Price Range:
Mid-high range, ~S$12/roll
Availability
Uncommon - only sold in Japan but you can still find some for sale in Singapore
Color Characteristics
Saturated, Yellow, Magenta
Latitude & Grain
Dynamic and smooth
Shot 2 rolls of this in Singapore, and one in Sri Lanka and I've had a love hate relationship with this film. The 2 rolls in Singapore - one I absolutely love and the other I absolutely hate. I used two different cameras (Leica M3 and Fuji TX1) and for a long time I thought it was the lens' fault but recalling my experience and studying the photos more closely, I am more convinced that it is a lighting issue.
Fuji TX-1, Marina Bay area, shot overexposed +1 (ISO 200)
Color Characteristics
Yellow and Magenta come together - the more yellow the light is, the more magenta wants to steal the limelight. Not too flattering during sunrise and sunset and on Asian tan skin tones, you'll look super pink. This is why I personally prefer to use this to shoot only landscapes and city-scapes mid-afternoon when it's slightly cloudy.
This film is also quite saturated and contrast-y. Hence, I always overexpose and scan them a little brighter. On occasion I will also raise shadow detail to de-contrast the image while scanning but only if the film is exposed properly.
Blues are also very aqua like. So if you have beach-y shots, the sea will really stand out. Just thinking out loud, my ideal scenario/dream set-up is to shoot this film overexposed by 1 stop (ISO 200) on the beach-y cliffs in Bali in the mid-afternoon sun. Why Bali? Because the light is less yellow, you don't bring out the distasteful magentas in this film and with the aquas of the sea.... this is a dream...
Leica M3, 4pm Singapore, somewhere near the beach, shot overexposed +1 (ISO 200). As you can tell, the yellows and magenta come as a pair
Leica M3, 4pm Singapore, somewhere near the beach, shot overexposed +1 (ISO 200)
Fuji TX1, Sri Lanka, shot overexposed +1 (ISO 200)
Fuji TX1, Sri Lanka, shot overexposed +1 (ISO 200)
Fuji TX1, Sri Lanka, shot overexposed +1 (ISO 200)
Latitude & Grain:
Neither overly fine nor grainy. Right in the middle. Smooth and not so clunky. Can be used to achieve soft and airy effect with the right lighting.
Shadows have good detail when correctly exposed. Slightly lower tolerance for underexposure - muddy and green shadows when underexposed.
Highlights can handle overexposure well. Even in strong harsh light, the detail can be recovered in scanning.
Highlights can handle overexposure well. Even in strong harsh light, the detail can be recovered in scanning.
Overall Sentiments:
Saturated
Sensitive to yellow
Pink skin-tones
Overexpose, please
Fuji TX1, slightly underexposed hence the gray-ish muddy shadows in the bottom
#fujifilm #fujisuperia #fujisuperiapremium400
