J&C film is the best deal I can find on 11x14. It is $99/25 sheets of asa 400. Has anyone used this film? Anyone know of a better deal?
J&C film is the best deal I can find on 11x14. It is $99/25 sheets of asa 400. Has anyone used this film? Anyone know of a better deal?
J&C Classic 400 is a beautiful film--much like Tri-X, but the highlights are a bit more modulated. A little grainier than Tri-X, but I'm guessing you're not going to be enlarging. I've processed it in a few different developers, and my processing times are usually fairly close to my processing times for Tri-X, so you can use that as a starting point. I usually develop it in ABC pyro.
The emulsion is more fragile than Kodak or Ilford films, so if you process in trays by shuffling, work carefully and deliberately to avoid scratches. Also, the unexposed film is not as stable over time as more modern-style films, so it is better to purchase it fresh as you need it than to stock up with the idea of keeping it in the freezer for years.
My first box of 11x14 film was J&C Classic. After one box I moved on to try Efke. That box of Efke changed my opinion of the Classic film. Although the Classic is good film David is correct about the highlights. Overall I find that Efke is a sharper film with more contrast. Both films are easy to scratch so careful processing is in order. If price is a concern stick with Classic. Otherwise maybe try a box of Efke.
I used to use J&C and then switched to Efke as well. I was using ultrafine http://ultrafineonline.com/index.html for a little while but they seem to have stopped making it in 11x14, Ultrafine was Illford Fp4 in dissguise and the price was right.
Efke PL100 is also a really nice film. I shoot that too. If you don't need the speed of the 400, you might prefer it.
What's the opinion here of the Efke PL25 film? I'm sure it seems like overkill to 11x14 contact printers, but I'm looking into enlarging 8x10.
Efke 25 and 50 have a very different look from Efke 100. I think it's more orthochromatic. I don't care for it as much, but it has its admirers.
By all means be very careful when shuffling 11X14 during development!
I use both Efke PL100 and PL25 in 11x14. If you can live with the speed (difficult) I've never had more expressive negatives than with the PL25. The range of darkroom options is a rich range. I have no explantion for this but find it to be my experience. I've been using Pyrocat HD for both films. They are soft but careful technique takes care of that most of the time.
Anyone else stock Efke100 in 8x10 in the US? I see J&C is out
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