Fujifilm Neopan 100 Acros II 120 Black-and-White Film, 12 Exposures

Let me start by saying I have been a massive fan of Fuji's Velvia for years in both 120 and 5x4 sheet film but B&W has always been filled by Ilford's products. So when I had the oppertunity to test out a new (to me) Bronica EC Camera I thought why not give Fuji's Acros a go! Well I shot 2 rolls down on the Dorset coast in early February the weather was most faverable with clear bright days that wernt even that cold! The results were a revalation ! I love the crisp fine detail, the strong Blacks and clear detailed highlights that suit my favored style of landscape photography. I have to say this film will be in my kit bag allongside a rol or two of Velvia from now on! All of my shots are 'as shot' un adjusted scans.

Acros is a unique film stock for me - I have truly struggled to find another emulsion with quite the same mix of extremely fine grain and contrast, and in 120 format the images are amazing. I typically shoot it in 35mm, and have found that it can be readily pushed to 400 if developed carefully. It does NOT benefit from stand development, as that ends up brings out the grain, which kind of defeats the purpose of using Acros! At 400 ISO, the typical aperture I shoot at in medium format (f/5.6) gives me the same shutter speeds as 100 ISO on 35mm (at f/2.8).Its main weakness is that it loves light (which sounds counterintuitive when I'm telling you to shoot it at 400!) but treat it accordingly and you'll be fine. If you want shadow detail, meter for the shadows. If ... MoreAcros is a unique film stock for me - I have truly struggled to find another emulsion with quite the same mix of extremely fine grain and contrast, and in 120 format the images are amazing. I typically shoot it in 35mm, and have found that it can be readily pushed to 400 if developed carefully. It does NOT benefit from stand development, as that ends up brings out the grain, which kind of defeats the purpose of using Acros! At 400 ISO, the typical aperture I shoot at in medium format (f/5.6) gives me the same shutter speeds as 100 ISO on 35mm (at f/2.8).Its main weakness is that it loves light (which sounds counterintuitive when I'm telling you to shoot it at 400!) but treat it accordingly and you'll be fine. If you want shadow detail, meter for the shadows. If you want crushed blacks and a dark, moody look, then Acros is your film. It can be a little contrasty for your usual portraiture, but I'm found it superb for architectual and landscape work and I've still got some of my best portraits with Acros.

I loved the old Acros emulsion. When it was discontinued, I went on a quest to replace it with something comparable. After flip flopping between Ilford and Kodak, I settled on T-Max. But once Acros II released, I have come back to Fujifilm for one big reason. It just work better in the darkroom. Kodak's T-Max and Tri-X films are both so contrasty that it makes darkroom printing more difficult. I feel I can get better results with Acros without having to do extensive burning and dodging or use multi grade filters to achieve a look I'm after. The "flatter" negative I get from Fujifilm just makes it easier. Aside from its darkroom capabilities, I love the beautiful tonal range I get from Acros. The mids look so beautiful and they handle highlights way better than ... MoreI loved the old Acros emulsion. When it was discontinued, I went on a quest to replace it with something comparable. After flip flopping between Ilford and Kodak, I settled on T-Max. But once Acros II released, I have come back to Fujifilm for one big reason. It just work better in the darkroom. Kodak's T-Max and Tri-X films are both so contrasty that it makes darkroom printing more difficult. I feel I can get better results with Acros without having to do extensive burning and dodging or use multi grade filters to achieve a look I'm after. The "flatter" negative I get from Fujifilm just makes it easier. Aside from its darkroom capabilities, I love the beautiful tonal range I get from Acros. The mids look so beautiful and they handle highlights way better than Kodak. Sharpness is another great reason to buy Acros. It's a T grain film so the sharpness is high and grain is very fine. Developed in Kodak T-Max developer for 5:30 with agitation once a minute, I get good results and very useable negatives for printing. Lastly, this film dries nice and flat, making scanning and loading into my negative carrier for darkroom printing a breeze. This is my go-to 100 speed film, which is the ONLY "downside" to this film, and it's not really a downside. It is only offered in ISO 100. You can push process but that adds contrast and decreases shadow detail. I feel this film looks best shot at box speed so for that reason, I still buy Ilford Delta 400. If Fuji released a 400 speed version of this film, I would have no reason to buy anything from Ilford or Kodak again. That would really be something.