OK yes it’s cheap. Fuji C200 is one of the cheapest 35mm colour films on the market. But if Portra 400 was the same price as C200, I’d still pick the Fuji most of the time. I’m not a Portra 400 hater, and I don’t want to bag it. It’s an incredible film. Beautiful soft colours, very low grain, bucketloads of dynamic range. It’s a tick in almost every box.
But the one box Portra 400 doesn’t tick for me is character. Fuji C200 is a film which oozes character. I love that it can get really punchy in the red end of the colour spectrum. And if my subject has lots of pimples or blemishes I might not use it. But if a model has red lipstick, or a red dress, or red hair I jump at the chance to let C200 run wild.
And the greens share the typical beautiful Fuji look, which makes shooting C200 in gardens or outdoors in general a great experience.
Sure it doesn’t have the dynamic range of Portra, but I’m fairly careful with my metering when shooting portraits and I try and find nice even lighting. It does have a bit of grain in the darker areas, but I like that. And in a full frame format with a decent scanner I find it a very attractive grain.
I’ve shot a bit of Kodak’s main competitor at that price point, Colorplus 200, and I haven’t been overly impressed with it. Sure its probably great for general snapshots and things, but I’d never choose it for portraits over C200.
So long live C200, which given that I’ve just penned this I’m fully expecting Fuji to announce they’ll be discontinuing it shortly…
Thanks for reading! If you’d like to see more of my photos follow me on instagram or have a look at my website.
Phil Stefans
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Enrique on Fuji C200 Review – A short note on my Enduring Love for this film – By Phil Stefans
Comment posted: 12/11/2019
Comment posted: 12/11/2019
Del on Fuji C200 Review – A short note on my Enduring Love for this film – By Phil Stefans
Comment posted: 12/11/2019
Comment posted: 12/11/2019
Dan on Fuji C200 Review – A short note on my Enduring Love for this film – By Phil Stefans
Comment posted: 12/11/2019
Comment posted: 12/11/2019
Comment posted: 12/11/2019
Isaac on Fuji C200 Review – A short note on my Enduring Love for this film – By Phil Stefans
Comment posted: 13/11/2019
Comment posted: 13/11/2019
Huss on Fuji C200 Review – A short note on my Enduring Love for this film – By Phil Stefans
Comment posted: 13/11/2019
Any tips on how you metered?
Comment posted: 13/11/2019
Leo Tam on Fuji C200 Review – A short note on my Enduring Love for this film – By Phil Stefans
Comment posted: 13/11/2019
Comment posted: 13/11/2019
Bent_Brent on Fuji C200 Review – A short note on my Enduring Love for this film – By Phil Stefans
Comment posted: 13/11/2019
When it comes to consumer films, I'm a Kodak Ultramax guy myself. It does to blues what C200 does to reds. But your work has me ordering a brick of C200 to reevaluate.
Comment posted: 13/11/2019
David Hume on Fuji C200 Review – A short note on my Enduring Love for this film – By Phil Stefans
Comment posted: 14/11/2019
Having said all this though, I am exhibiting a bunch work shot on C200 next year, so clearly I do use it! (intent there was to go for a very generic "snapshot" look) Interesting how it's different strokes etc. All the best and no reflection on your work; just interesting how tastes can differ. Cheers.
Comment posted: 14/11/2019
David Hume on Fuji C200 Review – A short note on my Enduring Love for this film – By Phil Stefans
Comment posted: 14/11/2019
https://spark.adobe.com/page/6xj8yesoMVA6S/ You'll see I go pretty heavy on the blacks with both the Portra and the HP5. I do think that people generally make too much of the film stock when so much comes down to what you do in post. I have no problem with smashing it round to get what I want - it's either me or the standard profiles that someone else wanted, and I'd rather it was me. I don't do my own scanning - my favourite Portra scans come from the Imacon my lab uses. The Imacon and Portra400 in 120 is just nice. Anyway - this was supposed to be about C200! Cheers
Eric Norris on Fuji C200 Review – A short note on my Enduring Love for this film – By Phil Stefans
Comment posted: 20/11/2019
https://www.instagram.com/p/B5Duw7VF3Yi/
Capturing a disappearing generation of Indian trains on film - Kosmo Foto on Fuji C200 Review – A short note on my Enduring Love for this film – By Phil Stefans
Comment posted: 05/04/2021
Film Review Blog No. 81 – Fujifilm Fujicolor C200 – Alex Luyckx | Blog on Fuji C200 Review – A short note on my Enduring Love for this film – By Phil Stefans
Comment posted: 14/03/2022