…thanks to Fujifilm!
Agfa Vista, OK it was not the best loved and best looking film around, but it was among the cheapest to be had. And frankly, the quality was not too shabby!
Of course it has nothing to do with Agfa apart from the name. It was a rebranded film made by Fuji.
But now it’s DEAD! As Bellamy Hunt from Japan Camera Hunter relates.
Sure, it’s not the end of Film, there’s still loads of other emulsions around and even more thanks to Kodak. But it will drive the cost of film higher globally. One of the cheapest ways to shot film gone, average price will climb a bit… more.
On one hand we will gain (hopefully) Ektachrome and T-max 3200, on the other hand, Fujifilm seem to outdo themselves killing off film.
Who has it right? Who will win in the end? Is film just a fad for some eternal nostalgics or has it still it’s place in 2018?
Those are the questions we film shooters will have to live with for the near future. Perhaps one day we will have the answer and will smile and say: “You see, told you years ago I was right!”
Or not….?
Thanks for stopping by!
Frank Lehnen Photography 
“You see, told you years ago I was right!” I would put this way: who will say this in the future? The film shooters or the “film-is-dead” proclaimers?
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That’s the good question. Time will tell
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Well, Frank this is “fake news” (quote: “confirmed by reliable industry sources” and “poorly kept secret”). It was pretty obvious if it was in Poundland that it was all stock clearance not just a sudden decision to stop producing it, which is why I stockpiled and still have a fridge full, 90 rolls in fact, which I’m keeping back for colour shooting. Might post some soon.
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Lucky you! Make the best of it. I rather liked it. And Fuji Superia 200 too. Not Portra but very much OK
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Here’s some better news to brighten the weekend. It’s cheap, it’s brand new, and above all it’s made in the EU… errr in Britain, anyway. Plenty of space parts, it will never go wrong and is repairable if it does. You can make your own film for it, shoot on celluloid or paper and you can be like Ansel Adams and play with zones and stuff. Real proper photography. All you need is a flatbed scanner to post online. I’m quite tempted myself, in fact I’ve been long toying with the idea of building my own.
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Yep, been eyeing that one too. I’d prefer it to medium format. Why not go the whole way?
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I have thought for a little while now that films on the lower cost end of the spectrum would disappear one by one. Given where the film market has gone, it makes business sense for film manufacturers to focus on higher quality, higher-priced films.
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Comes down to Fuji betting on the end of all film over time (except Instax) and Kodak betting that film is going to be a still bigger thing…
You’re right, cheap film is dead. At least for color film. But there could be a new status quo on a bit higher price level with all the competition showing up. A new price balance…
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Officially time for a certain Japanese company to change its name!
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Fujistuff
Fujidigital
Fujiinstax
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But wait, their digital cameras are quite decent!
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Thanks for the update Frank!
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I still have about ten rolls of Vista 200 in the fridge. Shame that’s it no longer available, oh well I suppose that will mean I have to use the money I was saving for that new Leica MP will be going to expensive colour film instead.
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😁
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Soulless conglomerate doing the its thing. No surprises.
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Vista 200 won’t be missed, because of Fuji’s own C200 and Kodak ColorPlus, which are also cheaper. But Vista 400 is a different story, it was the last cheap 400 ISO film on the market. Superia 400 and Kodak Ultramax cost around 6-7 euros, and the quality is not better than Vista 400. So I get myself a few rolls, as long as it’s available…
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I don’t see the big deal here. Never shot it myself, but wasn’t this just rebranded Fujicolor 200? It might cost a bit more now but it’s not gone…
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Sad! That’s one of my go to cheap films!
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