Fujifilm says it will raise film prices 10%, making it the 5th price increase in 3 years

Film might not be dead, but it’s about to get a whole lot more expensive for Fujifilm fans. The Japanese multinational photography and imaging company has announced it will be raising prices for all of its film, again.

If you remember, last July, Fujifilm announced it was increasing the price of its film stocks by 20% and killing off a few of the lesser-used films in its lineup. This announcement makes it the fifth time Fujifilm has increased its prices in a matter of three years.

Fujifilm says the price increase in the United States will be roughly 10% and cover all film-related products, with the exception of its Instax film packs.

In the press release, which was posted on Fujifilm’s global site, Fujifilm says:

The demand for film products is continuously decreasing and the cost of production, such as raw materials stays at a high level and cost increase associated with lower volumes becomes much serious. Under such circumstances, despite our effort to maintain the production cost, Fujifilm is unable to absorb these costs during the production process and is forced to pass on price increases.

As pointed out by Bellamy Hunt of Japan Camera Hunter, this might sound like standard procedure for a struggling market such as film; but the reality might be far different than the picture they paint.

According to Hunt, Fujifilm is all but wanting to kill its film offerings, instead focusing the funds on its digital X-series cameras and lenses.

While we can’t necessarily blame them when it comes down to it, it’s slightly sad to see them slowly try to sweep their film offerings under the rug rather than come right out and state what their intentions are.

In the words of Hunt:

So, Fuji, let’s get it over with. I say Fuji, as you might as well drop Film from your name, as it is no longer part of your business. Jog on Fuji, there are plenty of other Film manufacturers who are doing a much better job than you of promoting film photography.

[via Photo Rumors]

Image credits: ISO 400 Fuji 135 by Andrew Hutton used under CC BY-SA 2.5