Fujifilm Superia Premium is a film that exists and is still in production in Japan. Ricoh is thinking of making a new *film* point-and-shoot. Lomography has a new lens. And are film prices about to go through the roof?
Fujifilm discontinued all of its colour-negative film, seemingly everywhere, except Japan. There are now just US-made Fujifilm-branded packs that everyone knows are actually Kodak film: analog.cafe/r/fujifilm-400…. But those who are or have been in Japan have been secretly benefiting from Fujifilm’s Japan-made colour-negative film, Superia Premium 400.
This brand is fairly unknown outside of Japan. Those who do know about it may have expected Fujifilm to eventually bring it back to Europe and the Americas (Yvonne made a video about it two years ago: youtube.com/watch?v=vwQ6Wj…). Alas, it’s not the case.
Over the past few months, Japanese residents have been complaining that they can no longer find the film. For me, this was a reminder of its existence. For @philknallphoto, it was a disappointment — until he was able to get hold of Fujifilm, who assured him that it’s still in production. Turned out, it was simply a shortage and a misunderstanding.
So there you have it, a “secret” Fujifilm Japan-made colour-negative film is still a thing. In fact, I will be working with Yvonne this month on an article and a video about this film and how it compares to its US-made counterparts. It’ll probably be ready by the end of the month.
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Digital Camera World published a video last year in which they interviewed a Ricoh exec who reminded us that next year the GR will mark the 30th anniversary of the camera line, a special time for the company. The exec was by no means definitive, but he did not rule out a new film point-and-shoot. Here’s the video: youtube.com/watch?v=RK1RbX…
Lomography has just announced Joseph Petzval Focus-coupled Bokeh Control 27 mm f/1.7 and 135 mm f/2.5 Art lenses that are ready for pre-order:
“This next generation lens series brings Petzval’s signature swirly bokeh into the modern era with refined manual controls and innovative focus-coupled bokeh control for motion and stills using full-frame mirrorless cameras. Using recalculations from Joseph Petzval’s original 1840 portrait lens, this series includes five focal lengths – 27 mm, 35 mm, 55 mm, 80.5 mm and 135 mm – some available for full-frame mirrorless systems for the first time.”
The lenses are priced at $600 and can be found on the Lomography shop website: shop.lomography.com
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Last but not least, film prices.
Several people shared a very scary-looking chart of silver prices that shot up from the average $800/kg in 2024 to the eyewatering $3,200/kg today. Given that silver is a key component of film production, it is very likely to affect film prices.
The price of precious metals is in the national news as investors are fleeing into a “safe” goods category in response to tumultuous global events. The result, I believe, will inevitably affect film prices.
I have already seen some movement in the film price data collected early in January (analog.cafe/app/best-film-…). And as I mentioned in the newsletter, stores are preparing for higher sticker prices already: analog.cafe/r/film-photogr….
Still, it’s unlikely that film will cost 300% more today than it did last year. Silver is one of many components used in making film. If the price stays this high, the factories will have no choice but to raise the film prices further. But I also hope that a market correction can fix that, and I know that companies like Kodak will do good on actually lowering the prices whenever possible, see: analog.cafe/comments/d3nw.
February update to January tea: Fujifilm Superia Premium 400 is back in stock (Japan only), and Flic Film Aurora 800 is discontinued.
A lot of new developments have happened for film photography this month, some of which nearly cancel the things I said earlier. For one, Fujifilm’s only colour-negative film is back in stock — if you live in the right country — and the silver prices have crashed.
Norbi Whitney tagged me today in a Threads post by @kentamizune that confirmed the return of Fujifilm Superia Premium 400 film to shelves in Japan. The post said:
“Fujicolor Premium 400 is back in stock. Fuji Film is unpredictable with its product distribution. I think I’ll buy one.” (machine translated).
Outside Japan, many film photographers believe that Fujifilm no longer manufactures colour-negative film. While their slide film is still available, the Fujifilm 400 and 200 boxes contain emulsions made in the USA (which must be Kodak), and the results indeed look very much like those shot on Ultramax with a slight difference.
And this comparison pegs Fujifilm 200 against Kodak Gold: analog.cafe/r/fujifilm-200… (to show very little difference)
Aside from still not being able to buy Japan-made colour-negative film outside of the manufacturer’s home country, the above is good news. But there’s more:
Silver prices have finally crashed. After months of scary growth, they’re back to the December 2025 prices. However, it is not yet time to celebrate, as that is still nearly double its price a year ago.
Silver is a key component in film. The manufacturers have historically adapted to such fluctuations by changing their formulas (for example, T-grain films were designed to use less). However, today’s factories may have much more trouble making such changes than earlier. Many modern factories use formulas developed in the 90s with little or no change, and the new films struggle to match the quality of materials made in the heyday of film photography.
P.S.: I have just learned that Flic Film Aurora 800, an affordable ISO 800 colour-negative film, has been discontinued. The company has confirmed the news with me this morning.
Dmitri
Dmitri edited on Feb 19, ‘26