Is Fujifilm Superia X-tra 400 any good?

CGW · Jul 17, 2012

Uncle Bill said:
Fuji Superia 400 is a nice cheap C-41 film, it is what it is.

Royal Enfield by Bill Smith1, on Flickr

Big Sunflowers by Bill Smith1, on Flickr

Garden Gate Good Food. by Bill Smith1, on Flickr

Potted Flowers by Bill Smith1, on Flickr

I would not do anything critical with this film, that's what Fuji Pro 400H and Kodak Portra 160 and 400 are for, especially if people are involved. I still find Superia 400 fun to shoot with, just rate it down to 250 ISO and off you go.

Always get great results with Superia 200. Find 400 skin tones scary pink, almost Velvia-like. It's getting too pricey for what it delivers.

Excalibur2 · Jul 18, 2012

CGW said:
Always get great results with Superia 200. Find 400 skin tones scary pink, almost Velvia-like. It's getting too pricey for what it delivers.

In the UK, 35mm Fuji 400 is going for £1.48 at a supermarket called Morrisons.

Uncle Bill · Jul 18, 2012

CGW said:
Always get great results with Superia 200. Find 400 skin tones scary pink, almost Velvia-like. It's getting too pricey for what it delivers.

I should shoot more with some Superia 200. What do you rate it at?

Thing is B&H sell Superia 400 and 200 for dirt cheap, way cheaper than what you pay for at Shoppers Drug Mart.

CGW · Jul 18, 2012

Uncle Bill said:
I should shoot more with some Superia 200. What do you rate it at?

Thing is B&H sell Superia 400 and 200 for dirt cheap, way cheaper than what you pay for at Shoppers Drug Mart.

Like you, I'm unhappy with Fuji Superia pricing around the GTA. It's rarely a bargain now unless you can snag it when Shopper's has their "Life" Superia 200/400 on sale. Otherwise, it's not worth 5-6 bucks/24.

Agree, it's waaay cheaper from B&H and worth it. Have lots of 200 on hand, so I'm set. It's reasonably priced dev/print service around the GTA that's a royal pain now.

Box speed for Superia 200. I prefer the tamer contrast/saturation+better skin tones compared to 400. YMMV, as always.

BTW, try to make it to the next GTA/Toronto APUG meet-up. Hope to run another this month, another in August.

tron_ · Jul 18, 2012

Tony-S said:
I found mine at Amazon.com:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0002DDRRS/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00

That's where I got mine from as well. I'm trying out some Ektar right now so I hope I like it!

lancekingphoto · Jul 19, 2012

I ordered a 5-pack of Superia X-Tra 400 in 120 from Amazon - it was around US $20. I shot my first roll last weekend, and got the film back yesterday.

After sc**ning the whole roll, I'm fairly pleased with the results. It's certainly no Portra, but the colors look good - nice reds and greens. I was pleased with the way it handled one shot I took at dusk (I think a 1 second exposure), rendering the colors accurately. I'd say it's a good all-purpose consumer grade film. It doesn't seem as warm or saturated as Reala.

John_Nikon_F · Jul 22, 2012

I'm one of the few who don't like Fujicolor 200. Superia 200 was a good film, but, you can't get it locally anymore. It's been replaced with a different film. Greenish cast, not much in the way of contrast, etc. I'll take Superia X-TRA 400 (and 800) over it anyday. I haven't done a scientific experiment yet, but it seems that the grain on Superia 400 is a little less noticeable than 400H. Will have to get a roll of 400H and run that through the F2AS while I run this current roll of Superia 400 through the F4s.

I wish Reala was still available for 35mm. Was a very nice film. Not as tight, grain-wise as the current Ektar 100, though.

-J

Russ - SVP · Jun 16, 2018

I consider it an excellent 400 speed negative film. It’s nowhere near as nice as Portra 400 film, but it is an excellent film. I rate it at 320 , and get excellent results.

M-88 · Jun 16, 2018

Kiron Kid said:
I consider it an excellent 400 speed negative film. It’s nowhere near as nice as Portra 400 film, but it is an excellent film. I rate it at 320 , and get excellent results.

Single roll of portra 400 goes for at least 7.5$, sans shipping. That's 36 exposures. 0.20$ per single frame. You can get 4 rolls of 24 exposures for 10$ or so from Ebay. Unexpired. That's 0.10$ per frame. So Portra is nowhere near as cheap as Superia 400 either and for an amateur, such as me, it's THE BEST film for non-serious matters.

pentaxuser · Jun 16, 2018

Excalibur2 said:
In the UK, 35mm Fuji 400 is going for £1.48 at a supermarket called Morrisons.

"Thems were the days", he says, vowing never again to look at old threads which quote prices. Any cyanide in the house?

pentaxuser

albada · Jun 16, 2018

If you're scanning, you can fix most color problems in Gimp or Photoshop. Here's the earlier example taken in covered shade (bluish light) which I improved by boosting brightness and yellow.

Mark Overton

iphoenix · Jun 17, 2018

For many years I used Fuji 400 35mm films and have used Superia X-Tra since it came out.
I can't comment on it for "people" shots but, for my touring/architectural/scenic photography, it has been perfect.

