PMA 2003, LAS VEGAS, March 2, 2003 – Fuji Photo Film U.S.A., Inc., will again redefine the color reproduction palette for professional photographers, with the announcement today of the company's FUJICHROME Velvia 100F Professional (RVP)100F. The first new Velvia film in more than a decade is a color transparency film that brings the ultra-high-saturated color of Fujifilm's renowned Velvia to the ISO 100 speed class.

FUJICHROME Velvia 100F Professional employs the industry's first Multi-Color-Correction Layer technology in a color reversal film as well as a range of other new coupler and emulsion technologies, FUJICHROME Velvia 100F represents a truly state-of-the-art photographic film. This new flagship product in the professional film line promises to meet the color and quality expectations of even the most demanding photographers. The Velvia 100F will provide new professional quality for a wide range of professional applications from the nature and landscape fields to commercial and product photography.

"With the introduction of FUJICHROME Velvia 100F Professional, Fujifilm will raise the standards for professional transparency film, by adding to the color palette of tools for the professional photographer a new dimension of color fidelity and speed," said Steve Herstatt, Director of Marketing, Professional Products, Fuji Photo Film U.S.A., Inc.

The original FUJICHROME Velvia product was unique to the marketplace when it was introduced in 1990. Fujichrome VELVIA was the first high color saturation, high contrast transparency E-6 compatible film on the marketplace. Since its introduction, FUJICHROME Velvia has created a legacy for the industry by elevating the level of results that professional photographers expect from transparency film.

The new Velvia also matches the ultra-fine grain of another Fujifilm product, Provia 100F Professional, with an RMS* granularity of 8** – as it delivers an even more accurate, faithful color reproduction.

With the simultaneous announcement of FUJICHROME Velvia 100F and ASTIA 100F at PMA 2003, combined with Fujifilm's award winning products, Provia 100F and 400F films and the FUJICHROME F series, Fujifilm now offers a comprehensive selection of professional-quality color transparency films.

Features
FUJICHROME Velvia 100F has several characteristic features that set it apart on the marketplace.

ISO 100 speed – Answering the demand from photographers for an ISO 100 speed film with the same rich, vivid color as the current Velvia (ISO 50), FUJICHROME Velvia 100F offers new freedom, flexibility, and ease of use in unique shooting situations.

Ultra-high-saturated color reproduction – Incorporating new cyan, magenta, and yellow couplers, FUJICHROME Velvia 100F raises the bar for color saturation among ISO 100 films. From applications such as a use in nature and landscape photography to demanding commercial assignments, professional photographers can count on the new Fujichrome Velvia 100F to deliver the same rich, beautiful color as the current Velvia (ISO 50).

World-class color fidelity – In addition to its new couplers, FUJICHROME Velvia 100F includes a fourth color layer that corrects the way the film "sees" green hues by bringing its spectral sensitivity into line with that of the human eye. Additional color correction layers further improve its ability to distinguish a full range of red and blue hues. These innovations, together with optimization of the response of the red sensitive and green sensitive layers, assure world-class color accuracy. FUJICHROME Velvia 100F faithfully reproduces the finest nuances of even hues that test the limitations of conventional films, notably cyan-blue, blue-green, yellow-green, lemon yellow, moss green, and purple. This exceptional performance assures that FUJICHROME Velvia 100F will fully meet the most stringent requirements for color fidelity in commercial and product photography.

Super-fine grain – FUJICHROME Velvia 100F boasts an RMS granularity of 8**, ranking it alongside other Fujifilm professional film products, such as FUJICHROME Astia and Fujichrome Provia 100F as the finest grained in its speed class.

Improved color stability – The new color couplers employed in FUJICHROME Velvia 100F significantly improve color stability and freedom from fading/shift over conventional films.

