Excellent choice for lower light shooting
Pros:
Good color, fine grain, prints well at minilabs, excellent latitude and speed.
Cons:
None really.
The Bottom Line:
For most peoples' use, this is one of the best choices out there.
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Overall Rating:
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Author's Review
The picture on this page shows the package for 400, but this review is for 800 as the description lists.
Fuji Superia X-Tra is an 800 ASA color print film which is easily available most anywhere. The large 4 packs are very inexpensive. As many people are shooting less film, consumer films have gotten even cheaper. I've been shooting MORE film lately and have been reaping the benefits. These 4 pack boxes are often less than $10.
This is an excellent snapshot film. It has very good color fidelity and saturation. For an 800 speed film, it has very fine grain. For most snapshots, higher shutter speed and smaller f-stop are preferred. More depth of field and more motion stoppage are available with this film without making sacrifices of color or sharpness. It's every bit the equal of 400 or maybe 200 film from the mid 90's. It probably stores better, too. Fuji's film and paper are known as being some of the best for fade resistance.
On a vacation, especially overseas, you might not want to take your best camera. Thieves are a real problem in some places, and can spot a nice camera. They know that digitals are worth more than 35mm now. It's pretty easy to find a 35mm with big zoom that's starting to look a little beat up. Even with the slow lenses that such small cameras have, Superia 800 can give good results. For little more than the cost of a few disposeable cameras, you could have better pictures. It's also very forgiving of overexposure, so it's a good pick when you're trying out your skills with a manual camera that has no meter. I've used it in an Argus C3 lately to great effect.
Not to advocate anything improper, but X-Tra 800 and a compact 35 would be great for abandoned building and urban exploration shots. Taking daytime street-level shots with 800 is also big fun. If you want to get sneaky and take some shots without flash, 800 is a good choice for that. Beware of artificial lighting, though. It often gives unpleasant color casts.
Fuji dominates the minilabs in the US. As would be expected, their machines do a better job of printing their own film. This film probably produces more good shots per roll in mixed use than any other that I can think of. Minilab prints from this film actually look good.
Get your old 35mm out of the drawer and use it some places that you wouldn't want to take your shiny new digital camera. It's hungry, and Superia 800 is good food.
