Is Ilford XP-2 the only 120 C-41 film available?

PeterAM · Aug 3, 2013

I am thinking about a couple of projects using my Mamiya RZ and 645 and would like to use (at least to start) B&W C-41 film. A bit of looking around on the Internet (B&H and Freestyle) comes up with Ilford XP-2 Super 400 ISO as the only choice. Is this the only C-41 120 film available in the US?

Posted to the wrong section; will re-post on B&W. Sorry.

TheFlyingCamera · Aug 3, 2013

If Kodak has discontinued their Tmax 400 BWCN film, then yes. I don't remember if they have canned that product or not. I used to shoot it, and it was good stuff, but it has been the better part of a decade since I last used it.

pentaxuser · Aug 3, 2013

Doesn't Fuji still do a 120 chromogenic? I don't think this was one of the discontinued films and certainly it can be obtained in the U.K.. Of course I cannot say if it is distributed in the U.S. and have given up trying to understand Fuji's policy on anything

If you cannot get it then if it is any consolation I am sure I have heard it said that it is produced by Ilford under licence but I cannot state that as a fact. If true however then it is likely to be very similar to Ilford XP2+

pentaxuser

BMbikerider · Aug 3, 2013

It seems like Ilford is the only survivor with a 120 chromogenic B&W film. The major UK suppliers all show only the Ilford version.

pentaxuser · Aug 3, 2013

BMbikerider said:
It seems like Ilford is the only survivor with a 120 chromogenic B&W film. The major UK suppliers all show only the Ilford version.

You are right and yet the Fujifilm U.K. site still carries information on the 400CN film. Was this one of the films discontinued? Even Amazon is saying " we don't know when or if this film will be available again"

Silverprint had an ETA(Estimated Time of Arrival) date of late April but that date has come and gone and still no change to its notice.

Things go from bad to worse in terms of knowing Fuji's intentions.

pentaxuser

AgX · Aug 3, 2013

pentaxuser said:
Doesn't Fuji still do a 120 chromogenic? I don't think this was one of the discontinued films and certainly it can be obtained in the U.K.. Of course I cannot say if it is distributed in the U.S. and have given up trying to understand Fuji's policy on anything

Not Fuji, but Lucky. And only as type 135.

pentaxuser · Aug 4, 2013

Given that Ilford made the Fuji CN400 but has as its rival its own XP2+ then it would seem( my thoughts only - not fact) that Fuji concluded it couldn't compete with film such as XP2+ that had a longer pedigree, going back to XP1 in the 80s.

When viewed in that light it was perhaps surprising that Fuji ever bothered in the first place but of course it seems as if the same thought process revived Neopan 400 only to discontinue it less than a year later.

Out of curiosity are there any APUGers with experience of both films and if so how did they compare?

Thanks

pentaxuser

Ian Grant · Aug 4, 2013

For quite a while Fuji CN400 wasn't available in the UK/EU and US, only in Japan, but companies started importing it privately, same with Neopan 1600. In the end Fuji distributed them themselves.

Fuji's B&W papers aren't exported either.

Ian

Robert Ley · Aug 4, 2013

Peter
To answer your original question w/o getting side tracked by the history of Fuji C-41 film...yes the Ilford XP-2 super is the only B&W C-41 film available in the US.

As you know, they have this film at B&H for $4.75 a roll. I have used it and it is a good film and B&H is a wonderful source to deal with.

Get the film and good luck with your project.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

mr rusty · Aug 7, 2013

Out of curiosity are there any APUGers with experience of both films and if so how did they compare?

Before I started my darkroom I was using both XP2 and Fuji CN400, mainly because I was buying from 7dayshop and they stopped selling Ilford for a while so I switched to Fuji. I can't tell any difference on the negs/scans I got from either film. I think both are excellent and produce negs with nice tones with virtually zero grain that make traditional prints as good as any conventional B&W film.

(there was a url link here which no longer exists)
(there was a url link here which no longer exists)

pentaxuser · Aug 7, 2013

Thanks mr rusty. So essentially we have lost nothing in terms of either a different or better chromogenic film than XP2+ now that Fuji has discontinued its CN400 - except maybe a little healthy price competition

pentaxuser

Is Ilford XP-2 the only 120 C-41 film available?

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