Like many things in this world, Japanese manufacturers are often able to take a concept and make it more efficient, or cost effective. Polaroid film too it seems is no exception. However, while some elements of
Fuji's Polaroid film can be considered better than Polaroid's, they seem to have missed on the price bit - at least in the home market, where the Fuji range of Polaroid compatible peel-apart is often more expensive. Some tell me though, in the US it can be cheaper sometimes. Your mileage may vary.
Performance-wise though, it is excellent. The packs are lighter (plastic instead of pressed steel), and developing times & print quality too are better than the equivalent Polaroid films. Better in an accuracy sense, not necessarily better overall perhaps. While using Fuji film occasionally, I prefer the more primitive, less accurate results of the Polaroid films, coupled with the lower price, the Polaroid films make a better proposition to me as I can cheaply churn through them with my often feeble creative ideas. For professional work, proofing for example, the Fuji would be a good option. Does anyone proof with a Polaroid any more; listening to a Neil Young 8-track, drive home in a Karmann Ghia, to watch a Betamax movie?
Still, if performance, accuracy and speed are high on your agenda, then the Fuji range is excellent. As Polaroid slowly shut down their production lines, and with Fuji supposedly stating they are in the film market for as long as possible, we might be left with only the Fuji range soon.
Fuji makes only rectangular format peel-aparts, and started doing so in 1984 as part of their support for passport photograph equipment. All are 10 photographs per pack. A summary of stuff used by me to date:
FP-3000B Super Speedy Of this, I have used heaps. ISO3200 B&W, with an amazing range of grays; far in excess of Polaroid ISO3000, and at least as good in density and range as the neg part of Type-665. With a 15 seconds development time, this is a marvelous film.
FP-100C ISO100, a great color range, with really smooth tones, and great for use with skin - lots of it. Their only color peel-apart film. Development time is listed as 60s, 30% quicker than the equivalent Polaroid Type-690.
FP-100C Silk Appears to be the same colors as 'normal' FP-100C, but with a lightly dimpled 'silk' finished.
Instax Mini A Polaroid 600-series (non-compatable), integral style film. 62x46mm image size. Good detail and color range, perhaps slightly better than 600-series Polaroid. But, not as good as the SX-70 / Spectra range.
Other films in the range include
FP-100B Super (ISO100 B&W in 30 seconds), and
FP-400B (ISO400 B&W in 30 seconds), and two other integral films.
Fuji still sell a range of passport cameras that use the peel-apart films, and these (like their previous FP-1:
http://filmwasters.com/blog/archives/50 ), are all part of their
Fotorama product range. If you want to practice your Japanese, the Fuji Film instant site is here:
http://fujifilm.jp/business/photo/fotorama/film001.html The Instax range is here:
http://www.fujifilm.co.jp/instant/index.html Photographs below are FP-3000B (sweet range of grays), FP-100C (nice smooth skin tone, almost plastic-like), FP-100C Silk (surface detail), and Instax Mini (nothing special).
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