What the heck is Neopan 100SS?

RattyMouse · Aug 21, 2014

Looking through Unique Photo's web site I find that they are selling Neopan 100SS? What is this film and is it possible that this is one still in production? I've never seen it here in Asia before. Ever. Or maybe it is just relabeled Acros? That must be it....

darkosaric · Aug 21, 2014

Relabeled Acros - if it is something else - we would know it by now.

MartinP · Aug 21, 2014

It is an old, very traditional emulsion from Fuji. Sort of the same style and similar idea to Verichrome-Pan, giving heavy but very printable negs. Production stopped about five years ago but any surviving old stock would be ok if stored reasonably (ie. not in an oven or x-ray machine). It has nothing to do with Acros or any other current Fuji film.

Edit: I just checked shipping for fifty rolls to NL, and the calculator gave a cost of $80 !!! I suppose that I won't be ordering any of that after all . . .

Thomas Bertilsson · Aug 21, 2014

darkosaric said:
Relabeled Acros - if it is something else - we would know it by now.

Far from it.

Neopan 100SS is a traditional film, with grain, sharpness and resolution similar to Neopan 400. It's very easy to overdevelop it, so be careful if you buy some.
I bought some years ago when it was still made, and Freestyle sold it inexpensively. Beautiful for portraits. Not great for landscapes. As far as I know it was available in 135 format only.

Xmas · Aug 21, 2014

RattyMouse said:
Looking through Unique Photo's web site I find that they are selling Neopan 100SS? What is this film and is it possible that this is one still in production? I've never seen it here in Asia before. Ever. Or maybe it is just relabeled Acros? That must be it....

precursor

http://www.lomography.com/magazine/reviews/films/871911981-fuji-neopan-ss

darkosaric · Aug 21, 2014

Thomas Bertilsson said:
Far from it.

Neopan 100SS is a traditional film, with grain, sharpness and resolution similar to Neopan 400. It's very easy to overdevelop it, so be careful if you buy some.
I bought some years ago when it was still made, and Freestyle sold it inexpensively. Beautiful for portraits. Not great for landscapes. As far as I know it was available in 135 format only.

Interesting. It is still in production, or those are some old stocks?

RattyMouse · Aug 21, 2014

Here's where I found it.

http://www.uniquephoto.com/film/fujifilm%2Dneopan%2D135%2D36%2D100asa%2D15175769

darkosaric · Aug 21, 2014

RattyMouse said:
Here's where I found it.

http://www.uniquephoto.com/film/fujifilm%2Dneopan%2D135%2D36%2D100asa%2D15175769

There also says "* Finest Grain Quality ISO 100 Black-and-White Film * " - same words they are using for Acros. It is easy to make confusion.

NB23 · Aug 21, 2014

Gorgeous film. Similar to plus-X

Thomas Bertilsson · Aug 21, 2014

darkosaric said:
Interesting. It is still in production, or those are some old stocks?

Old stock.

miha · Aug 21, 2014

RattyMouse said:
Looking through Unique Photo's web site I find that they are selling Neopan 100SS? What is this film and is it possible that this is one still in production? I've never seen it here in Asia before. Ever. Or maybe it is just relabeled Acros? That must be it....

See: Dead Link Removed

Richard S. (rich815) · Aug 21, 2014

I still have a few tins of this stuff in bulk. I like it. Its the anti-Tmax.

Thomas Bertilsson · Aug 21, 2014

miha said:
See: Dead Link Removed

I found it interesting to read. Thornton's experience is different from mine in the grain department; I found the film to have very pronounced grain for an ISO 100 film when I used it. Today that is something I would welcome in a film. Maybe I did something wrong. Never tried it with catechol or pyrogallol developers like DiXactol or PMK. Only Xtol and HC-110.

NickLimegrove · Aug 21, 2014

Neopan SS was discontinued (IIRC) in 2007, maybe a few years later. The Megaperls webshop (does it still exist?) used to carry bulk rolls of it as well. Occasionally you come across NOS of it in Europe, not in Germany though, where it was never distributed officially, probably due to its unfortunate name. Saw some in Spain a while ago (exp. 2013).

