!

....and that's why the number of wildlife photographers working with 5x4 can be counted on the fingers of one foot....

[timparkin]

Sadly the cute looking arctic foxes dashed off as I was tilting my rear standard to try to photograph them by a hut, in Ny Aalesund!

....and that's why the number of wildlife photographers working with 5x4 can be counted on the fingers of one foot....

Eliot Porter managed a whole wildlife book with a 4x5 camera.. birds in flight at that! We're just such lightweights these days...

Tim

[joolsb]

I just knew someone would pop up to correct me....

[Paul Arthur]

So, I've more or less run out and I've got a long trip over Christmas that will require plenty. I've ordered two boxes - has anyone received any yet, or is the shipment that was supposed to have arrived late?

[dave_whatever]

Acros isn't my barrow but for those of you for whom is it, I spotted this on £bay.

[Paul Arthur]

Sorry, I'd forgotten that we'd gone off talking about Acros... I was talking about Velvia

[Paul Arthur]

Apparently it is back in stock as I've just had notice that it has been dispatched.

Hurrah.

[tug]

The British Journal of Photography is reporting that Fuji will discontinue all QL production in April 2010 http://www.bjp-online.com/public/showPa ... age=872222

[timparkin]

The British Journal of Photography is reporting that Fuji will discontinue all QL production in April 2010 http://www.bjp-online.com/public/showPa ... age=872222

Well it wasn't as if we couldn't see something happening..

We'll see if Fuji UK hold to their word about keeping enough in stock for all requirements..

I've posted a little bit about comparative weights of double dark slides and quickload film. The increased weight isn't particularly onerous but they take up a lot more space.

http://www.timparkin.co.uk/blog/quickloads-discontinued

Tim

[dave_whatever]

The British Journal of Photography is reporting that Fuji will discontinue all QL production in April 2010 http://www.bjp-online.com/public/showPa ... age=872222

No word on this from Fuji yet.

Didn't someone on here mention making their own quickload-compatible envelope system anyway?

[Joanna Carter]

No word on this from Fuji yet.

I just spoke to their editor and he states this is from "a source" at Fuji UK (not Russ Gunn)

Didn't someone on here mention making their own quickload-compatible envelope system anyway?

That'll be me. All I need is some financial backing and some idea of market volume before I can approach manufacturers.

[dave_whatever]

The British Journal of Photography is reporting that Fuji will discontinue all QL production in April 2010 http://www.bjp-online.com/public/showPa ... age=872222

I've posted a little bit about comparative weights of double dark slides and quickload film. The increased weight isn't particularly onerous but they take up a lot more space.

http://www.timparkin.co.uk/blog/quickloads-discontinued

Useful post that Tim. I was wondering where the break even point would be weightwise, and as you say that 6-8 sheets should be ample for most users. I know even when shooting with a 6x7 back, even in my most overzealous bracketing moods, I'd be pretty rare for me to shoot an entire roll of 10 frames in one sitting.

I was put off from getting into LF for ages because I thought that for it to work I'd have to use quickloads, and that would make it too expensive, and that darkslides sounded a nightmare for loading, dust, and weight/bulk. As it turns out darkslides are dead easy to load, i've not yet had a problem with dust, and for the low volume I shoot the bulk is minimal. And whats more the film costs are a fraction of quickloads. Be interesting to hear what realtively high-volume users make of it though (Cornish?).

[Patrick Dixon]

They're good Fuji aren't they? I'll be buying my film from other manufacturers in the future I think.