Fuji Acros Returns in Autumn with Acros II in 35mm & 120

[darkosaric]

Ratty will dance a jig for sure.

Still did not replied in the thread, probably still drunk from happiness .

 

[markbau]

If you don't get sharp prints with ACROS, don't blame the film! It's not only fine-grained but high acutance (good edge effect). TMax 100 is more dependent on developer choice if you want good edge effect. I've shot both in sizes all the way from 35mm to 8x10. They're different, but both superb in their own way.

I developed it in D76 1:1 and in the grain magnifier the grain was noticeably soft, so much so it was hard to focus. It would be interesting to see what sort of grain resulted from developing it in XTOL.

 

[DREW WILEY]

Maybe an optometrist visit would help. Or perhaps a lens cloth. I dunno. There wouldn't even be so much interest in this topic, or so much pressure for them to re-issue ACROS if it wasn't a film highly appreciated by many. D76 should work just fine; but I like the results from staining pyro developer better. What kind of grain magnifier do you use, and what enlarging lens?

 

[mshchem]

My favorite film for 20 years is TMY Tmax 400 in XTOL 1:1 or if I'm using the Jobo straight. 90 % of what I shoot is 6x9 or 6x6.

I grew to be found of Acros when I got a deal on the funnest camera I've ever had Fuji G617. Fixed 105mm lens, Acros with a contrast filter or without, awesome. I went out last fall with a Hassleblad, 501 cm with the kit 80mm. I shot some snaps of a train engine. Acros, XTOL, even without any sky filter I was getting decent sky and clouds. There was every zone in those shots. No fancy printing, I did take care to get exposure of the prints right, toned in selenium.

Hopefully the new stuff is great too.

 

[markbau]

Maybe an optometrist visit would help. Or perhaps a lens cloth. I dunno. There wouldn't even be so much interest in this topic, or so much pressure for them to re-issue ACROS if it wasn't a film highly appreciated by many. D76 should work just fine; but I like the results from staining pyro developer better. What kind of grain magnifier do you use, and what enlarging lens?

I was using a 100mm Componon S with a Peak magnifier with the swivel eyepiece. As a result of your reply I pulled out my old microscope and same thing, grain was not nearly as sharp-edged (what I would call soft) when compared to the grain of FP4 or Tri X. Look, its an individual/subjective thing. I have never responded to T grain films yet some of the greatest prints I've ever seen were by Howard Bond who used 8x10 TMax 400 for many years but interestingly he used contrast masks to increase apparent sharpness. I know a lot of photographers that love T grain films and I know a lot that dislike them, I guess I'm in the latter group.

 

[DREW WILEY]

Thank you, markbau. The Howard Bond prints that were from masked negatives that I've personally seen were from 4x5 TMax100. So I can't speak about anything 8x10 400-speed except from lots of personal experience. I'm going to do some masking this afternoon. But an unsharp mask can be used to enhance edge density and is a useful tool when TMX100 seems disappointing in this respect. I happened to like the gentle-edge response of TMX for portraiture, but certainly not for landscape or architectural subjects. I don't want to get into details here, but if someone just wants better edge effect in TMX, there is a developer trick that will do it to. Or some people use Delta 100 instead, which is a fine-grained T-grain film too, but realistically a stop slower than TMX100 if you want everything up on the straight line section; but even then you still won't get as much deep shadow separation. Now back to ACROS, now that I know specifically how you're viewing it on the easel. The way the paper sees the grain and the way we do through a grain magnifier is somewhat different. And the grain of ACROS is admittedly especially difficult to focus on until your almost right at precise focus. So what I do is try to bring it into range wearing a strong pair of reading glasses looking at a blank sheet of paper on the easel until it seems to be in focus. And only then do I shift to using my Peak Critical Focus magnifier to get it truly precise. If you're just a little off one way or another, the grain seems to disappear; but it's there. You might also try focusing a stop down from maximum aperture. I can't recall any focus shift issues when I used Componon S lenses, but it's a hypothetical problem. Now I mostly use high-end Apo enlarging lenses which reveal the grain and edge effect more crisply. Pyro development also helps. I'm not trying to convert you to routinely using ACROS, or TMax either, but just offering a few hints if you choose to do so. FP4 is a lot easier to focus; and Tri-X has grain like buckshot, generally not to my liking, but once in awhile I want some grit in the print.

 

[Agulliver]

Acros, 120 and 135. It's more likely we will see Woolly Mammoth clones than Fuji making pack film.

Sad but likely true. The word is that Fuji have already scrapped the machinery that made the pack film.

They may be in a position to resurrect some 135 and 120 products...but manufacturing pack film? The capability is long gone.

 

[Deleted member 88956]

If Acros in 35/120 takes hold and demand is there, cut film will also be back, and then may be pack film as well. Only potential profit will make that work, not sentiment to a few bickering I-want-it-alls.

