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My Last roll of FUJICOLOR PRO 400H

Fujifilm discontinued the Fujicolor Pro 400H film in January 2021 due to raw material shortages, ending an era for this beloved film stock.

Fujifilm announced they were discontinuing the Fujicolor Pro 400H film in January 2021, citing difficulty sourcing the raw materials required to produce the film. Fujicolor Pro 400H was a professional-grade color-negative film produced by Fujifilm. It was highly regarded for its unique colour reproduction, wide exposure latitude, and fine grain. The discontinuation marked the end of a widely appreciated film stock, particularly among professional photographers specialising in portraits and weddings.

This decision led to a surge in demand as photographers and enthusiasts sought to stock up on the remaining supply. Fortunately, I snagged two film cartridges of this film stock before eBay scalpers bought up all the stock and started charging exorbitant prices for a single roll. I exposed the first roll in October 2020. This is the last of my two rolls. I exposed it in June 2023. It sat for a month before I developed it at Boutique Film Lab, and then it sat until mid-November before I finally scanned it using VueScan and my Epson Perfection V600.

Flounder Brewing · June 25, 2023 · Nikon N2020 · AF Nikkor 50mm f/1.8

Pro 400H is known for its distinctive colour palette, particularly its rendition of greens and skin tones, which made it popular among portrait and wedding photographers.

This film stock handles handle varying levels of exposure well, making it forgiving for photographers in challenging lighting conditions, like inside the brewery. It performs well in natural light.

Head Brewer, Doug Duschl (in pink) · June 25, 2023 · Nikon N2020 · AF Nikkor 50mm f/1.8

Despite its higher ISO of 400, Pro 400H maintains a relatively fine grain structure, contributing to its ability to produce high-quality images with a smooth texture. I've used Pro 400H only twice, and I regret that this was my last roll.

Flounder Brewing — Head Brewer, Doug Duschl (in pink) · June 25, 2023 · Nikon N2020 · AF Nikkor 50mm f/1.8

Kodak Professional Portra 400BW - Expired

I exposed another expired 35mm roll of Kodak Portra 400 BW.

I'm unsure why or how it happened, but I exposed almost an entire cartridge of expired Kodak Professional Portra 400BW with pictures of my orange tabby, Alphonso Mango. I had written "snow day" in my notes, but when I looked at the scans, I realised that I had also written the same thing on the notes for the expired Ilford HP5 400 I had exposed the previous day. I intended to expose both cartridges from the box of expired 35mm film during the snow. But ... I didn't.

Kodak Professional Portra 400BW was a multi-purpose chromogenic black and white negative film designed to be processed in standard C-41 chemistry alongside rolls of colour negative film and printed on traditional colour paper. It was developed like a colour-negative film in the C-41 process and delivered monochrome images like a black-and-white film. The film was intended for exposure with daylight, electronic flash, and artificial illumination. Kodak Professional Portra 400BWW was a versatile film for 35mm and medium format cameras. It was made with a Kodak T-Grain emulsion and had a wide exposure latitude. Production of the Kodak Portra 400BW was discontinued and replaced with Kodak Professional BW400CN, which was also discontinued. This film incorporated Kodak T-GRAIN® emulsions, which provided wonderful grain and sharpness at a relatively high speed. This film was used for portrait and wedding applications and many commercial applications.

The first time I used Kodak Porta 400BW, I exposed it at box speed. I realised then that I needed to overexpose the expired film. I exposed this 35mm roll of Kodak Professional Portra 400BW at ISO 100. The results are much better. But I think ISO 160 may have produced better results.

The film cartridge was developed at Boutique Photo Lab and scanned on my Epson Perfection V600 with VueScan 9. I processed the negative scans using Negatvibe Lab Pro, adjusted the exposure by -1/3 EV in Adobe Lightroom and cropped out the film borders.

Name	Kodak Professional Portra 400BW
Price	FREE
Native ISO	400
Format	35mm
Features	chromogenic black and white negative
Exposed ISO	100
Lab	Boutique Film Lab
Process	C41
Scanner	Epson Perfection V600
Software	VueScan 9, Negative Lab Pro, Adobe Lightroom

Alphonso Mango · Tuesday 7 March 2023 · Minolta XD-11 · MD Rokkor-X 45mm F2 · ISO 400

Tuesday 7 March 2023 · Minolta XD-11 · MD Rokkor-X 45mm F2 · ISO 400

Ilford HP5 400 - Expired

Ilford HP5 400 35mm film was a black and white photographic film that gained a reputation as a versatile and reliable choice for both amateur and professional photographers.

We have had very little snow this winter. One morning in early March, we had snow that lasted more than a few minutes. It was early morning, and I had no pressing meetings. I grabbed the Minolta X-700 and loaded an unlabeled black cartridge from the box of expired 35mm film. The film cartridge was inside a smaller box labelled Ilford HP5 400. I went outside for a quick walk along Salisbury Road.

I have not exposed snowy scenes with any film stock. Snow confuses the camera's exposure meter. It will most likely underexpose your shots because it can't recognise the brightness of the snow. The X-700 doesn’t have the advanced "WYSIWYG" preview features of my Fuji X-T3, so I expected that my exposure would all be shit.

Ilford HP5 400 35mm film was a black and white photographic film that gained a reputation as a versatile and reliable choice for both amateur and professional photographers. This film has been a staple in the photography industry for decades, known for its fine grain, high contrast, and excellent tonal range.

The ISO rating of 400 made this film suitable for many lighting conditions, including low-light situations. It was ideal for capturing sharp, detailed images with a high level of contrast and emphasising deep blacks and bright whites. This made it particularly well-suited for portraits, street photography, and documentary-style photography.

Ilford HP5 400 was also known for its wide exposure latitude, which means it could handle a wide range of exposures without sacrificing image quality. This made it an excellent choice for photographers who needed to work quickly in changing light conditions or who wanted to experiment with different exposure settings.

The film was sold in 35mm format, one of the world’s most widely used film formats, and came in 36 exposure rolls. It was processed using standard black-and-white processing techniques and was compatible with various developers and fixers.

Ilford HP5 400 35mm film was a classic black and white film that has stood the test of time. Its current iteration, HP5 Plus, continues to be famous for black-and-white photography. Its versatility, reliability, and high-quality results have made it a photographer’s favourite for decades. It remains a popular choice for those who value the timeless beauty of black-and-white photography.

To compensate for the number of years that have passed since the film expired, I overexposed this cartridge of expired Ilford HP 400. I exposed it at ASA 50 and sent it to Boutique Film Lab for development. The cartridge was listed for 36 exposure, but I got 38 usable frames from the cartridge. The negatives were scanned with VueScan 9 on my Epson Perfection V600. I added meta-data using Exif Editor and imported the images into Adobe Lightroom, where they were converted to viewable images using Negative Lab Pro. I asked my regular lab, Boutique Film Lab, to pull the film -3 during development. At least, that’s what I have in my notes. I’m not sure if they did that or not.

Name	Ilford HP5 400
Format	35mm
ASA	400
Features	High contrast. Wide exposure latitude.
Camera	Minolta X-700
Lens.	Minolta MD Rokkor-X 50mm F1.7
Exposed ISO	50
Price	FREE
Lab	Boutique Film Lab
Process	B+W, pull -3
Scanner	Epson Perfection V600
Software	VueScan 9, Negative Lab Pro, Adobe Lightroom

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