Fujichrome VELVIA 100 Discontinued in USA as it Contains Prohibited Toxic Substances

The very popular and still strong selling Fujichrome Velvia 100 film is now discontinued, but only in USA.

The film is now back-ordered at BHphoto. You can still find a few rolls on AmazonUS here and Adorama here.

The reason is that it contains toxic substances inside the layers of the film, that Fujifilm says poses no risk for your health.

In short: don’t eat it, ok?

On March 8, 2021, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalized a rule regarding the chemical phenol, isopropylated phosphate (3:1) (PIP (3:1)) (CASRN 68937-41-7) under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), which prohibited the processing and distribution in commerce, including sales, of the chemical and products containing the chemical. EPA also issued an enforcement policy on the same day stating that it will not enforce the ban on processing and distribution until September 5, 2021.

A miniscule amount (less than 0.0003%) of PIP (3:1) is present within the layers of FUJICHROME Velvia 100 Professional films. Fujifilm believes that the trace amount of PIP (3:1) in the FUJICHROME Velvia 100 Professional films pose no risk to the environment.

As a global leader in imaging, Fujifilm is committed to acting sustainably, and complying with all country regulations. As such, Fujifilm will discontinue FUJICHROME Velvia 100 Professional film in the U.S. effective immediately (July 6, 2021).

If you’ve purchased FUJICHROME Velvia 100 Professional films please read the accompanying Safety Data Sheet carefully.

You can read the official Fujifilm statement at this Fujifilm page (via phoblographer)

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Fujinon XF200mmF2 Lens Removed from BHphoto but NOT Discontinued

Fujinon XF200mmF2 – Discounted but Not Discontinued

Ok, let me set something right.

BHphoto has completely removed the Fujinon XF200mmF2 R LM WR from their website. You’ll be redirected to a page that says: “The page your requested is no longer available. We have redirected you to a simlar page for your convenience.” I tried to check a google cached version of the page, and when I add the XF200mmF2 to the cart, it then tells me “some item(s) are no longer available at B&H“.

The situation is not much better at other stores. AmazonUS says here “Currently unavailable. We don’t know when or if this item will be back in stock” and Adorama says here that it is “Temporarily On Backorder“.

According to a FR-reader, BHphoto is sending out emails telling customers that the XF200mmF2 is discontinued:

B & H has sent me an email saying that the fuji xf 200 mm f2 has been discontinued and they no longer carry it.

So what is happening? Is it really discontinued?

I did investigated this, and I can 100% safely say that the lens is not at all discontinued. So I do not know why BHphoto is not listing the lens anymore.

What I know is that given the worldwide $/€ 2K discount on the XF200mmF2, as to expect, the lens sold out almost everywhere. And I’ve warned you already back in May that such a discount is ridiculous for a lens that was already short on stock before this epic deal.

Now the inevitable happened: it’s out of stock basically everywhere and who knows when Fujifilm will be able to ship current orders.

So, if you are interested in this lens, place your order. You’ll get it at some point. Fujifilm is still manufacturing it and will for a long time. But you better arm yourself with patience.

The XF200mmF2 Problem

The Fujinon XF200mmF2 is arguably one of the very best lenses Fujifilm ever made.

As we reported here, when Fujifilm designed it, they didn’t care about size and price. All they wanted to achieve, was the best image quality and a fast autofocus.

But Fujifilm managers told us that it did not sell well. In fact, given the struggles the XF200mmF2 faced on the market, Fujifilm is wondering if it makes any sense at all to continue to develop and manufacture long prime lenses, that will just result in a loss of money for Fujifilm.

My guess is that people overall tend to prefer zoom lenses that cover that 200mm range, and there are quite some of them in the Fujifilm lineup (and more will come in future).

Sure, none of them is optically on par with the close to perfect Fujinon XF200mmF2, but they are all very decent lenses anyway and deliver an image quality that will be totally satisfactory for the vast majority of Fujifilm X shooters. And they all come for a significantly more affordable price tag.

What About the XF300mmF4 and XF500mmF5.6?

Speaking of long primes…

Back in March 2020, we reported about two Fujinon XF patents showing a Fujinon XF 300mmF4 and Fujinon XF500mmF5.6.

And although I am aware that some folks gave it as 110% certain that those lenses will come in 2021, we warned you in January 2021 that those lenses won’t come in 2021. And quite frankly I have no idea if they will ever come.

We invite you to check out or latest and most updated 2021/2022 rumored Fujifilm products timeline to see what is coming (and what not).

The Future Needs…

So what will the future bring?

Well, you might remember how back in 2019, Fujifilm launched a survey on which lenses we’d like to receive in future.

FujiRumors took 1:1 the lens suggestions Fujifilm made and made this poll out of it that saw 20,000+ people voting on it.

Guess what?

All the long telephoto prime lenses ended up at the very bottom of the ranking, showing that there is simply not enough interest for such lenses.

My take?

Well, I think the XF200mmF2 is maybe not long enough (although with the 1.4x TC it is basically an XF300mmF2.8 lens).

What  I believe could be worth Fuji’s R&D and become much more successful is a Fujinon XF400mmF4 lens. And with 1.4x TC you’d have a XF560mmF5.6 lens. That lens, I believe, could guarantee Fujifilm decent sales.

So, let’s hope Fujifilm won’t give up on telephoto prime lenses. They are needed. For a niche, sure, but definitely needed.

New Tokina Lens Roadmap for Fujifilm X: Ultra Wide Prime, Standard Prime and 56mmF1.4x coming This Summer

Tokina has updated its lens roadmap, which includes new lenses also for Fujifilm x mount.

First off, in addition to the already exisiting autofocus lenses TOKINA atx-m 23mm F1.4 X and TOKINA atx-m 33mm F1.4 X, they finally gave us a release date for the TOKINA atx-m 56mm F1.4 X, which will come as soon as this summer.

These are basically all rebranded Viltrox lenses.

New to the roadmap are the following APS-C lenses for Fujifilm X mount to come in Winter 2021.

  • SZ Ultra Wide Prime Lens (APS-C lens)
  • SZ Standard Prime Lens (APS-C lens)
  • SZ 500mm F8 Reflex MF Lens (Full Frame Lens – Universal mount System)

Tokina has been explicitly mentioned by Fujifilm as getting official support (they have Fuji’s AF protocols). That’s always better than relying solely on reverse engineering.

And now, Sigma, it’s your turn!

Press Release

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Fujinon XF70-300mmF4-5.6 in Stock – Limited Number (4)

Due to the shortage in parts announced by Fujifilm (an issue that every electronic company in the world has right now), lots of Fujifilm gear is hard to find in stock.

Especially the most recently announced gear is widely unavailable.

Little curiosity: a long time and good friend of mine owns a little company that makes graphite components for the ovens needed to make silicon wafers, and he told me he has so much work right now that semiconductor facotries worldwide are tring to match the chip-demand.

With that said, one of the gear that is hard to find in stock, is the Fujinon XF70-300mmF4-5.6, which is not available at BHphoto here and Adorama here, but a limited number (4) is available at the time of this post at AmazonUS here.

In the last few weeks, I see more and more images taken with this lens at our facebook groups. And I must say what probably most impressed me, are its macro capabilities. Just go to any of our X series facebook groups linked below, search inside the group for “70-300 macro” and be amazed by what you’ll see,

And just overall, the XF70-300mm seems to be a great performer. Down below you can see some customer review ratings.

Gosh, I spend all my holiday/tavel/free time/restaurants money saved in 2020/2021 in gear already (GFX100S, GF64-32, XF80 macro, XF27mmF2.8MKII), and I am trying to save my marriage by not purchasing any new gear this year, but the XF70-300mm is one of my top temptations of 2021 along with the GF100-200, the GF50mmF3.5 and also my Nr.1 temptation, the X-E4.

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Fujifilm X-T4 Firmware Update Imminent, But…

A source, who uses a nickname (thanks a lot), just contacted me with the information that a firmware update for the Fujifilm X-T4 is imminent.

But before you get too excited about it, let me tell you something.

Fujifilm usually announced major Kaizen firmware updates ahead of their actual release, as it recently happened with the upcoming GFX100 firmware here and the X-S10 firmware here.

In this case, Fujifilm has not pre-announced anything, which is a clear indication that it will be a minor firmware update. So don’t get too hyped about it.

But you know what?

We are still allowed to dream here on FujiRumors, so let us know in the comments which firmware updates you’d like for your X-T4.

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Fujifilm X-H2: Getting 8K for Less than $2,500 and Price Comparison with Sony A1 and Canon R5

Regarding the Fujifilm X-H2, we already told exclusively to FujiRumors readers that:

Now, I have read some comments saying that less than $2,500 is still to high for an APS-C camera.

So let’s talk about it and compare it to how much you pay to get other 8K mirrorless cameras on the market today.

With a rumored Fujifilm X-H2 price of less than $2,500, the X-H2 would end up costing about half the price of the Canon EOS R5 or even about 1/3 of the Sony A1 price.

Now, I once wrote an article giving you guys 7 reasons why full frame can’t kill APS-C, and price is one of the reasons.

In fact, if the rumored price is accurate (and I have no reasons to doubt that) the Fujifilm X-H2 will once again prove my point that full frame can only match the price of APS-C cameras by sacrificing features and specs, as we explained making some real life examples here.

I guess that’s also why DPReview, Petapixel & CO consider APS-C is the sweet spot.

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How Fujifilm Could Improve their Fujinon XF Lens Roadmap

FR-reader Roberto contacted me with a long and very interesting email regarding on how Fujifilm should develop their lens lineup in future. In fact, I thought it is a pity if I’d discuss this topic only via email with him, so I’d love to extend the conversation to the entire FujiRumors community.

Also, it is a known fact that Fujifilm reads FujiRumors, not only thanks to the fact that high ranked Japanese manager “love” Fujirumors, but also because they look at our survey and use them internally, in some cases even implemented 1:1 the lens wishes the FujiRumors community wanted in their official roadmap.

No wonder, as there is no place on the web that connects so many Fujifilm shooters like here on FujiRumors.

FujiRumors is the best place for Fujifilm to get online feedback from their customers, and knowing this, we take full advantage of it, also by sharing articles like the one Roberto wrote for us, which I think contains some interesting feedback that will end up discussed internally by Fujifilm, and who knows, maybe at some point will also become reality.

So, Roberto did his job wonderfully, I do mine and share it here… but now it’s your time to do yours, by reading the article and discussing it in the comments.

How Fujifilm Could Improved their X Mount Lens Roadmap

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