Fuji Acros II or Adox HR-50

Hi all,

For black and white I use mainly Ortho Plus and T-max 400. And FilmFerrania Orto 50 when I do reversal.

However, for landscapes I'd like something different - and for landscapes and cityscapes with distant objects I assume HR-50 is suitable (I've shot it as Scala 50). But as it doesn't exist in 120 I need something else. I'll probably try it either way, but I am wondering about peoples experiences with Acros ii. I am not sure if I have misunderstood this or not - but this is a film that despite being less sensitive to red it is also less sensitive to blue/uv-light - making it ideal for 'horizon'-photography as it should cut through haze? It might not be as efficient in this as HR-50 but still pretty good at it?

If this is the case - how would you compare this film and its look to other films? And any particular developer(s) that it should be developed in?

Cheers
Peter

I've been wondering about fuji microfine developer, any info would be appreciated

When using same developers (Adox FX-39 II), I feel the HR-50 has higher contrast than Acros II. Thus Acros II might be better fit for high dynamic range scenes (e.g. sunrise, sunset).

In addition, Acros II has really good reciprocity characteristics for long exposures that are sometimes required for landscape.

I do like HR-50, but Acros II is a bit more flexible for my landscape use.

blee1996 said:

When using same developers (Adox FX-39 II), I feel the HR-50 has higher contrast than Acros II. Thus Acros II might be better fit for high dynamic range scenes (e.g. sunrise, sunset).

In addition, Acros II has really good reciprocity characteristics for long exposures that are sometimes required for landscape.

I do like HR-50, but Acros II is a bit more flexible for my landscape use.

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@blee1996 - did you ever notice if the spectral sensitivity of Acros II cuts through haze like, or similar to, HR-50?

pkr1979 said:

@blee1996 - did you ever notice if the spectral sensitivity of Acros II cuts through haze like, or similar to, HR-50?

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I don't know. If I need to cut through haze, I would probably use a UV/Polarizer/Yellow/Orange/Red filter.

My freezer has just 4 (precious) rolls of long-ago expired ACROS II. I use it for 6x6 pinhole photography for simple landscape subjects that suit it. The defining feature of ACROS II is an almost creamy, dream-like appearance of the tonal range — far removed from the blunt edge of e.g. Delta 100 and others. No filters used with the pinhole camera.

Acros (both the original and II versions) are classified as Orthopan films - not fully panchromatic, but not Orthochromatic in the restricted sense either. The effect is less red sensitivity, and conversely, more green sensitivity. You can use nearly all regular black and white contrast filters with it, provided your choice of red filter is no deeper than a 25 red. It is extremely fine grained. I rate it at 50 and develop it in PMK pyro, but any number of developers should work decently. It has its own look.

The current II version has slightly less blue sensitivity than the original Acros, and a slightly longer straight line down into the toe. But these differences are subtle. Sadly, Acros isn't available in sheet sizes anymore; but 120 roll film is easy to get.