Shooting Fuji Superia X-Tra 400
Much like the Buddha we all need to stay calm in the face of popular film stocks being discontinued. 1/40s 35mm F1.4.
If you are into your film then you’ll be familiar with the sad but inevitable announcement that Fuji are ‘temporarily’ halting their production of all remaining colour films, slide and negative. However, with the steady stream of discontinuations Fuji have been giving us over the past few years it seems like this is just a polite way of saying ‘it’s over’. It’s incredibly frustrating given the upwards swing in film usage we are now seeing, and a bit of healthy competition would be a big help as the prices of film continue to rise rapidly. What really puts the nail in the coffin is that Fuji is now selling re-badged Kodak film. Fujifilm 200 is just Kodak Gold and the ‘new’ FujiFilm 400 is just Ultramax.
Reds (and greens) really pop with those characteristic fuji colours. 1/200s 35mm F1.4.
Warm tones are still represented well and contrast nicely against the cooler tones in the image. 1/400s 35mm F1.4.
The detailed building of the Royal Court of Justice is rendered well despite the coarser grain. 1/160s 35mm F1.4.
With this news coming I have rushed out and panic bought a whole load of Velvia 100 (Velvia 50 seems to be long gone sadly) and Provia 100 35mm film which is now sitting safely in my freezer. The loss of slide film will be most acutely felt seeing as there’s only really Kodak Ektachrome left. Luckily fresh batches of film did arrive earlier in the year, and I managed to snap up three rolls of Fuji’s last remaining colour negative film Superia X-Tra 400. I just wish I’d bought more when I had the chance! Although I have now managed to source another two rolls at a reasonable price.
The bokeh at F1.4 is still nice and smooth. The grain doesn’t detract from the smoothness of the transition. 1/125s 35mm F1.4.
Film isn’t the only thing best preserved on ice. 1/320s 35mm F1.4.
Surprisingly the roll I’m showcasing in this blog is the first fresh one I’ve ever shot. I’d shot a roll of heavily expired stuff when I first started out, but it seems I’d been too busy shooting the professional grade film stocks as opposed to the consumer films that Superia X-Tra 400 is part of. Amazingly I am still yet to shoot a roll of Kodak Gold is 35mm. Just a shame I didn’t shoot more Fuji while I had the chance.
What better building to shoot with this than a red brick building? 1/400s 35mm F4.0.
This roll of film was also early in my owning the Nikon 35mm F1.4. It’s still a focal length I’m learning in comparision to my long time favourite 50mm. 1/2500s 35mm F1.4.
Having shot this roll back-to-back with Cinestill 400D and 800T it is quite obvious out the gate that is really is a cheaper consumer level film. The grain is much coarser, and the details not as fine as compared to Kodak Portra 400 or Fuji’s own (and obviously discontinued) Pro400H. The colours are definitely Fuji, shifted more towards green and magenta as opposed to the teal and orange of Kodak. Another frustrating reason to lose an entire range of films from an Asian manufacturer, as there’s no obvious replacements. Whilst it’s true we are seeing new stocks coming out from American & European manufacturers, their colours are all too similar which leaves shooters with less creative choice.
I liked the leading line in this image but I feel there’s just too much out of focus on the foreground. 1/1250s 35mm F1.4.
The film handles strong contrasts well. Keeping the highlights from blowing out while preserving shadow detail. 1/60s 35mm F1.4.
The whites have a cool green tint to them that works well in highlighting subjects with red colours. 1/30s 35mm F1.4.
Fear not about the lower levels of detail though, as there is still plenty here and it doesn’t disrupt the smoothness of the bokeh I was achieving when shooting at F1.4. The High ISO 400 meant I could just about shoot handheld in the dimly lit British Museum at 1/30s or 1/40s at F1.4 which I was very impressed with, especially as the film handled the difficult contrast very well, preserving both the shadows and highlights. You needn’t worry about dynamic range either even with this cheaper film stock. One thing I did notice though were small amounts of red halation around some of the brightest highlights in the images, similar to what you see shooting Cinestill (though it is far less prominent). I don’t think I’ve ever seen this effect with any other of Kodak’s or Fuji’s colour films (at least with my shooting).
Through the looking glass. 1/40s 35mm F1.4.
Some may find Fuji colours render artificial lighting better inside than Kodak’s equivalents. 1/40s 35mm F1.4.
A simple image of pottery that was one of my favourite images from the roll. 1/50s 35mm F1.4.
Overall if you can get your hands on a roll or two then I do recommend you shoot it (just make sure it really is Superia X-Tra you are buying). The normal prices are about the same as Kodak Ultramax, but as the film is dwindling in supply everything costs another couple of quid more per roll. If you are planning on shooting any subjects with lots of greens and reds then I definitely recommend shooting this over Ultramax, though Ultramax is still no slouch in that department. For me I’m just glad I’ve got a few rolls in reserve that I can bring out and enjoy on a special occasion. As with all these film stocks that are disappearing, I want to try and shoot something I’m really proud of.
Another great example of the high quality of bokeh you can still get with this grainier film. 1/30s 35mm F1.4.
The damaged but valuable Elgin Marbles. 1/50s 35mm F1.4.
If you look at the lights at the top of the frame you can see the red halation that sometimes occurs when shooting bright highlights. 1/80s 35mm F1.4.
If you have enjoyed this blog then please consider leaving a tip below.
