Fuji Neopan Acros II 100

Overview

Fuji Neopan Acros II 100 is the reciprocity champion of currently-produced B&W films — a near-linear exposure response that lets photographers shoot 2-minute metered exposures with essentially no reciprocity correction needed. It is also the sole surviving Neopan, a product that exists today only because community and retail pressure pushed Fuji to reformulate and re-launch it in 2019 after a brief 2018 discontinuation. Acros II carries forward Fuji's Super Fine Grain (SFG) emulsion technology and characteristic acutance signature from the older Neopan line, at ISO 100 for fine-detail pictorial and long-exposure work.^[1]

The discontinuation-and-relaunch story

The timeline:

• 2004 — Original Fujifilm Neopan Acros 100 introduced; became a favorite among astrophotographers, long-exposure landscape photographers, and fine-grain pictorial shooters.
• October 2018 — Fuji discontinued original Acros 100 as part of their broader B&W-film retreat (Neopan 400, 1600, SS, and Presto had already been discontinued 2010–2013).
• 2018–2019 — Strong community backlash; retail demand held despite discontinuation.
• November 2019 — Fujifilm announced Acros II, a reformulated version with different (but functionally similar) emulsion chemistry, launched to fill the vacated Acros niche.
• Present — Acros II in current production in 35mm and 120 formats. No 4×5 sheet version.

The reformulation was necessary because some of the original Acros 100's raw materials (specific silver halide crystal stabilizers) were no longer manufacturable. Acros II is subtly different from the 2018-discontinued original — slightly different sensitometric curve, very similar grain and reciprocity. Photographers who loved the original mostly find Acros II acceptable; the marginal differences are visible side-by-side but rarely in the final work.

Near-linear reciprocity — why this matters

Acros II's standout feature is its near-linear exposure response at long shutter speeds. Approximate Schwarzschild exponent: p ≈ 1.03 — meaning reciprocity correction is negligible for nearly all practical exposures:

Metered exposure	Actual exposure	Correction
1s	~1.0s	None
10s	~10.3s	Negligible
60s	~64s	~5% (barely perceptible)
2 min	~2:07	<5% (still negligible)
5 min	~5:30	~10%
15 min	~17 min	~15%

Compare to Tri-X 400 which needs 3+ stops of correction at 60s metered; Acros II at 60s metered needs essentially no correction.

Practical consequences

• Astrophotography — the preferred B&W film for stellar imaging. Long star-trail exposures (1–10 minutes) need minimal correction; stars render at accurate brightness.
• Long-exposure landscape — waterfalls, surf, traffic trails. Shoot at 30 seconds metered without correction concern.
• Pinhole photography — pinhole apertures produce long exposures by nature; Acros II is often the default pinhole B&W film.
• Night cityscape — city-lights metered at 1–2 minutes shoot at nominal time; no calibration needed.

This is Acros II's primary differentiator from every other current B&W film. For most non-long-exposure work, the reciprocity advantage is irrelevant — but when it matters, it matters enormously.

See Reciprocity Failure Compensation for the full per-stock comparison.^[1]

Super Fine Grain (SFG) technology

Like its Neopan predecessors, Acros II uses Fuji's proprietary SFG emulsion chemistry — different from Kodak T-grain but delivering similar grain fineness. At ISO 100:

• RMS granularity — ~6 (among the finest grain in current B&W production; comparable to Tech Pan's RMS 8 at ISO 25)
• Resolving power — 200+ lp/mm at high contrast; rivals Delta 100 and T-Max 100
• Scan character — grain effectively invisible at 4000 DPI on 35mm; completely invisible on 120

The acutance signature

Fuji's Neopan family has always carried a characteristic high-acutance signature — edges render crisper than pure resolution numbers predict. Acros II preserves this trait. Side-by-side with Delta 100 or T-Max 100 at the same enlargement, Acros II prints appear "sharper" even when laboratory resolution is similar.