Availability
FUJICHROME Velvia 100F Professional is scheduled for availability for the commercial marketplace in the third quarter of 2003. Fujifilm plans to continue making current Fujichrome Velvia (ISO 50) available for purchase following the introduction of FUJICHROME Velvia 100F.

Velvia 100F Professional: Technologies

PSHC (Pure, Stable & High-Performance Dye-Forming Coupler) technologies
The new couplers developed for FUJICHROME Velvia 100F and Astia 100F, its sister product announced simultaneously at PMA 2003, combine remarkable color purity and stability with high color formation efficiency. This makes possible not only FUJICHROME Velvia 100F's fundamental ultra-high saturation, but also its unprecedented color accuracy and outstanding image stability.

• X-Coupler technology: A unique new cyan coupler developed by Fujifilm and employed for the first time in a color reversal film.
• V-Coupler technology: A new magenta coupler that extends the technology that has markedly improved color reproduction and stability in products such as Fujifilm's color papers. This is also the first application of this technology in color reversal film.
• S-Coupler technology: An enhanced yellow coupler that improves upon the already excellent color reproduction and stability characteristics of Fujifilm's current generation of yellow couplers.

Together with these new X, V, and S couplers, FUJICHROME Velvia 100F further benefits from dramatically reduced secondary absorption constituents – a primary cause of color impurity in other film products.

MCCL (Multi-Color-Correction Layer) technologies
In addition to optimized spectral sensitivity characteristics of the three primary color (R, G, B) layers, this technology incorporates a color correction layer that mimics the response of the human eye to adjust reproduction of green hues. Another color correction layer works to assure more faithful reproduction of reds, while yet another for blue assists in capturing the subtle and complex colors of the natural world.

MSSC (Multi-Structured Sigma Crystal) technology
Based upon the highly regarded ultra-fine grain emulsion technology of Provia 100F, the FUJICHROME Velvia 100F grain structure has been further improved even while maintaining ultra-high color saturation. MSSC technology makes it possible to manufacture a film that actually surpasses the existing Velvia product in terms of both the fineness of grain (RMS granularity: 8) and speed (ISO100).

About Fujifilm
Fuji Photo Film U.S.A., Inc. is the U.S. marketing subsidiary of Fuji Photo Film Co., Ltd. of Tokyo (FUJIY), a leading global manufacturer in three business segments, including Imaging Solutions, Information Solutions and Document Solutions. Recognized for its technological innovation and high quality, Fujifilm offers a complete portfolio of imaging, information and document products, services and e-solutions to retailers, consumers, professionals and business customers.

The complete Fujifilm product portfolio in the U.S.A. includes: professional and consumer film and cameras; digital imaging products, including cameras and printers for commercial and consumer use; digital minilabs and kiosks; photographic paper and photofinishing supplies; professional motion picture film; high-capacity floppy disks, CDs and DVDs, tape cartridges and other data storage media; videotape and audiocassettes; professional and consumer optical discs; microfilm and other micrographic products; and graphic arts film, conventional and digital printing plates, analog and digital color proofing systems, drum and flatbed scanners, imagesetters and computer-to-plate systems. Fujicolor Processing, Inc., a subsidiary of Fuji Photo Film U.S.A., Inc., provides wholesale photofinishing through a network of laboratories across the country. Fujifilm e-Systems is a subsidiary of Fuji Photo Film U.S.A., Inc., that develops workflow solutions to support the company's photofinishing labs and consumer photographic businesses, including online imaging services such as Fujifilm.net.

For more information on Fujifilm products, consumers can call 800-800-FUJI or access the Fujifilm USA Web site at www.fujifilm.com.

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*Note on RMS
*RMS (root mean square) granularity is a widely used standard method for measuring and expressing the apparent graininess of photographic films and prints. Statistical density fluctuations in film granularity are measured, and then converted into numerical values. The lower the number, the lesser the fluctuation and the smaller the apparent grain.
**Read at a gross diffuse visual density of 1.0, using a 48-micrometer aperture.