[Leica] Re: Fuji Acros

[TTAbrahams at aol.com (TTAbrahams@aol.com)]

Jeffery,
 I have been using Acros since 1999. Initially I got two rolls from Fuji's 
product manager in Tokyo - plain brown boxes and a cryptic note in Japanese 
"100 
ASA - Ultra fine grain Film". Since that time I have shot about 500 rolls of 
the stuff. My primary developer for it has been the old and venerable 
Beutler 
that I mix myself. It also works well in D-76 1:1 for 9-9,5 minutes. The 
high 
dilution mixes (Xtol 1:3, Rodinal 1:100 etc.) tend to give you very thin 
negatives. There is still details in them, but they are too thin for my 
tastes. 
Speed seems to be right on, 100 ASA, although with the D76 1:1 I tend to 
rate it 
at 80. It is sensitive to over-agitation and will build up contrast quickly. 
I 
do 3 turns of the can (Paterson 5 reel tanks) every 60 sec and that seems to 
work. 
 The Beutler formula is a classic one. It was concocted by Willy Beutler at 
Leica in the 50's as the means to get the sharpest possible negatives out of 
35mm film. Easy to mix and it gives you eyeball cutting edges on the negs! 
It is 
a two component developer and you mix A and B just before you pour it into 
the tank.

                                                        BEUTLER
                                                            
                                                              A

Water ( 50C)                                                                 
 
          800ml
Metol/Elon                                                                   
 
              10grams
Sodium Sulfite                                                               
 
             50grams
Water to                                                                     
 
             1000ml
                                                              B

Water (50C)                                                                  
 
            800ml
Sodium Carbonate                                                             
 
         60grams
Water to                                                                     
 
              1000ml

Use 1 part of A, 1 part of B and 8 parts of water ( 20c/68F) for developing. 
I use 5 reel tanks so it is 150ml A, 150ml B and 1200ml of water for a 
Paterson tank.

There is a formula that adds 0,001% of Potassium Iodide to the A solution. 
Supposedly it enhances the adjacency effect, but as Potassium Iodide is 
getting 
difficult to get (it is quite toxic) I have used it with or without it and 
there is no noticeable difference. The A and B solutions seems to last for 
at 
least 2-3 month in their bottles.
 
                                                         TIMES ( all at 20C)

Acros @ 100                                              7-7,5 minutes
Delta  100                                                   8       minutes
EFKE 25 ASA                                             5,5-6 minutes
Pan F @ 40 ASA                                        7 minutes
Tri-X @ 400                                               12 minutes.

The Tri-X in Beutler gives you very sharp and tight grain - and a lot of it 
too. It looks like shotgun pellets, but can be interesting as an effect.

 The Acros is better than Delta 100, grain is tighter and it has a bit more 
midrange tones. I also have a problem with the Delta 100. It "foams" heavily 
in 
the soft water we have here in Vancouver. It can actually pop the cap off 
the 
tank! This also means that agitation is affected as the foam prevents proper 
"sloshing" of the developer when you flip the tank.

 I have tried the Acros with a bunch of other developers too, but in my 
estimation, it works best in the Beutler and as a second choice, the D76 
1:1. As 
most thin emulsion films, it is quite contrasty and you have to watch for 
that 
in exposures - err on the underexposure side of things.
 Fuji had the old Neopan SS, a "photo-school" film that was very forgiving, 
almost Vericrome Pan style but I think it is out production now. The best of 
these old emulsion was the Neopan F, a 40 ASA film with a 50's emulsion, 
silver 
rich and with smooth tones. They stopped production of it last year and I 
miss 
it. You could do 2x3 ft prints from 35 negs with amazing sharpness and tones 
- a Japanese version of the old Panatomic-X.
I hope this helps.
Best,
Tom A
-----------------
Tom Abrahamsson
Vancouver, BC
Canada