One Roll: Rumburgh Morris dancers

Morris dancing is an old English tradition dating from the 15th Century. No one really knows its origin exactly but it is likely to have come from outside the UK. It is mentioned in several texts and it has been recorded that Will Kempe danced from London to Norwich in the year 1600.

This is the Rumbough Morris from Suffolk, taken in May on a Rolleiflex T with Fujifilm NPH 400.

Fuji Neopan 400

Fuji Neopan 400 is a film I've always liked, but somehow seems for me at least to have been a third choice after Tri-X and HP5.
Thats not to say it is inferior to either of those emulsions, far from it! Everytime I've put a roll through I've been impressed by its grain structure and tonal graduation.
I first used the emulsion in the 1980's and one of the things I noticed was the clear base and high accutance which are quite unusual for a fast film.
The characterisics of this film are fine grain for the speed, more so than HP5 or Tri-x and rated at EI 200 and given reduced development gives very fine grain and long tonal range (without the flat look other films can give)
Compared to HP5 the tones look a little harder and more defined against the smooth 'creamy' look of the Ilford emulsion. This gives a more modern look siuted to dynamic subjects in low light, saying that it's not bad with portraits either...


Leica M4-P, Elmar F2,8 Fuji Neopan 400 rated at 400 developed in Rodinal

Over the last few weeks I've been using it as my film of choice in my Medium format cameras, and in that format the film is hard to beat, and gives a really fine grain and nice tonal range with good shadow detail.

 The Artist Zacron, Rolleiflex T, Fuji Neopan 120 rated at 400 developed in Rodinal for 11 mins

Neopan is a very fine grained film for a 400 ISO, so much so that even with 35mm developed in Rodinal is quite satisfactory although you may prefer smaller formats in a developer like ID11/D76, in 120 grain and tone with Rodinal is wonderful.

I feel that this film has a unique look, kind of a 'steely sharpness' coupled with fine grain and at least in my country very reasonable price making it a bit of a photographic bargain.

© Text and Pictures Mark Antony Smith

Fuji 6x7 Rangefinder

I have wanted one of these Fuji RF cameras for years, if you have been a reader of my blog you'll know that I also use a Pentax 6x7. As much as I like the the Pentax I've always thought it was a little on the heavy side, and in the year or so I've been using it I've rarely found a need to change lenses and found myself using the 90mm for 80% of shots, so its biggest advantage over the Fuji was negated for me. Being a Leica RF user and very much enjoying shooting with RF cameras the Fuji is an obvious upgrade. So when the above camera came into my dealer with only 38 on the roll counter the Pentax was exchanged.

First Impressions

My camera is a MKIII version, and has the ergonomic plastic cover rather than the more substantial looking metal case of earlier Fuji RF cameras. If you squeeze it a slight creaky sound can be heard, I think this is what makes people feel the later cameras aren't as well built. Personally I feel that its just the plastic grip and the overall feel of the camera in your hand makes it worth the creakiness.

The Fuji 6x7 and 6x9 share the same body and lens (90mm F3,5 EBC) the only difference being (apart from negative size) the frame lines and film advance mehanism. The finder has a gold type focus spot and the viewfinder has a slightly blue tinge to contrast with the spot which helps focus. The frame lines move with focus to correct with parallax athough I'm not sure how accurate they are especially when at closest focus (1 metre) One thing I have noticed is that the hood when extended can be seen in the bottom right hand corner of the viewfinder, which is a slight distraction.

Loading the camera is pretty easy, there are two red buttons inside the back that when pressed allow the film to be placed in the camera very quickly. Advance is double stroke, one full and the second stroke is about half (presumably to cock the shutter)

The lens is fixed with a leaf shutter and a 67mm filter thread. The aperture is at the end of the lens under the built in hood (which must be in the out position to change speed/F numbers) I remeber the Olympus OM system had the aperture ring in a similar place. Stranger still is that the shutter is also positioned there, but when you get used to it it's OK and quite fast in operation.

So far I'm finding the camera to be well balanced and a good all round performer, the optics are very good, operation quick, and size and weight manageable for such a large format.

Here are some shots:

The above was shot on HP5+ developed in Rodinal 1:50 for 9 min

more to follow

Fuji Provia 400X


I first tried a 400 ASA slide film from Fuji about 17 years ago, in those days you were grateful of the speed and accepted the grain which was quite a bit 'grittier' than their 100ASA offering RDP but still good for a 400.
Recently Fuji released Provia 400X which is claimed to be the finest grained slide-film in its class with grain similar to that of emulsions a stop or more slower.
Here is the Advertising blurb:
"Fujichrome Provia 400X features Epitaxial Sigma Crystal Technology for ultra-fine grain along with new generation couplers and new colour correction technology for excellent performance and image stability".

Well I'm not exactly sure what "Epitaxial Sigma Crystal Technology" really means in respect to grain in the final image other than it's Fuji speak for their version of T grain and controlled crystal growth. Nonetheless ultra fine grain in a 400ISO and I'm all ears (and eyes) ; so what does the film look like?
Below is a shot taken in bright outdoor light:



As you can see contrast is good, colours are clean and well saturated. On close inspection grain seems to be very fine indeed much as promised.





Looking at the 100% crop I was surprised how good this film actually is, very sharp and fine grained certainly as good as some slower slide films.
It impresses me that a major company like Fuji is committed enough to put out a film like this, especially as they produce digital cameras and sensors. I can't help wondering if we will see many more improvements to film technology as sales slow because of the continuing shift to digital, hopefully we'll see one or two more improvements in what must be films twilight years.

All images and text ©Mark Smith 2007

Fuji Neopan Acros



This film despite having the word 'new' all over its packaging has been around since 2002, I suppose compared to others in these tests that is fairly new!

This film has one of the finer grain structures of 100 speed films, depending on which developer you opt for will give grain similar or better than T-Max 100 (TMX), and is an excellent choice when accutance and fine grain are called for.

Some feel that the film is a little contrasty and can look 'clinical' or 'metallic' and dare I say digital feel. While it may be true that there are films with a nicer tonal range this can be helped by developer choice.



Above is one of my first attempts with the film and is processed in Paterson FX39 and clearly shows the films overall contrast whilst still holding the highlights although I feel the shadows are a little blocked

Below is the result you get from a Diluted Rodinal (1:100 at 18 mins)


Notice how the highlights (especially the sky) have been held yet so has the detail in the shadows this is one of the reasons I rate Rodinal so highly, for its ability to work well with variable dilution's.

Grain is very fine in fact probably the finest 100 speed available although it is very close to T-Max 100 I prefer Acros for the way it both scans and prints.
Acros is my film of choice for 120, I feel it gives both the acutance and tonal range, although for 35mm I prefer 'conventional' films for some subjects such as portraits and subjects that require a softer approach.
But if you mainly shoot Landscapes or detailed subjects Acros is the way to go.

All Images and text ©Mark Antony Smith 2007