This post combines several news items regarding film photography, comprising of an announcement from Fujifilm, a limited edition film from CineStill and the official launch of a mini-lab from Analogue Wonderland.
Fujifilm Announce End to Two Film Stocks
After something of a recent revival in analogue photography’s popularity, numerous photography brands have relaunched old film stocks or produced entirely new analogue equipment altogether, but Fujifilm has poured cold water on the optimistic uptick in the return of film products by announcing the discontinuation of two popular film stocks; Fujicolour 160NS Professional in 120 format and the Velvia 50 in both 4x5 and 8x10 formats.
The announcement, however, has not come as a result of a decrease in demand or popularity but rather the increasing costs of ingredients that make the stocks. The company issued a press release last week detailing the issue they’ve been facing “because it became difficult to procure some of the raw materials used for production, we have no choice but to discontinue production and sales [of the 160NS 120 and Velvia 50].”
The Velvia 50 for 35mm and 120 formats are still available along with four other stocks, comprising of the Neopan 100 Acros II, which was reintroduced in early 2019, the Velvia 100, Provia 100F and Superia X-TRA 400. The end of the Fujicolor 160NS Professional 120, however, sees the final format of the stock come to an end after Fujicolor’s Pro 400H was ended earlier this year.
CineStill Launched Limited Edition Halloween Film
American analogue brand CineStill has announced a limited edition medium format film in time for Halloween. The RedRum red-scale edition is designed to produce images in the style of horror movies by giving photographs a red and sepia tint. The CineStill website explains ’this limited edition, unique color negative film has been reverse-rolled for exposing through the base of the film, rather than directly to the emulsion’.
The ISO 200 rolls are safe for C-41 lab processing and were produced using the company’s 800T emulsion ‘this film is uniquely appropriate for red-scale photography because there is no anti-halation layer to disrupt the light, resulting in higher speed, better sharpness and color.’
See examples of images shot with RedRum on CineStill’s website here where you can also buy some rolls if you’re in America. The rolls are available at most stockists in the UK including Silverprint and Analogue Wonderland.
Analogue Wonderland's Wonderlab Launches
After announcing plans to open a mini film developing lab back in the summer, Analogue Wonderland officially opened the venture over the weekend. The lab offers development of 35mm, 120 and 110 film, as well as plans to develop further film formats in time ‘Our long-term goal is to be able to develop every film that we currently sell. However with more than 200 options in our store, this just isn't going to be possible (or sensible!) to attempt from launch. So we're going to start with a smaller range of options and expand over time.’
The Wonderlab is set up so that you can send your films in via post, with thorough instructions on the website here where you can also find your questions about formats, chemistries and scanning details and requests answered.
For more analogue photography news, tips and information, visit the RPS’ Analogue microsite, the Analogue Group’s Facebook page or Instagram page.