I've just had two rolls of 400X developed after Fuji finally decided
to release the film here in Australia. With just a handful of
images to judge from, my opinions are a real mixed bag. In some low
light shots such as dusk skies, it seems horribly grainy, but in
bright daylight it's not too bad. Overall though, I wouldn't say
the grain is much improvement on the old 400F.

The colours are a different matter and I think this is an area where
the new film is much better. Certainly not heavily saturated, but
very nice and natural looking and certainly not washed out like I
have experienced with the old film. Good detail in the shadow areas
too.

One thing I have noticed on all shots is that it just doesn't seem
sharp. Certainly not as sharp in the detail as Kodak 200.

Like I say, a real mixed bag. But overall, a little better than the
old one. I like it enough to keep a few rolls handy but I'll still
stick with the Provia and Velvia 100 films as my mainstays.

Here in Australia, it is horribly expensive. It is still the same
cost as the old 400F but that was always overpriced. If any of you
are desperate to import some to your neck of the woods, there is an
Australian supplier that will send it overseas and even has a US$
export price listed on the website. The site is www.vanbar.com.au

If you're lucky, Fuji may extend the release to a few more countries
now that they have released it down here.

regards,

Harry Calderbank
hcalderbank@bigpond.com

One thing I forgot to mention on my last post about the new Provia
400X is that I agree with those who have found it to be best shot at
around 320 rather than 400. All of the metered shots I took were
about a half stop underexposed.

regards,

Harry Calderbank

Harry Calderbank writes:

> If you're lucky, Fuji may extend the release to a few more countries now
> that they have released it down here

You must have missed the previous post.

Adorama in the US (www.adorama.com) has been selling this film for a bit
now. Product number is FJRXP120 and they are asking $6.49 US for a roll.
They will ship worldwide.

I just did a test order of 20 rolls shipped to Australia and here is the
breakdown (all in US $):

20 rolls $129.80
Shipping: $44.00
Total: $173.80
Final price per roll $8.69

Using 40 rolls it only increases the shipping to $52.50

I don't know what sort of import taxes there would be.

Hope that helps.

David W. Kesner

--- In MF3D-group@yahoogroups.com, "David W. Kesner"
wrote:

> You must have missed the previous post.
>
> Adorama in the US (www.adorama.com) has been selling this film for

a bit

> now. Product number is FJRXP120 and they are asking $6.49 US for a

roll.

> They will ship worldwide.
>
> I just did a test order of 20 rolls shipped to Australia and here

is the

> breakdown (all in US $):
>
> 20 rolls $129.80
> Shipping: $44.00
> Total: $173.80
> Final price per roll $8.69
>
> Using 40 rolls it only increases the shipping to $52.50
>
> I don't know what sort of import taxes there would be.
>
> Hope that helps.
>
> David W. Kesner
>

I certainly did miss the previous post on 400X. Thanks for the
update David. And thanks for doing the calculation. It works out
at almost exactly half the cost of me buying it here in Australia.
Our exchange rates with US$ are as good as they have ever been at
the moment so I might take advantage of it and place a big order.

As a comparison, my last order of 400X from our local supplier
worked out at just over US$17-00 per roll.

You've just saved me a fortune.

regards

Harry.