I don't see demand large enough to resurect pack film, short of another "ambitious" entity taking in a million from Kickstarter for a see you later "success" story

 

[Prest_400]

Good Fuji news, I just got a couple propacks of Provia 100F. E6 feels sort of dead ended compared to BW, when having access to a fully equipped community darkroom, but quite fun to see 6x9 negs in.

I have some Acros negs shot years ago and developed by a lab, presumably with XTOL. Grain so fine it's hard to focus when enlarging Medium format to 10" wide paper, and I am a mid 20 year old!

A particularity I really like, and got a compliment on a print, is that the spectral response keeps skies as if a mild yellow filter was used. I understand most B&W films will tend to have more washed out skies without a Yellow filter but Acros (and TMY) have less blue "over-sensitivity" IIRC.

 

[Ces1um]

I wonder what the Fujifilm haters will say....

I bet they'll charge $24 a roll for it?

 

[Andrew O'Neill]

Good Fuji news, I just got a couple propacks of Provia 100F. E6 feels sort of dead ended compared to BW, when having access to a fully equipped community darkroom, but quite fun to see 6x9 negs in.

I have some Acros negs shot years ago and developed by a lab, presumably with XTOL. Grain so fine it's hard to focus when enlarging Medium format to 10" wide paper, and I am a mid 20 year old!

A particularity I really like, and got a compliment on a print, is that the spectral response keeps skies as if a mild yellow filter was used. I understand most B&W films will tend to have more washed out skies without a Yellow filter but Acros (and TMY) have less blue "over-sensitivity" IIRC.

Yes, if one looks at Acros spectral sensitivity chart, you can see that there is a significant dip in the blues.

 

[markbau]

. You might also try focusing a stop down from maximum aperture. I can't recall any focus shift issues when I used Componon S lenses, but it's a hypothetical problem. Now I mostly use high-end Apo enlarging lenses which reveal the grain and edge effect more crisply. Pyro development also helps. I'm not trying to convert you to routinely using ACROS, or TMax either, but just offering a few hints if you choose to do so. FP4 is a lot easier to focus; and Tri-X has grain like buckshot, generally not to my liking, but once in awhile I want some grit in the print.

I only ever print using the optimum aperture for that particular lens, which in the case of the 100mm is f7. For straight B&W work I do not agree that a regular APO lens renders grain more crisply than a non APO lens does but stained pyro negs do seem to benefit from an APO lens in my experience. If you have a fabled Nikon APO I would agree as we had one at a lab I worked at once. Looking at the ACROS neg through a microscope was very informative, and it is consistent with all of the T grain films. Maybe there is a developer that renders the grain edge of T grain films more sharply and I'd be interested in your "developer trick". Remember, Kodak introduced T grain film not to produce a better product but to reduce production costs. Have you ever printed Verichrome or Super XX negs?

 

[David Allen]

Aside from the fact that it totally is?

https://www.fujifilm.co.jp/corporate/news/articleffnr_1430.html

OK I see - I was just looking at the English and German sites.

So the announcement was made on 10 June 2019 but it is only listed on the Japanese home site and only in Japanese. The planned launch date is Autumn 2019.

I asked a Japanese friend to read it and the key points were:

• They state that they stopped making the Acros due to decrease in demand for black and white films and the difficulty in obtaining raw materials essential for production.
• They claim to have developed a new black and white film “Acros II” by using substitutes for raw materials that became difficult to obtain.
• The new film is supposed to benefit from new ‘Super Fine particle technology’ that controls the size of silver halide grains.
• They claim that it is sharper and finer grained than the old Acros but do not make any direct comparisons.

Bests,

David.
www.dsallen.de

 

[removedacct1]

Has it not occurred to anyone that there must have been years of R&D that went into "Acros II" before this announcement?? They couldn't possibly have reformulated the film in a matter of months. That suggests that the discontinuation of Acros Neopan was a marketing ploy to make sure all the old inventory got gobbled up quickly before the new version was announced. Don't be fooled by Fuji's "we found that demand for the film was greater than expected, so we are bringing it back in a new formulation. Aren't we great??!" I call BS.

 

[MattKing]

Remember, Kodak introduced T grain film not to produce a better product but to reduce production costs.

Somehow, I doubt that that was the rational.
If it was, I guess we just got lucky when the superb T-Max 400 was the result.

 

[markbau]

Somehow, I doubt that that was the rational.
If it was, I guess we just got lucky when the superb T-Max 400 was the result.

This is not conjecture, it was told to me by a fairly high-level Kodak sales rep over a few beers. In the late 70s, early 80s the price of silver skyrocketed and fearing overseas products undercutting them they went to work to reduce the silver content in their films by effectively flattening the silver grains, hence the T-grain. Now, pretty much all films are T grain which is wonderful if all you want to do with film is scan it.

