Summary: In some ways, probably the best B&W film ever produced. It's got a level of sharpness and fineness of grain that rivals the modern t-grain films without their insanely steep curves or "coldness" of texture. Only Tech Pan beats it for resolution and fine grain, and Tech Pan is a special case and much more difficult to handle. These days I very rarely develop my own and so I haven't developed any of my own Acros to date, but I have a number of custom labs that handle my Acros. Developed in D76 (good quality, fairly rich) I rate, well, call it a slow 100 or a fast 80 ASA. I'm not wild about having it developed in TMAX or other generically-derived developers but the results are acceptable, and near to the rated 100. In Rodinal this film REALLY sings. Very fine grain, fairly long tonal scale, different from Plus-X/Tri-X but quite rich and very very fine grain, and the film is inherently sharp (accutence) in a way that the fine grain developer does not greatly diminish. In Rodinal I rate at 80. Fuji does a good job of not greatly overrating their film as Kodak routinely does with their B&Ws.
Strengths: Extremely sharp, and extremely fine-grained film that maintains some degree of the richness and "old school" feel of the "classic" emulsions a la Tri-X as opposed to say a TMAX or Delta (which I dislike the feel of). Fairly accurately rated, long-ish tonal scale, the shoulder holds quite a bit of highlight detail which can easily be burned in or captured via a good scan, is not quite as demanding as TMAX in terms of exposure or development latitude (though I wouldn't call it forgiving either) and expands or contracts the scale nicely via development.
Weaknesses: This thin emulsion film is very susceptible to scratching. If you're scanning this film you'll spend a bit more time than normal spotting out the hairline scratches. Must be handled with extra care.
Similar Products Used: Just about every B&W (and E6 and C41) film on the market.
Summary: I am very happy with this film, I think its the best B&W out there right now, I don't process my own so I won't speak about that. I was recently at a wedding with alot of relatives I knew I wouldn't be seeing again for a long time. Translation, excellent opportunity for some impromptu portraits (which I love). I got dressed for the reception and slapped the AFD 85 1.8 on the F100 and went down to the fridge to grab some ammo. Unfortunately all my Kodak T-Max was gone and all all had was crappy C41 B&W and this Fuji Neopan Acros which I was planning to try out at a later time. There was no time to get some T-Max so I grabbed the Fuji, I won't be buying anymore Kodak. I spent the night taking head shots of my relatives and they turned out great, absolutely no grain, I haven't gone past 5x7 yet but the film really gets all the detail my lens can provide, the grays are wonderful and the shadow detail rocks. The portraits turned out beautiful and I have already given away several as gifts. This is my new favorite B&W.
Strengths: Grainless. Beautiful shadow details. This film is everything I expect from a quality B&W film.
Weaknesses: None.
Similar Products Used: Just about everything B&W. I'm also done trying to find a decent C41 B&W because it doesn't exist. If you want B&W buy a REAL B&W film.
Summary: I love B&W film, I develop it myself and used to ( ok still do, the epson 2200 is good but not that good ) print in my own darkroom. I tried Acros a year ago and showed a few 11x14 prints, people thought it was medium format it was that fine grained. This film has a thin grey base, very thin base and scratches easliy, it doesn't like hardners either and doesn't wash too well ( I'm in a hard water area ). Double the wash time with this film or untill the purple all washes out after fixing. Other than that lets get into this films other attributes. on the scanner and on the enlarger due to it's thin base it may seem under exposed, tho I could be developing it bit under but I talked to a fuji rep and others have mentioned this to. The EI of this film seems to be about 80, not 100 so possibly it needs about 5% over developing. I have compared the grain to Delta 100, and across is finer, but it lacks the tonality of delta, and delta doesn't have hp5+ or trix like tonality either. If you want a VERY fine grained, rather sharp B&W film this fits the bill, but it cost more than delta and is troublesome to print. It's VERY sharp so depending on your needs I say when sharpness and fine grain is needed this should be the film of choice, but at it's cost ( I'm not a working pro ) I would shoot delta or agfa pan 100.
Strengths: VERY fine grained, sharp well defined, good grain structure
Weaknesses: pricey, thin base makes you think your under developing/under exposing it. not a great tonal range.
Summary: This has become my new favorite B&W film. Amazingly sharp. It just has a very rich tone to it, really brings out the textures and details. I've only used it for landscapes so far, with excellent results. As others have mentioned, Acros 100 places more of an emphasis on greys rather than blacks and whites, so is not as contrasty as Delta 100 or TMAX 100. It works well when you're shooting textured surfaces..
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