Fujifilm C41 in Japan

RattyMouse · Mar 18, 2018

Strange situation for C41 here in Japan.

I can not find a single roll of the following here in Kyoto:

Kodak Portra 160
Kodak Portra 400
Kodak Ektar 100
Fujifilm C200

Instead, what i can find is:

Fujicolor 100 (100 speed color film?)
Super X-Tra 400
Superia Premium 400 (much more expensive than X-Tra 400)
400H
Venus 800

I had planned to shoot all Kodak Ektar 100 since I scan my film and that one scans beautifully. However, none of the stores have it (or any Kodak color film) so I have been forced to shoot 400 speed film. I never heard of Fujicolor 100 and it's boxed in a very low grade way that makes me think it's not the best film.

It's very odd that Fujifilm makes three 400 speed color films. It's long past the time to optimize your product line Fuji.

lantau · Mar 18, 2018

The Superia Premium is made only for the Japanese market and is lower contrast. The 400H is the professional film matching Portra and has the lowest contrast. I've seen a chart somewhere. Shops in some Asian countries sell the Superia Premium as well. I've used only one roll of the 100 so far, but haven't digitised it yet. The negatives looks just like any C41 negative. I will try out RA4 this year and I'm really looking forward to see how that 100 will look like relative to the 400 when printed optically.

Not sure what you mean with a low grade box. You mean the white ones with green print, usually translated as Fuji Industrial? I love that packaging, they are supposed to be sold in 100piece bulk packages for commercial users, not individually. Hence the simple boxes.

mooseontheloose · Mar 18, 2018

Yeah, Kyoto sucks for on-the-spot film availability, especially for non-Fuji films. They used to have plenty of stock behind the counter, but now it might be only one or two boxes of any particular film emulsion. Which is why I stock up with online orders, when I remember to do it on time (not that that helps tourists or even regulars like me who don't have time to wait for an online order). What I don't understand is that they are clearly selling film - yet they don't keep enough in store for people who would buy more if they had it.

As for Fuji's colour neg film, I can't even remember the last time I shot it (I mostly shoot slides, if and when I do shoot colour, since I have a ton of Provia sitting in my film fridge/freezer). I like the 400H but haven't shot enough of it to compare it to Kodak's offerings.

cmacd123 · Mar 18, 2018

by fuji 100 do you mean this stuff? https://buyfilm.ca/product/fuji-industrial-100-color-negative-film-35mm-roll-film-36-exposures/

RattyMouse · Mar 18, 2018

cmacd123 said:
by fuji 100 do you mean this stuff? https://buyfilm.ca/product/fuji-industrial-100-color-negative-film-35mm-roll-film-36-exposures/

No, not that one. I have not seen Fuji Industrial film anywhere during my time in Japan. The box for Fujicolor 100 is red, which makes it rather strange in the Fuji world. I'll snap a photo of it the next time I'm in the store.

RattyMouse · Mar 18, 2018

mooseontheloose said:
Yeah, Kyoto sucks for on-the-spot film availability, especially for non-Fuji films. They used to have plenty of stock behind the counter, but now it might be only one or two boxes of any particular film emulsion. Which is why I stock up with online orders, when I remember to do it on time (not that that helps tourists or even regulars like me who don't have time to wait for an online order). What I don't understand is that they are clearly selling film - yet they don't keep enough in store for people who would buy more if they had it.

As for Fuji's colour neg film, I can't even remember the last time I shot it (I mostly shoot slides, if and when I do shoot colour, since I have a ton of Provia sitting in my film fridge/freezer). I like the 400H but haven't shot enough of it to compare it to Kodak's offerings.

Times have changed. When I first started coming to Kyoto, the film supply was vast an unlimited. Now it's dwindled down to nearly nothing, and in this, one of THE most photographed cities in the world. Fujifilm should have a major presence in this city. I'm sure they would, if they cared at all about staying in the film business.

Arcadia4 · Mar 18, 2018

RattyMouse said:
The box for Fujicolor 100 is red,

Like this?

Poisson Du Jour · Mar 18, 2018

RattyMouse said:
I'm sure they would, if they cared at all about staying in the film business.

Ahh, I'm not convinced that's their intention going forward...

RattyMouse · Mar 18, 2018

Arcadia4 said:
Like this?

Nope. It's a red box, not green (if I remember right, which I am starting to doubt). The name Fujifilm is not on the box, only Fujicolor. I'll have a pic up in a few hours.

RattyMouse · Mar 18, 2018

Arcadia4 said:
Like this?

Yep, that’s it. God my memory sucks. I could have sworn the box was red.

mooseontheloose · Mar 19, 2018

So I was at Yodobashi today to drop off some film and I noticed they had numerous 5-roll packs of Portra 160 and 400 (35mm) and I think one or two packs in 120. This was all behind the counter, on the bottom shelf - not in the film coolers (not that they've actually had the coolers on in years now, but that's another story). No Ektar though. I gathered up all the HP5+ and Delta 400 120 film in the store - 2 rolls each (!). Sorry, I don't know if that helps you at all or if you are still in Kyoto. Did you go to BIC Camera as well? Sometimes they have stock that Yodobashi doesn't (not often, but it happens occasionally).

Fujifilm C41 in Japan

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