AshigrainColour negative · Natural
Fujifilm Eterna 250D
Daylight Eterna for natural skin outdoors.
Restrained daylight colour and natural skin, printed Fuji-on-Fuji. Original vs Ashigrain.
At a glance
- Exposure index
- 250
- Daylight
- Introduced
- 2005
- Discontinued 2013
- Process
- ECN-2
About the film
Eterna 250D was the daylight film in the second wave of Fujifilm's Eterna series, coded 8563 in 35 mm and 8663 in 16 mm.
Fujifilm introduced Eterna 400, 250 and 250D in 2005, and its US arm announced all three as available in January 2006. They were designed to share the palette of Eterna 500, so a production could cut between speeds, and between daylight and tungsten stocks, without a visible jump. Fujifilm described that palette as subtle, with restrained saturation and fine grain, and aimed the films at productions finishing through a digital intermediate as well as on optical prints. It is rated EI 250 in daylight, or EI 64 under tungsten with an 80A filter, and Fujifilm pitched it for natural colour on location, outdoors and in mixed light. Fujifilm reported that Barry Ackroyd shot The Hurt Locker, winner of the 2010 Academy Award for Best Picture, on 16 mm Eterna 500T and Eterna 250D. For Slumdog Millionaire, Anthony Dod Mantle told Fujifilm he reached for Eterna 250D when caught by early-morning light or the fading light of late day. Production ended with the rest of Fujifilm's motion-picture film on 31 March 2013, alongside the separate, more saturated Eterna Vivid 250D that Fujifilm added later.
Sources for this history
- FUJICOLOR NEGATIVE FILM ETERNA 250D (KB-0507ER), FUJIFILM Corporation
- Motion Picture Film Manual (KB-0707E), FUJIFILM Corporation
- 映画用カラーネガフィルム ETERNA シリーズの開発 (FUJIFILM RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT No. 51), FUJIFILM Corporation
- GFX ETERNA 55 開発秘話 #1 – 製品コンセプト, FUJIFILM Corporation
- Fujifilm Expands Eterna Family With The Introduction Of Eterna 400, Eterna 250, Fuji Photo Film U.S.A., Inc. (via WebWire)
- Fuji Eterna 250D 8563 / 8663, Timeline of Historical Film Colors, University of Zurich
- ETERNA 250D, FUJIFILM Corporation
- Discontinued Films, FUJIFILM Corporation
- Fujifilm, Film and Digital Times
- Announcement on Motion Picture Film Business of Fujifilm, FUJIFILM Corporation
- Originated on ETERNA 16mm Negative Stocks, The Hurt Locker picks up the Signis Award at the 65th Venice International Film Festival 2008 (UK), FUJIFILM Corporation
- 'Best Films' choose Fujifilm, Fujifilm UK Ltd
- Fujifilm congratulates Slumdog Millionaire on their Oscar® success, Fujifilm UK Ltd
Shot on Fujifilm Eterna 250D
Låt den rätte komma in
One of three Eterna stocks, with 250T and 500T, that van Hoytema called versatile and grainless and a good base for the digital intermediate.
Precious
Because 13 days had to be reshot, Andrew Dunn switched from the production's original Kodak stocks to Fuji Eterna 500T and 250D, praising Fuji's texture and creamy blacks.
The Fighter
One of three Eterna stocks, with 250T and 500T, that van Hoytema chose for the 2-perf Super 35 photography because he knew how they handled colour.
The look
Fujifilm Eterna 250D is the daylight member of the Eterna family, rated EI 250. Its saturation is restrained, skin tones natural and shadows clean, and it was built to cut seamlessly with Eterna 500. It prints on Fujifilm Eterna-CP 3513DI by default.
Mixed light on a daylight Eterna film with restrained saturation.
Low sun and clean shadows on Eterna 250D.
Best for
- Daylight exteriors and natural skin
- Mixed-light locations
- Early-morning and late-day light
Among the films
Science & sources
A daylight-balanced colour negative with an exposure index of 250. Fujifilm prints one granularity value and one sharpness curve, so its per-layer grain and sharpness are modelled. It prints on Fujifilm Eterna-CP 3513DI by default.
Response curves and the evidence behind the model
Compare manufacturer data with the Ashigrain model on the same axes. This shows the calibration to source curves; comparison with photographed film is a separate question.
Characteristic response
RMS granularity
Density variation (σD) measured through a 48 µm aperture. Where the datasheet gives a single grain value, the response away from that point is an approximation.
| Channel | Density | Datasheet-based σD | Model σD |
|---|---|---|---|
| R | 0.3 | 0.001917 | 0.001982 |
| G | 0.3 | 0.001917 | 0.001985 |
| B | 0.3 | 0.001917 | 0.001976 |
| R | 0.6 | 0.002711 | 0.002803 |
| G | 0.6 | 0.002711 | 0.002807 |
| B | 0.6 | 0.002711 | 0.002795 |
| R | 1 | 0.0035 | 0.003619 |
| G | 1 | 0.0035 | 0.003624 |
| B | 1 | 0.0035 | 0.003608 |
| B | 1.5 | 0.004287 | 0.004419 |
Model limits
These images show the film model in use. Spectral response, lighting and viewing conditions include approximations, while halation, bloom, grain size, weave and flicker are not fully measured for each film. A real film capture also depends on development and print timing.
- The model assumes custom lighting spectra, camera metering and the spectral reflectance inferred from fixed-white-balance footage. These inputs are not measurements of the film.
- The model calculates colour-print timing and scan balance for arbitrary lighting. Scanner colour balance is expressed without a standard physical unit.
- The characteristic curves use a relative exposure axis marked in camera stops. Their absolute normal-exposure point is not specified; its alignment is assumed.
- The source publishes only one RMS granularity value, 3.5 × 10⁻³. The granularity response away from that level is modelled, not a digitised grain curve.
- The source publishes one square-wave contrast transfer function at visual diffuse density 1.1, not separate red, green and blue sine-wave MTF measurements.
- Only neutral and minimum spectral densities are published, not separate cyan, magenta and yellow dye spectra. Individual dye shapes are fitted assumptions.
- The prescribed Kodak 80A filter transmission, grain size, push/pull behaviour and interlayer effects are approximations.
- Characteristic response outside the published exposure range is an extrapolation, not measured film data.
- The source does not identify an antihalation layer. Rem-jet is assumed; halation strength, radius, layer weights and bloom are not measured.
- The available documents do not name a development process for this film. ECN-2 is assumed, not confirmed by those sources.
- This preview approximates the printer lamp and filter spectra and the Status A grey target. The source does not provide the spectral data or laboratory target needed to calibrate them.
Film guide: assumptions and practical choices
Sources
- Diffuse RMS granularity: FUJICOLOR NEGATIVE FILM ETERNA 250D (35mm Type 8563 / 16mm Type 8663) data sheet, Ref. No. KB-0507ER (SK·07·05), p. 1
- Exposure index: FUJIFILM Motion Picture Film Manual, Ref.No.KB-0707E, p. 17
- Characteristic curves: FUJIFILM Motion Picture Film Manual, Ref.No.KB-0707E, p. 18