Is there a "Best" ISO200 print film

I'd like to know if 200 speed color print film is even worth fooling

with. I've heard it being boo-hooed as a poor "jack-of-all-trades"to

other faster and slower films. I often switch between 100 and 400

speed films myself and would rather not mess with changing film as

often as I do if a 200 film would satisfy all my needs in one. But

if it would, which specific Fuji or Kodak would be the 200 film of

choice? I work in a store that sells both brands of consumer films.

So they are handy and a bit more economical to me. By the way, my

lens's speeds range from 3.5 to 5.6.

I welcome you comments.

Although not quite 200 speed, I have found Portra 160NC excellent for indoor use with flash.

 

For outdoor shots, I like Fuji NPC 160. Give that a shot.

Does your store carry AGfa Vista 200?? If so, give it a try...

Unless you're using professional-grade prime lenses, mounting your camera on a heavy tripod, and making mural-sized prints (in which case you should be using Velvia or Provia 100F slide film), you're really better off using an ISO 400 film for everything. The difference in image quality between 400 and 100 isn't much, and the faster shutter speed and/or smaller aperture the faster film allows is likely to give you more sharpness. I am unaware of any real advantage in image quality in the 200 compared with the 400. The best ISO 400 films are so good that there's no need for anything slower.

 

200-speed films had a good reason to exist 20 years ago. Kodak's VR 200 offered image quality comparable to the ISO 100 Kodacolor II it replaced, and the extra stop was convenient. The 400-speed version was still excessively grainy and had noticeably lower color saturation. But over the years, 400-speed films improved so much that 200 seems to exist only because inertia keeps it alive.

Royal Gold 200 if you can find some. The last roll I took looked better than some NPS I took at the same time, on the other hand that could have just been a screwup in development or something.

Fuji 200 (either Superia or Super HQ depending on where you're located) is pretty good. The grain is comparable to Superia 100, but it isn't as contrasty and the colors seem a bit more accurate. Blue skies show no grain at 5"x7". When I want (or need) to shoot Fuji print film, I generally choose either Superia-Reala 100 (for bright sun or portraits), Super HQ 200 (general purpose), or Superia XTRA 800 (low light or action). I avoid Superia 100 and Superia XTRA 400.