According to Fuji’s press release, the new Provia 400X Professional ISO 400 slide film features:
Brilliant color reproduction: Fujichrome Provia 400X Professional provides new levels of color saturation in ISO 400 class films.
Ultra-fine grain: Fujichrome Provia 400X Professional provides exceptionally fine grain for a 400 speed color reversal film (RMS: 11).
Rich tone reproduction: Fujichrome Provia 400X Professional produces smooth and continuous gradation from highlights to shadows, providing pleasing skin tone reproduction.
Improved color image stability: Fujichrome Provia 400X incorporates new-generation color couplers for significantly improved long-term color image stability (anti-fading characteristics) compared to current 400 speed color reversal films.
(end quote)
Also mentioned in the Provia 400X brochure (PDF) is "minimal change in color intensity and tonality throughout the -1/2 stop to +2 stop range (EI 280-1600), and extending even to +3 stops (EI 3200) in certain conditions." Nice!
I can’t wait to see what this stuff does when cross processed and pushed. I like to use crossed and pushed Provia 400F for pinhole work on overcast days, but it does get insanely grainy. Hopefully this will be a little less severe. (I actually like its grain-the-size-of-boulders characteristics, but it’s nice to have a choice.)
With all this strife for film companies and product lines of late, it’s nice to see new stuff coming out!
Provia 400X will be available in 135-36 and 120 formats. The film code appears to be RXP.