A friend of mine seems to think that Fuji Instant land film is about 90000% better than Polaroid Instant.
Thoughts?
I have never used Fuji
A friend of mine seems to think that Fuji Instant land film is about 90000% better than Polaroid Instant.
Thoughts?
I have never used Fuji
Hello tzibs,
I have used both, and in some ways they are very equal. When you compare Fuji FP100C to Polaroid 690, they are very close in colour response to each other. Compare the Fuji to Polaroid 669, then the Fuji is much brighter, more staturated, and higher contrast. Remember that usually these are used for proofing, or doing a lighting and exposure check, and less often as finished images.
If you intend to do Polaroid manipulations, the Fuji Instant films are very tough to get to do anything. It is easier to manipulate Polaroid films. It seems the plastic base or some method they use to bond the chemicals and dyes to the carrier make it difficult to manipulate Fuji Instant films.
One other advantage on Fuji Instant is FP100C is available in larger pack sizes. Those fit the old Polaroid 550 back, or the larger Fuji instant film back. Unfortunately, that costs more than the smaller sizes that fit the type 405 pack film back.
Ciao!
Gordon Moat
A G Studio
Well, yes, the 4x5 pack film costs more than the 3x4, but it has almost twice the image area -- and it's a *lot* cheaper than 4x5 "packet" film (the single exposure packets, that is). I traded a 550 back away a while back, planning to get a 405 instead (which I still don't have); now I'm wishing I hadn't. Might have to look for one on eBay...Originally Posted by Gordon Moat
If a contact print at arm's length is too small to see, you need a bigger camera. :D
Some thoughts on Fuji vs Polaroid Instant Film:
1. Color. If you're tired of explaining to clients how to "read" a color polaroid, then Fuji will be a marvelous relief. While very saturated, the color is 1,000,000 times better on the Fuji color pack film.
2. Film holder. Yes, you need a Fuji holder, not a Polaroid holder. Sounds bad, right? Well, if you're tired of cleaning exploded gunk from finicky rollers, and using a cheapo hunk of junk for a holder ( unless you have the early all-metal Polaroid ), you will LOVE the smooth, precision, solid and RELIABLE feel of the Fuji. They really did it right. You won't waste nearly as many sheets due to a bad pull, bad developer packet, or streaks, etc, and you won't spend your life "field stripping" your Polaroid back either if you get some Fuji.
3. Sharpness. Fuji instant looks quite a bit sharper to the naked eye, which is very nice if you need to check focus. Type 55 Polaroid is much better still however for critical sharpness tests, provided that you look at the neg instead of its print. Fuji has no Type 55 alternative that I know of, and it's a real shame that they don't because their holder system is so much better.
4. Ease of loading. The Fuji pack system is much easier and faster to load when you're in a hurry.
5. Transfers. Sorry - it's tough to get the emulsion off of the Fuji, and also harder to damage prints made with it. Emulsions transfers should work better with Polaroid. While some people may be doing transfers with Fuji, I found that the emulsion really sticks to the "paper" on it. Also, I think the Polaroid has more documentation for transfers.
If you want pretty darned good sharpness, and color from instant pack film, Fuji rocks!
Anybody know what the reciprocity law failure is like on the fuji. Polaroid is absolutely AWFUL that way. Anything over a few seconds - and there's really no point in using it to check exposure. All bets are off, in my book.
You may also love to use 3000 speed black & white, great for handheld stuff, like 1/125 @ f32
http://www.flickr.com/photos/megaperls/tags/fujifp3000/
And yes, they appear very sharp.
Last edited by Dirk Rösler; 14-Aug-2006 at 20:42.
Hey,
I've got a Polaroid 545i back for my 4x5. Did I read this correctly, You can't use fuji instant film in the polaroid back?
THat seems kindve weird. But then again, 4x5 is weird.
T
Yes, to use "Fujiroid", you do need the Fuji holder. The 545 is for single sheets. Fuji comes in a film pack, which is easier to load and works much better. Don't feel bad, the Fuji holder is a big part of what's good about it. I actually saved money with the Fuji holder because no sheets have been damaged so far. With the 545, accidents do happen, and wasting at least a bit of film is a given.
Actually, just that Polaroid back. If you have a Polaroid 550 Pack film holder, the larger Fuji Instant will work in that. The smaller and less expensive Fuji Instant will fit into a Polaroid 405 Pack film holder.
Ciao!
Gordon Moat
A G Studio
I much prefer fuji fp100b to any b&w polaroid film I have used. Let's see, I think I have some examples, these are flatbed scans from images shot on fp100b, all done on an rb67:
http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c7...nolia_pola.jpg
http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c7...chid_pola1.jpg
http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c7...rder_dec06.jpg
Just for reference, the web shots represent scans from ~6x6cm areas, these were medium format shots, not large format. So actually the detail is quite remarkable, I think.
What caught my eye with fp100b is that one gets very decent dynamic range and the tones have a special quality that one can get very easily, you don't have to fuss a lot over exposure, it is quite forgiving. I find it really fun to use.
Bear in mind that the above images are 'artistically' exposed and the lighting isn't optimal, these were just light checks. In the two orchid shots I was deliberately overexposing and aiming for soft, light edges. The magnolia was more traditionally exposed. I don't think you can conclude much about film sharpness and dynamic range etc. by looking at these shots, but it's just to give you an idea of what the fuji stuff can do. After seeing these kinds of results I decided to shoot fp100b more seriously, in 4x5 format, and I am in the process of setting up for that, I just haven't had time and it takes a while to get it from Japan.
I am going to spend more time checking out the other variants, such as fp100c. I have previously hated colour polaroid, but after my experiences with the fuji stuff I might reconsider. But by the way, I kind of doubt that you can do transfers with the fuji stuff. I tried a few things but it hasn't worked yet.
By the way , I have also used the fast one, 3000b, and it isn't half bad. Not nearly as nice as 100b, but pretty decent. I did some pinhole stuff with it, and the reciprocity was fine. I notice on some Japanese sites that there are many other variants in between 100 and 3000, these might warrant some exploration.
Now, as for my level of experience with 'normal' b&w polaroid, I don't profess to have a lot of experience, because I absolutely detested most of it and only used it for quick exposure checks and then tossed it. But I did try just about all of the standard polaroids and the only one I have liked at all is the pos/neg, and only the negative itself, not the positive. I have used that with some success but don't exactly enjoy the process.
Bottom line: I don't think the normal polaroid stuff approaches the quality of the fuji stuff. The fuji stuff, to me, is actually a viable alternative to print film + printing. It's that nice. Actually, I would be really interested in shooting it in 8x10 if such a thing exists- apparently it does not yet. It was hard enough for me to find the 4x5 version.
Hope that is helpful in some way.
Keith
Last edited by keithwms; 28-Aug-2006 at 13:43.
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