UltraFine Finesse 400 ISO 35mm Black and White Film Review | All About Film

Some years ago I had the opportunity to have an enlightening conversation with the owner of UltraFine and he explained the UltraFine mission and gave me some interesting tidbits about the stocks. Key in this, UltraFine films are aimed at giving students and learners an affordable stock and this is a great mission I gladly support. Secondly, the name of the UltraFine film stock indicates that it is its own thing. All Finesse stock is the same stock made by the same firm, therefore. UltraFine films are newly made and good films, not short ends and expired stock. Each name of the stock, previously Extreme and now Finesse, for example, indicates a new generation of films.
I would add to that, Extreme and Finesse are much different films. I liked Extreme a lot - it was one of my two favorite black and white 400 ISO films, the other being Kentmere 400. Extreme delivered exceptional image quality and consistent and stunning performance. Finesse 400 I like less. Finesse is a look that needs to be liked specifically. I don’t think of Finesse as a film that anyone can pick up and immediately be enamored with the results of. For subjects outside, I like Finesse and think it’s a fine option. For subjects indoors, I would suggest against it, unless you have a good flash.
Finesse is a film that can perform very well but, if you’re like me, it’s going to take a good number of rolls to dial in how to use it. This video’s image folder had 83 sample photos in it, which if you know this series is about half what I usually show up with. That said, I bought a number of factory rolls of Finesse, mostly for the splash screen photos, and two - that I can recall - 100-foot spools. That first 100-foot spool was my learning curve and this film took me a while to dial in. So to that end, if you’re interested in trying Finesse, pick up a few rolls before you pick up a 100-footer and see what results you get. It’s worth trying, especially for the cost, and when Finesse connects with your camera’s settings and the scene in front of it, it can create a lovely photograph.
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Video Index:
0:00 - Intro
0:13 - UltraFine Finesse 400 All About Film Review
0:27 - UltraFine Finesse 400 Developed in Photographer’s Formulary PMK 1+2+100
0:48 - UltraFine Finesse 400 Best Tips, Tricks, and Practices
1:14 - UltraFine Finesse 400 Developed in Fomadon LQR 1+10
2:32 - UltraFine Finesse 400 Developed in HC-110 (LegacyPro 110) Dilution B (1+31)
3:04 - UltraFine Finesse 400 Image Characteristics
5:39 - UltraFine Finesse 400 Filter Performance
8:06 - UltraFine Finesse 400 Recommended Developers
8:15 - UltraFine Finesse 400 Developed in Silvermax Developer 1+19
9:13 - UltraFine Finesse 400 Developed in Paranol S 1+50
9:46 - UltraFine Finesse 400 Developers to Avoid
10:35 - UltraFine Finesse 400 Closing Narrative and UltraFine Finesse 400 Developed in XTOL 1+3
12:41 - UltraFine Finesse 400 @100 ISO Developed in XTOL 1+3
13:43 - UltraFine Finesse 400 @1600 ISO Developed in Rodinal 1+50
14:36 - UltraFine Finesse 400 Developed in HC-110 (LegacyPro 110) Dilution H (1+63)
References:
www.ultrafineonline.com/ulfi4...
www.digitaltruth.com/devchart...
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"Rock this Joint" by Edward Joe Myers, "Distant Echo" by Jakob Ahlborn, and "Could This be Real" by More than Family used under active license from Epidemic Sound at the time of this video's upload.

[@l10industries]

Nice Fomapan 400 review...

[@DavidHancock]

:D Foma 400 will actually come out next month. The sticker on the cassette definitely indicates that this is a different film. Have I ever developed this and Foma 400 in the same tank and been not 100% certain which is which afterward? Yup. But is this something different? Well, that's what the sticker says.

[@qnetx]

I miss Ultrafine Extreme. One of my favorites. Finesse is ok but much different. I shoot it at 400 but overdevelop it at 8:15 minutes for HC-110 Dil B. This gives me a better density and contrast that I prefer for my work.

[@DavidHancock]

Same here. I think it was a stronger film and delivered results that, for my work, were more in line with what I wanted.

[@qnetx]

@@DavidHancock- If you are still in contact with the owner of Ultrafine, it would be nice to know if they will ever bring it back.

[@Casey_Schmidt]

These photos seem suspiciously similar to Fomapan 400 but I know that Foma has more red sensitivity so maybe it’s different? I’ve shot 100ft of that stuff and it yielded similar results. I always shot mine at ISO320 with a deep yellow filter and got photos I was happy with. I developed with Kodak TMax 1+4 for 7:30 at 20c. I don’t know if you’ve ever tried that combination. The tough part about film is that there are so many combinations that it’s impossible to try it all!

[@DavidHancock]

I know... It's crazy how similar they are. I wonder what the filter test on December's Foma 400 All About Film will show since they were taken at the same time. 🤓

[@lilkngstr]

I remember when it came out. I traded handrolled 400 Xtreme for some 400 Finesse.. I didnt like (Xtol and HC110). I still mourn Xtreme's demise. Back then people were saying it was likely a Foma produced product. I never followed up or shot with it again. I am curious about this future film you hinted at. For me, once my Xtreme stock is gone, I will likely stick with KPan when not using the good stuff.

[@DavidHancock]

I liked Xtreme a LOT, too. I have a strong suspicion on what Extreme was based on develop times and a specific edge data misprint that some of my Xtreme came with at the same time as another film by a different maker that had the exact same edge data printing issue. This definitely performs differently than Xtreme and I would rank Xtreme with Kentmere 400 in terms of films I like and this would hang out around Arista 400 and Foma 400 in a three-way tie much lower on that list.

[@PsychoXXI]

Hey buddy, how much are you paying for a 135mm roll? Thanks.

[@DavidHancock]

I bought all of the stock I used for this video in a large batch more than a year ago. I have no idea what it goes for now.

[@JammiYork]

I like this film. I buy it 100' rolls.

[@DavidHancock]

Nice!

[@alejandrocastano5112]

It is good film, but i prefer the 100 iso
It has better contrast, retain more details and it is cheaper

[@DavidHancock]

If the 100 ISO is the same stock as Arista 100 (I have not used the 100 ISO, but I understand it likely is), then I definitely agree with you on that.

[@GasStationSushi.]

Definitely not foma.

[@DavidHancock]

I'm not sold on that.