Analogue Wonderland, who sponsors this post, ships film almost anywhere. Click their logo to choose from their extensive selection.

Corvette

I love car shows! Especially those where everyday people show off their old iron. A nearby dealer of classic cars invites folks to bring their muscle and classic cars the last Saturday of every month during the warm-weather months. I visited last month with my Nikon N90s and 50mm f/2 AF Nikkor lens.

Pontiac RPMs

My Nikon was packing Fujifilm Fujicolor Industrial 100, which Analogue Wonderland sent me in exchange for the mentions in this review. I liked the old Fujifilm Superia 100 very much — the two rolls I got to shoot before it was discontinued. I’d heard that this film was still available in Japan, but was rebranded as Fujicolor Industrial 100.

Bug light

These results are good enough for me: if this isn’t the same film it’s darn close. Unfortunately, it’s a little pricey. But when you need a smooth-grained, bold-colored film with managed contrast and excellent sharpness, this option remains available. As of this writing, at least; Fujifilm loves to discontinue film stocks. (You can buy this film from Analogue Wonderland here.)

Satellite

This isn’t my first time shooting cars with a Fujifilm ISO 100 color film. I used Superia 100 at a show a couple years ago; see my shots here. I liked those photos so much that I saved my one roll of Industrial 100 until I could again find myself among some old cars. So far I’ve shared a ’67 Corvette, a Pontiac GTO from the late 60s (with the tachometer on the hood), an early-70s VW Bug from Australia (hence the amber turn signal; they were red in the US), and a ’66 Plymouth Satellite reflecting a newer Ford Mustang.

Stacked headlights

This photo of a ’76 Chevy El Camino shows the sharpness this film can capture. The 50/1.8 AF Nikkor lets this film’s capabilities shine through. This El Camino was yellow and white (which surely wasn’t a factory color combination). I find that many color films struggle to capture yellow. Not so the Industrial 100.

Bed

The light matters, of course; here’s the front fender of the same car and the yellow isn’t as vibrant. My Photoshoppery on these images was largely limited to using Auto Tone to remove a slight green caste, and to lightly tone down highlights and, sometimes, to boost contrast a little.

Collonnade nose

A car show is a great place to test color film because classic cars were painted in real colors, not just black, white, gray, and beige as today! Can you imagine buying a pea-soup-green sedan now? Various shades of green were common on cars in the ’70s. The jutting fender is out of focus because I made this shot inside in available light, and this ISO 100 film granted little depth of field.

Mercury

What’s a car show without a ’57 Chevy?

57 headlight

I loved how this one had a model of itself on the back parcel shelf.

57 model

This film even likes black. A lot. Notice how the blacks are different on the ’57 Chevy above and ’67 Camaro below? It’s not a difference in lighting — these are legitimately two different blacks, and Fujicolor Industrial 100 rendered them both beautifully.

Camaro

Now I want to buy five or six rolls of this film and keep shooting it. But I have too much Agfa Vista 200 in the freezer to need more color negative film. Maybe after I finish shooting up the Agfa, buying some more Fujicolor Industrial 100 can be my reward.

You can buy Fujicolor Industrial 100 in a few places online — including Analogue Wonderland, here.

Get more of my photography in your inbox or reader! Click here to subscribe.


Comments

12 responses to “Shooting Fujifilm Fujicolor Industrial 100”

  1. P Avatar
    P

    That sounds like the right approach, Jim! Buy more film as a reward for shooting other film. I think we should all adopt this way of thinking about things!

    These are very nice images. I saw them up on your Flickr and was wondering when you were going to do a write-up. It’s really a shame Superia 100 isn’t available in the U.S. anymore, or this Industrial 100, which I think is the same stuff. It certainly looks like it.

    1. Jim Grey Avatar

      I was on a film-buying binge for a while — and finally realized I had more than I could shoot in two years. I’m slowly burning it down.

      1. P Avatar
        P

        Yeah, I understand that. I just thought your comment about rewarding yourself for shooting film by buying more film was entertaining. And I imagine you meant for it to be. I have collected quite a bit of expired film over the past few years, which is currently hanging out in the fridge. But since it’s already expired, I don’t really see any pressing need to shoot it right away. I figure if it expired in 2004 or 2005, then whether I shoot it today or in another couple of years is largely irrelevant, especially if it’s B&W. I guess one day, when I eventually get around to shooting all of it, I’ll know whether or not it is still viable, not overly fogged, and able to produce decent images.

  2. Rhianne Avatar

    Ohh the colours!! And these details are making me swoon too. I’ll have to look into this one!

    Did you scan this one yourself? How did you find it? I like Agfa Vista but it has a green/blue shift that drove me mad during my 365 project.

    1. Jim Grey Avatar

      I let the lab scan these. It’s so much easier. Now that I work near our local lab I just walk over at lunch and drop my c41 film off! They don’t do b/w or medium format but I shoot enough 35mm color that it will be great to be able to use them more. When I get that green shift on the AV I remove it in Photoshop. But that’s an annoying extra step.

  3. Dan James Avatar

    The original Fuji Superia 100 was my favourite colour film, along with Superia Reala 100 which seems to be the same, based on my experience. Great to hear they’re still making it. Why is it called Industrial though, very strange!

    Old American cars look fantastic under the gaze of your lens(es) Jim!

    1. Jim Grey Avatar

      Apparently they market it for non-consumer uses. Strange.

      1. Dan James Avatar

        Very, especially as it gave my favourite colours of any film I tried! The word “industrial” does not fit in any way!

  4. karenshootsfilm Avatar

    Super nice!! I really like FujiFilm, I haven’t tried this one before though.

    1. Jim Grey Avatar

      Order some! It’s great!!

  5. monettelyan Avatar

    I love everything about these photos. From how you framed your shots, to the fantastic Fuji colors, and those beautiful details on the cars. I picked a few rolls of this film while I was in Japan, but I still haven’t shot it. Your photos just gave me a push to shoot a roll on my next day off.

    1. Jim Grey Avatar

      Oh gosh, thank you! I love shooting old cars. And the Fuji 100 is a great film for the subject.

Leave a Comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

%d bloggers like this: