Fuji Acros experiences

Please forgive the latest of my semi newbie (and to some extent dumbass) questions, but can anyone here share their experience of Fuji Acros in sheet format?

i.e how does it compare with Ilford Fp4, are processing times similar to the 120 format Acros, and so on. Plus has anyone used Fuji's own chemistry to develop it?

I'm only asking as I'd like to get an idea of how to get the best of it's capabilities - it is not directly available in the UK, neither is the chemistry. However http://www.japanexposures.com/ is able to ship it to the UK, but I'd rather save the hassle of buying just one box and chemistry to find a) It processes just that bit differently from the roll that I waste negs. b) Fuji's chemistry performs differently than expected (pretty much at ease with Acros roll processed in Rodinal, but I'd like to know if there is any advantage to using their dev chemistry). c) I use up more of the box than necessary testing, and then find I run out just when I need it.

The problem just now is that currently funds are limited as I am between jobs, but having done a pre-employment training course I am in line for one. Unfortunately I've been told that it may be mid to late May before I start and begin to get paid. . .

I don't have the specifics here at the office, but dev times aren't terribly different. Very
different animals otherwise. ACROS is orthopan rather than panchromatic per se, so gives
a different look to foliage etc, and has much better recip characteristics with long exp.
It is finer grained, but I personally use it at the same speed as FP4.

I have not used it in sheet format, but love it in 120. As an aside macrodirect.de also have Acros and are EU based, I have not however used them myself and they are quite a bit more expensive. If you do get some from Japanexposures I would be interested in knowing how it works out, and if you end up getting charged VAT as that it always a killer.

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Originally Posted by Nguss

I have not used it in sheet format, but love it in 120. As an aside macrodirect.de also have Acros and are EU based, I have not however used them myself and they are quite a bit more expensive. If you do get some from Japanexposures I would be interested in knowing how it works out, and if you end up getting charged VAT as that it always a killer.

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Ouch! even with getting stung by the VAT man, Japanexposures looks marginally cheaper. Considering whacking a slightly larger order on credit then re-couping costs by auctioning off the extra film.

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Originally Posted by Drew Wiley

I don't have the specifics here at the office, but dev times aren't terribly different. Very
different animals otherwise. ACROS is orthopan rather than panchromatic per se, so gives
a different look to foliage etc, and has much better recip characteristics with long exp.
It is finer grained, but I personally use it at the same speed as FP4.

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Drew, what do you mean orthopan? Looking at Fuji's spectral sensitivity graph for Acros shows a bit more sensitivity at the red end of the spectrum than their other B/W offerings. My understanding of "ortho" films was a lack of red sensitivity...what did I miss?

I've been using Acros for a decade. Fuji lists it as a panchromatic film and it acts like a panchromatic film.

Nope Kirk. Take a close look at the red end of the spectral sensitivity chart. Then take something like a hard 29 filter and see what happens - anything stronger than a 25 will
simply attenuate about a stop of the shadows, despite compensation. Or do the reverse
and take a green filter which would ordinarily naturalize the look of foliage in pan films -
they go way up in scale with ACROS. That's why I love the stuff in the mtns - the conifers
are more buoyant, the skies more subtle. The only other popular film with analogous characteristics is Efke 25, also orthopan (not ortho either).

I use a lot of Acros, and I think there's no better film in its speed class, and plenty that are worse. It looks fantastic developed in 510-Pyro or Obsidian Aqua. Lately I've been experimenting with sharp, medium and slow films, exposed in hard light with a soft lens, and developed in acutance developers, and I really like the look -- creamy, smooth, grainless, and with high definition.

[IMG]http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7043/6...ab22cf44_z.jpg Untitled by Jay DeFehr, on Flickr[/IMG]

Excuse the poor lighting -- I'm still learning.

Gosh Jay, at least on the screen that shot sure has that lovely "illuminated from within" look. An actual print must be wonderful. To do that with TMX back in the day, I had to add a light yellow-green filter, and it still wasn't as subtle. The effect is subtle, and hard to achieve with a typical pan film.

David - "orthopan" is simply a sub-category of panchromatic and might not appear as an official designation in marketing literature. It has less
red sensitivity and therefore slightly more green sensitivity than typcial pan films. The opposite would be "extended red" pan film like Tech Pan or
early TMax (not the current version). Even IR films are technically panchromatic. True otho films, on the other hand, are not supposed to see red light at all, or else are very insensitive to this. But some graphics
ortho films are basically blue-sensitive, with just a hint of green sensitivity.
With a film like ACROS, diagnostically working with sharp-cutting separation filters will quickly differentiate the orthopan nuance from typical pan taking films like FP4.

As far as processing, I have been using Kodaks time for 100 TMax for Xtol 1:1 and Fuji's time for Xtol straight. I rotary process 4x5 and the hand inversion method for 35mm and 120.

BTW I stopped using a red filter to darken the sky with Acros as it didn't seem to have much effect but darkened the foilage instead.

Thomas

Actually you are right Drew. I ran across a recent Fuji tech bulletin that referred to it as orthopanchromatic. I always just thought of it as a somewht idiosyncratic (and wonderful) pan film.

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Originally Posted by Drew Wiley

Gosh Jay, at least on the screen that shot sure has that lovely "illuminated from within" look. An actual print must be wonderful. To do that with TMX back in the day, I had to add a light yellow-green filter, and it still wasn't as subtle. The effect is subtle, and hard to achieve with a typical pan film.

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Thanks, Drew. I printed it on the new Ilford Art 300, and Kentmere Kentona -- not sure which I prefer. In any case, the silver prints are just proofs for a carbon print.

Well, I think that about makes my mind up. Now as soon as I get confirmation about the potential job that's headed my way I'm going to whack a nice bulk order in :)

One of the most compelling reasons to use Acros, in my mind, is the insane reciprocity characteristics. 0 corrections necessary out to 1000s - that makes it really useful for nighttime photography and such.