I admit, this isn’t much of a test of Fujifilm’s Superia X-tra 800 and Superia Venus 800. But I shot one photograph at the end of one roll, and the other at the beginning, in the time it took to rewind and reload. The conditions were as alike as it gets.
The X-tra is above, the Venus below. I post-processed both images similarly in Photoshop. It’s interesting to me how the two films rendered brown differently. I’m not sure which I like better. Looking through all of the photos on both rolls, the X-tra gave more pronounced grain, and seemed less tolerant of underexposure. But in these two photos, except for the brown tone, it’s hard to tell them apart.
There has been some speculation that these are the same film branded based on distribution, the X-tra 800 offered worldwide and the Venus 800 only in Japan. The spec sheets lay waste to that claim (the X-tra here, the Venus here) — these are different, although similar, films. Check out the curves on page 4 of each spec sheet.
It’s all academic, as Fujifilm discontinued Superia X-tra 800 in 2016, and Superia Venus 800 last year. If you buy either of these films, it’s leftover or expired stock. That was my last roll of X-tra 800, which I kept on hand for indoor candid shots at church. I guess I’ll switch to Kodak Portra 800 for that now.
Analogue Wonderland gave me the roll of Venus 800 in exchange for this mention. They appear to be out of stock (click here to check) — but no worries, they carry more than 200 other films to satisfy any need you can think of. Check out their selection here.
Get more of my photography in your inbox or reader! Click here to subscribe.
