Get the best cameras & photo gears from BH Photo and from Adorama Stores

Most of the manufacturers have either stopped making slide films. Kodak announced that they will no longer make the KodaChrome (A Tribute to KODACHROME: A Photography Icon) after its glorious 74 years in service. Fuji also announced in August 2010 that it will no longer make the consumer grade chrome (slide) film Sensia.

Very few labs in the US process any of these films. I still shoot a lot of Fuji Velvia for my nature impression photography along with some Agfa Scala. I get these processed at Duggals (New York City). They are one of the best & processes reversal films are a very reasonable price.

But for the most part chromes are coming to an end. The Kodak 400BWCN, though rated consumer grade, is quite good, but will never be able to replace the situations where the Tri-X have stood its ground.

The Kodak400BWCN has its own appeal – especially if you are shooting portraits, with a soft, misty texture & a sublime lighting, but I have never been able to reproduce any impressionistic image on this film.

The Agfa Scala is the hardest to process. At its prime in 2005 we had only 4 Agfa Scala processing labs in the US & now it is reduced to 2! Agfa has not announced its plans to either continue or discontinue the Agfa Scala, though there are rumors that it would disappear any day.

I still have over 5000 slide images, mostly impressions & nature pictures, yet to be scanned & digitized. And I still have a few dozen of Velvia’s in stock. It would not be for another few months that I will start worrying about where to look for film again!

Get the best cameras & photo gears from BH Photo and from Adorama Stores

Related Photography Articles