Back from the dead! Fujifilm announces new B&W film

Having laid its popular ultra-fine grain black-and-white film, Neopan 100 Acros, to rest in October 2018, Fujifilm has decided to bring it back from the dead. The company has just announced a new film stock for 35mm and medium format – Neopan 100 Acros II. Accoring to the company, the film promises “unsurpassed image quality” and “world-class fine grain.” They also went on to say that Neopan 100 Acros II “will deliver unsurpassed resolution, fine grain and sharpness, with exceptional detail satisfying a broad range of shooting scenarios and exposures”. Available initially only in Japan, Fujifilm says that their Super Fine-Σ technology gives the Neopan 100 Acros II finer grain and sharpness than its predecessor. The film will eventually be available in other markets, based on demand.

At the time of announcing that production of the popular film would cease back in 2018, Fujifilm also announced that they would be discontinuing their black-and-white photo paper lines, but whether they decide to backflip on that is yet to be seen. Certainly, if demand is strong enough, there’s a good chance they might reverse the decision.

In an official press release from Fujifilm, the company indicated that the decision to release the new film was driven by renewed interest in film from “millennials and GenZs,” who the company describes as “the new film enthusiasts.”

Those unfamiliar with actual film, but using Fujifilm’s X-series of digital cameras would still nonetheless be familiar with Acros as its’s available as a monochrome film simulation. We'll leave it up to the film buffs to comment on how close it performs to the real thing.

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