Have you noticed any defects with recent Fuji 400 35mm film sold at drug stores in the USA?

[Certain Exposures]

Hello, have you noticed speckling with a similar pattern and position on multiple frames on a roll of fresh Fuji 400 35mm film you purchased in the last few months? The pattern is on the negative itself - not dust or debris. It creates a large cluster of fine, yellow dots on the frame when you invert the negative. I've noticed it on multiple frames a roll.

I'm reviewing my 35mm developing and scanning process in the meantime; however, a Portra 400 roll I developed in the same tank and chemistry didn't show a similar problem. I've developed 120 rolls in the same tank and chemistry, and at the same time, without observing a similar defect. I've decided to stop buying Fuji 400 for now.

 

[Pioneer]

Nope. Seems to be good film. I just finished developing 10 rolls in my Jobo. It came out fine.

 

[koraks]

It creates a large cluster of fine, yellow dots on the frame when you invert the negative.

Let's see some examples.
Defects on negatives are common. They're 99.95% of the time related to some kind of problem with processing, either chemically or digitally. Actual film defects are very rare.

 

[Certain Exposures]

Thanks @Pioneer . @koraks , I will post some next weekend.

 

[Tim Stapp]

Please tell me, what drug stores are you finding this film??? I've not seen any color film in local stores (less than an hour and a half away), let alone any Fuji.

 

[Pioneer]

Please tell me, what drug stores are you finding this film??? I've not seen any color film in local stores (less than an hour and a half away), let alone any Fuji.

I have been buying mine at Walmart since last year. They always seem to have a few three-packs of 36 exposure film on the shelf most of the time. I also noticed that the CVS Drug Store is carrying it as well. There is usually very little film in the stores around here so this has really been nice.

 

[Certain Exposures]

Please tell me, what drug stores are you finding this film??? I've not seen any color film in local stores (less than an hour and a half away), let alone any Fuji.

I have found Fujifilm 400 available at CVS in several states in the east coast of the USA. Maybe MI is an outlier.

 

[thinkbrown]

In recent memory I've seen Fuji 400 at CVS in Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, and Georgia, Walmart in Massachusetts and New Hampshire, and Walgreens in Massachusetts. It's the only 35mm film they stock but they do often have Instax mini, Polaroid 600, or i-type

 

[Taylor K Nankervis]

Where to drugstores (we call 'em Chemists Downunder...) store their films, on a shelf without refrigeration/controlled storage? Wouldn't even buy a roll of Kodak from K-Mart because they store it in an environment with pillows, chewing gum and batteries that is persistently uncomfortably warm to too hot.

 

[Wallendo]

If if is a repeatable pattern in the same location on multiple frames, I would worry about a camera issue. I can’t image how a manufacturing defect could cause such a problem.

I have had similar problems with a cloth shutter camera with tiny holes in the shutter curtains.

 

[Pioneer]

Yeah. I used to burn holes in the shutter curtains on my Leica about once every year. That was not a problem with my Contax II.

 

[Certain Exposures]

@Taylor K Nankervis That's a good point. I did not think about that.

@Wallendo I shone a flashlight through my curtains and no light escaped (to my eyes). Is there a better way for me to judge the curtains than that?

I will share examples in a week or two. I need to scan and ask the model.

 

[Certain Exposures]

I am still slowly going through a backlog before I can share scans.

 

[loccdor]

Where to drugstores (we call 'em Chemists Downunder...) store their films, on a shelf without refrigeration/controlled storage? Wouldn't even buy a roll of Kodak from K-Mart because they store it in an environment with pillows, chewing gum and batteries that is persistently uncomfortably warm to too hot.

The turnover should be fast enough for it not to matter if they consider it worth putting on the shelves. Plus this consumer film is designed to handle poor temperature control. I've never been in a warm drugstore in the USA, they all have air conditioning.

 

[Certain Exposures]

Maybe so, locddor.

I will share examples in a week or two. I need to scan and ask the model.

I am still slowly going through a backlog before I can share scans.

I won't be able to share the examples I was considering. I may not update this thread for a while because I will have to get methodical to check several things and possibly reach out to a few companies.

 

[Certain Exposures]

Just noting here that I developed some black and white film in the same Patterson tank. It was spotless.

I used the same camera, a different lens, fresh developer, fresh stop bath, re-used fixer, re-used hypo wash, and the same scanner. I should be able to rule out a camera body issue. So it could be the C-41 chemistry, a lens filter, or the lens.

Here's a link to an interesting discussion about C-41 chemistry reuse and printing.

 

[Wallendo]

I haven't noticed this problem, but I don't really shoot a lot of C-41 film.

I did wonder, after re-reading this thread, whether the Fuji film in question was made in Japan or the US. The US version is widely suspected to be relabelled Kodak Gold. If the film is made in the US, I would expect the same issues to arise with Kodak Gold film.

 

[Certain Exposures]

I'll have to check the box later and report back, @Wallendo . I am not sure.

 

[Certain Exposures]

I'll have to check the box later and report back, @Wallendo . I am not sure.

The box said made in the USA.

Just noting here that I developed some black and white film in the same Patterson tank. It was spotless.

I used the same camera, a different lens, fresh developer, fresh stop bath, re-used fixer, re-used hypo wash, and the same scanner. I should be able to rule out a camera body issue. So it could be the C-41 chemistry, a lens filter, or the lens.

Here's a link to an interesting discussion about C-41 chemistry reuse and printing.

Update:

I used the same camera, same lens and lens filter as the previous problem roll, fresh C-41 chemistry and saw the same issue on just a couple frames of the Fuji 400 roll. The 120 roll (Gold) I developed in the same tank at the same did not have the issue.

I will share whenever I figure this out.