 

[Klainmeister]

Just hopping on the excitement bandwagon: Acros has been my go-to for the last decade and I'm down to 6 120 rolls and 12 35mm rolls and was seriously worried what to do (although I must admit, I am very pleased with TMAX 100/400).

Acros was my favorite because combined with Pyrocat HD, it was one of the few films I found that had incredible--I mean absolutely incredible--resolution in medium format that was easy to print and didn't require filters. I never used yellow filters with that combo and got the right contrast 90% of the time. Some of my Mamiya 7 negatives with Acros/Pyro you would mistake for 4x5 prints based on the lack of grain, sharpness and overall resolution. Man, couldn't ask for a better combo.

The prospect of this film coming out and Ektachrome in 120 has me blowing some dust off ye' ol MF equipment. Celebrate!

 

[GLS]

Acros was my favorite because combined with Pyrocat HD, it was one of the few films I found that had incredible--I mean absolutely incredible--resolution in medium format

Agreed. That combination is superb.

 

[DREW WILEY]

Acros is one of the reasons I began shooting a lot of medium format again too. The prints looked like they belonged with the big boys, and weren't squirming with embarrassment in a same portfolio as 4X5 and 8x10 shots. But as far as T-grain emulsions being invented in the first place, namely TMax (Acros is really in a different category), it certainly wasn't just for
sake of saving silver. T-grains did allow less silver to capture more photons by changing the effective surface area. But if there was money to be saved, it was in how just two speeds of a similar product could now potentially replace the need to
manufacture half a dozen or more films and achieve the same result functionally, or in certain cases, even better. This is indeed true if you really explore what these films can do, as well as consult the full suite of provided technical literature about them, which almost nobody does other than the basic Tech sheets. Of course, commercial photographers were stubbornly comfortable with their routine suite of Super-XX, Tri-X, Plus-X, and reluctant to change. There is also the question of the specific "look" a film provides. And T-Max films are fussier to expose and develop, and still seem to be intimidating to beginners. But Kodaks's R&D strategy was on track and hit a bulls-eye as far as that went, especially now that TMY400 is so consistently fine-grained itself. But there is evidently still a lot of room left for excellent alternatives from Ilford etc., and in this case, ACROS from Fuji. I don't know why certain people on these threads are constantly seeking sinister motives behind R&D or product improvements. Yes, corporations are out to make money and are not philanthropic organizations. But if they're going to stay in business they also have to please their customers and provide them with suitable products. I was a
professional buyer for a distribution corporation for forty years, and of all people, have a right to complain about manufacturing bait and switch schemes, bleeding to death companies and deceiving customers with off-shored junk substitutes, slippery sales gimmicks, etc, but find it hard to believe that is the case here. ACROS isn't the kind of thing you find stacked in the aisles of WalMart of Home Depot or Target stores. It's a niche product for film photographers; and Fuji taking the trouble to remanufacture it isn't going to make them much wealthier. We should be grateful for the favor.

 

[brbo]

Has it not occurred to anyone that there must have been years of R&D that went into "Acros II" before this announcement?? They couldn't possibly have reformulated the film in a matter of months. That suggests that the discontinuation of Acros Neopan was a marketing ploy to make sure all the old inventory got gobbled up quickly before the new version was announced. Don't be fooled by Fuji's "we found that demand for the film was greater than expected, so we are bringing it back in a new formulation. Aren't we great??!" I call BS.

No it hasn't. As FAR more sensible (and still conspiratorial) explanation exist.

Acros 100 II is the same as the old one. They are bringing it back, in Japan only, for a short while, and then discontinuing it again shortly afterwards (lack of demand). They've done that before (Neopan 400). Why in the world would they pour years of R&D into a BW film. Because they are so dead serious about BW films? With a single emulsion? To prove what to whom?

Or, most probably, they really think there is enough demand for Acros and a slight reformulation (if at all) was no big deal.

 

[warden]

...Now, pretty much all films are T grain which is wonderful if all you want to do with film is scan it.

...or wet print it.

 

[MattKing]

Now, pretty much all films are T grain which is wonderful if all you want to do with film is scan it.

Or use it for alternative and traditional printing processes.

 

[perkeleellinen]

They are bringing it back, in Japan only, for a short while, and then discontinuing it again shortly afterwards (lack of demand). They've done that before (Neopan 400).

This was the story of Pro 800Z.

 

[halfaman]

It doesn't seem a similar story to me. I didn't recall any official reintroducing annoucement and neither a reformulation of either film stocks. Neopan 400 comeback looked like old stock commercialization and Pro 800Z was never reintroduced, just had a grace period.

 

[DREW WILEY]

How can anyone say this is the introduction of the same thing if they're never even seen or tested Acros version 2 ??? And the idea that it's a product only for Japanese consumption is unlikely. Most intelligent product introductions start out with central distribution first, see how it goes, then afterwards scale up to the quantity necessary for wider distribution if everything works out fine and the potential market appears to warrant it.