Justin Cormack · Aug 21, 2014

Yes Megaperls still exists, though it changed its name http://www.japanexposures.com/shop/

Trask · Aug 21, 2014

I shot a lot of 100SS back in the 1980's. For a ASA 100 film it had notable grain, but not to the extent it detracted -- it just reminded the viewer that they were looking at a photograph, damn it! I liked the tonality, and would use it again in specific circumstances if I still had some.

Trask · Aug 21, 2014

I took a look at the site -- they have "Fujifilm Neopan 120" with a photo image of a 5-pack of Acros and a written description that is clearly Acros, and for "Fujifilm Neopan 35mm BULK" they have the photo image of Neopan 100SS and a description that is not same as the description for the 120 Acros re: granularity etc. So...since they use the word "bulk" I'm wondering if they have some stocks of 100SS and are bulk loading it into cassettes to sell it off, and are using an old photo of 100SS in factory package.

I guess we'll only know if someone buys some!

wblynch · Aug 21, 2014

Anybody out there who would comment on how it compares to Plus-x or FP-4+ ?

oldlincoln · Aug 21, 2014

I think they just have the wrong picture. the description says its Acros.

Nuff · Aug 21, 2014

wblynch said:
Anybody out there who would comment on how it compares to Plus-x or FP-4+ ?

I would like to know this as well, I like Plus-X and I can still buy it in 35mm. But I can get Neopan SS for less...

Xmas · Aug 22, 2014

16x20s of Neopan SS, Plus-X, FP4+, Fomapan100, APX100, Adox CHS100, Kentmere100,... in blind test gonna be difficult to tell apart, maybe with a loupe you could rank them for grain and some might hold highlights better...

Christiaan Phleger · Aug 22, 2014

That Neopan SS is probably still good; In my experience shooting a fair bit of it in the late 90's/early to mid 00's it would definitely be categorized as a "Durable Film". Wide exposure range with a remarkably wide tolerance to processing variations made it a shoe in for education as it was pretty much difficult for it not to render some sort of image even with the most sloppiest of exposing and developing. When treated well it had the potential for pleasant results; it only got really 'interesting' with more extremes in processing, middle of the road processing gave middle of the road results (say D-76 1:1).
Its not bad in Xtol, never liked it in any dilution of Rodinal the grain got too granular, not really Softer just more mushy. I found if I wanted the more etched look I really liked it in UFG Stock.
From my understanding it was a pretty old emulsion. I would guess I first used a roll sometime around 1991 and I know that by then it had been around for a while. I have a few rolls stashed away in the freezer to shoot far in the future (next to the Plus-x and APX25).

Thomas Bertilsson · Aug 22, 2014

Here's a print I made from a negative I shot in 2008. Technically it isn't great, and I did overexpose the negative almost a stop. It's probably too small to really tell anything. The results do, to my eye, look a lot like Neopan 400 in terms of how it prints, tonality, etc. This is in Edwal 12 developer.
I like the film, and in most cases you can use an EI of about 80 for full shadow with most developers I've tried.

I would expect both Plus-X and FP4+ to have a longer straight portion of the tone curve. All three films have a gradual toe as well, not seriously abrupt like TMax. I wouldn't care whether I shot Neo SS, FP4, or Plus-X, really. All three films have been fantastic.

wblynch · Aug 22, 2014

Thanks. I've always wanted to try some Neopan SS but never got around to it. Plus-X is my personal favorite followed by Acros. I love the creamy tones of Plus-X.

It seems there is no compelling reason for me to stress trying to get some SS.

cmacd123 · Aug 22, 2014

The first B&W fuji film I ever bought back in the late 1960s early 1970s era was a roll each of Neopan SS and Neopan SSS. The design lasted a long time. I am not sure but I think the SSS was ASA 200.

What the heck is Neopan 100SS?

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