David

macfred · Jun 17, 2018

I used a lot of Superia X-tra 400 in 120 - rated it at ISO 200. Unfortunately it's not available anymore.

Bronica ETRSi - Zenzanon PE 75mm f/2.8 - FUJI Superia Xtra 400 (@Iso 200) - Epson V600

RattyMouse · Jun 17, 2018

macfred said:
I used a lot of Superia X-tra 400 in 120 - rated it at ISO 200. Unfortunately it's not available anymore.

View attachment 202545

Bronica ETRSi - Zenzanon PE 75mm f/2.8 - FUJI Superia Xtra 400 (@Iso 200) - Epson V60

View attachment 202546
Bronica ETRSi - Zenzanon PE 75mm f/2.8 - FUJI Superia Xtra 400 (@Iso 200) - Epson V600

Gorgeous colors.

B & H lists plenty of Superia X-Tra 400 available now.

removed account4 · Jun 17, 2018

i used to get it ( 300 rolls at a time ) short date from a large local photo chain
cheap... no where near $7.50 a roll. its not hard to pick up a phone or drive
to a local shop and ask someone in person ( or email ) if they have short date film...
and consumer color film doesn't really go bad very fast.
i just shot a roll yesterday ( port 160 too ) but im processing them in ansco 130 + coffee to convert it to b/w.
they've got a great look in b/w...

M-88 · Jun 17, 2018

It seems to me that days of every 35 mm fuji film are counted, since the company ceased sales of film bundles. But I'm sure fresh X-tra 400 will be available at elast until 2020. After that - expired bundles. Five years of expiry isn't catastrophic for these films from what I've seen.

Ste_S · Jun 18, 2018

X-tra 400 will be one of films I mourn when Fuji eventually discontinues it, It's my everyday colour film. Have been trying Ultramax 400 but i miss the punch that the Fuji has. Probably time to stock up a freezer with X-tra 400.

RattyMouse · Jun 18, 2018

M-88 said:
It seems to me that days of every 35 mm fuji film are counted, since the company ceased sales of film bundles. But I'm sure fresh X-tra 400 will be available at elast until 2020. After that - expired bundles. Five years of expiry isn't catastrophic for these films from what I've seen.

I dont think Fujifilm will be making any 35mm film in 2020. I would stock up now while you still can at these low prices.

M-88 · Jun 18, 2018

RattyMouse said:
I dont think Fujifilm will be making any 35mm film in 2020. I would stock up now while you still can at these low prices.

I meant the date of expiration, not of production Fuji is a behemoth company and I suspect they are earning much more on their Instax stuff rather than on 35 mm films. Not to mention virtually any other photography-related product so I wouldn't be surprised if they cease production. I won't lie, I'm not stocking the pile of Fuji-film (soon to be Fuji-no-film) in the freezer because sooner or later that stock will also be gone and I'd much rather try to get used to Kodak films from today.

One of my last shots on X-tra 400 with Oly OM-4

macfred · Jun 18, 2018

Does anyone have a source for (now expired) X-tra 400 in 120 ?
Two years ago one could get lots of (Pro packs with 5 rolls) on amazon or ebay. Not a single roll these days.

RattyMouse · Jun 18, 2018

macfred said:
Does anyone have a source for (now expired) X-tra 400 in 120 ?
Two years ago one could get lots of (Pro packs with 5 rolls) on amazon or ebay. Not a single roll these days.

I saw Superia in 120 size a single time in my life, in Rome Italy. I bought one roll. Other than that, the only C41 film in 120 size available when I was in Asia was Reala 100, 160NS, and 400H. Of course, Reala 100 disappeared a long time ago leaving only the pro films. I always thought it very strange that not a single consumer color film was available in 120 size from Fuji.

RattyMouse · Jun 18, 2018

M-88 said:
I meant the date of expiration, not of production Fuji is a behemoth company and I suspect they are earning much more on their Instax stuff rather than on 35 mm films. Not to mention virtually any other photography-related product so I wouldn't be surprised if they cease production. I won't lie, I'm not stocking the pile of Fuji-film (soon to be Fuji-no-film) in the freezer because sooner or later that stock will also be gone and I'd much rather try to get used to Kodak films from today.

One of my last shots on X-tra 400 with Oly OM-4

Gorgeous color. Just beautiful.

flavio81 · Jun 18, 2018

I never liked XTRA 400. It was too contrasty compared to the other Superias -- which I liked a lot: 100, 200, 800, and 1600, my total favorites being 100 and 1600.

erian · Jun 18, 2018

macfred said:
Does anyone have a source for (now expired) X-tra 400 in 120 ?
Two years ago one could get lots of (Pro packs with 5 rolls) on amazon or ebay. Not a single roll these days.

This is how it is. You better grab some PRO160NS before this also runs dry. You can try to push it 1 stop to get more contrast out of it.

ericdan · Jun 18, 2018

Don't know if the X-tra 400 is any different from the 400.
In Japan we only have
Superia 100
Superia 200
Superia X-tra 400
Superia Venus 800
Natura 1600

I think it's just different packaging.

Is Fujifilm Superia X-tra 400 any good?

lancekingphoto

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