Exposure characteristics

Acros II's rated box speed is EI 100; this is honest for most development conditions. Common ratings:

• EI 100 (box) — standard; baseline for all pictorial work
• EI 80 — minor overexposure for richer shadow rendering
• EI 50 — for long-exposure work where some overexposure margin is welcome

Acros II does not "push well" in the conventional sense — ISO 100 pushed to EI 200 or 400 works, but the speed-to-grain trade-off is poor compared to shooting a faster film directly.

Development workflows

Fuji does not currently market a matched developer (as Microfine was for the older Neopan family). Common pairings:

• Fuji Neofin (German-made; Spur product line) — reasonable match if available
• Kodak D-76 1:1 — 11 min at 68°F for EI 100; neutral tonal character
• Ilford ID-11 1:1 — similar to D-76
• Kodak HC-110 Dilution B — 5:30 at 68°F; one-shot convenience
• Ilford Perceptol 1:1 — fine-grain; 15 min at 68°F; EI 80
• Agfa Rodinal 1:50 — 13 min at 68°F; maximum acutance emphasized (but acutance is Acros's natural trait)

Comparison with alternatives

Film	ISO	Grain	Reciprocity	Use case
Acros II 100 (this film)	100	Very fine	p≈1.03 (near-linear)	Long exposure + fine-grain pictorial
Kodak T-Max 100	100	Very fine	p≈1.1	Fine-grain pictorial (not long-exposure)
Ilford Delta 100	100	Very fine	p≈1.1	Fine-grain pictorial
Ilford FP4 Plus	125	Fine (cubic)	p≈1.3	Classic pictorial; slightly faster
Original Fuji Acros 100 (2018, discontinued)	100	Very fine	p≈1.03	Predecessor; functionally similar

Acros II's unique position: the only current B&W film with near-linear reciprocity response. T-Max 100 and Delta 100 match its grain and resolution, but neither approaches its long-exposure behavior.

Format availability

Fujifilm currently produces Acros II in:

• 35mm — 36-exposure cassettes
• 120 — 5-roll pro packs

No 4×5 sheet version. For large-format long-exposure work, photographers improvise with Delta 100 (better reciprocity than Tri-X), T-Max 100, or FP4 Plus — none match Acros II's reciprocity but all are available in sheet.

Workflow recommendations

• Long-exposure landscape — EI 100 in D-76 1:1 or ID-11 1:1; shoot 30–120 seconds metered with no reciprocity correction; tripod, cable release, mirror lockup
• Astrophotography — EI 100 in Rodinal 1:50 for maximum acutance on point sources; exposures of 1–10 minutes render with accurate star brightness
• Pinhole — Acros II is the default B&W pinhole film; reciprocity advantage is the entire reason
• Fine-grain pictorial — EI 80 in Perceptol 1:1 for smoothest grain; Fuji acutance signature gives crisp edge rendering
• Daylight landscape — EI 100 in HC-110 Dil B for one-shot convenience
• Architecture — Acros II's combination of resolution and near-linear reciprocity makes it ideal for architectural interiors where long exposures under dim ambient light are common

Famous usage and context

Acros (both original and II) is the preferred B&W film of:

• Contemporary long-exposure landscape photographers (Michael Kenna school)
• Astrophotography hobbyists and small-observatory imaging programs
• Pinhole photographers (near-linear reciprocity + fine grain)
• Architecture photographers working in available light

The film's survival through the 2018 discontinuation and 2019 relaunch is itself a cultural signal — Acros retains a dedicated community that made its disappearance unacceptable, which is a rare outcome for film products in the 2010s and 2020s.

Related films and techniques

• Fuji Neopan 400 (discontinued) — Acros's ISO-400 sibling in the discontinued Neopan line; this page is its survivor
• Reciprocity Failure Compensation — Acros II is the reciprocity-champion entry in the per-stock table
• Neutral Density Filters — long-exposure workflow that pairs perfectly with Acros II's reciprocity behavior
• Ilford Delta 400 — T-grain Ilford B&W for the ISO 400 speed class