Efke film

[Greg Blank]

Really?

I can think of hundreds of ways film gets scratched. I would say hurrying is at the top of the list. Try this: shooting in the desert a grain of sand gets blown inside your film holder along the edge . As you slide the darkslide out that grain of sand gets wedged against the film and the darkslide and rolls across your exposure.

Or in automating your 4x5 washing using a film washer the film sticks to the plexiglass insert that holds the film, as you slide the insert out of the washer the adjacent film edge contacts the piece next to it. Or when removing the film from the washer the film is slick and slides onto the less than spic and span floor.

Ever use a lab? I was applying for a job at a lab in Baltimore one day I went there to see how they operated. One of the owners, not a novice dropped a clients negative and it slide across the floor about twenty feet. Of course none these I would consider good reasons, but doodie happens.

I've shot hundreds of sheets of Efke 25 in 4x5, 8x10, 11x14 and 8x20. I don't see how anyone scratches film. I mean it's film for crying out loud! You scratch film by being in a hurry or not paying attention or not using a changing bag properly. The 25 is a great film. Only film I use other than x-ray.

How does it compare to Tmax 100. For me it gives me the look that I'm after for my carbon prints. That is all I need to know. T-max looked to clinical?

[Jim Fitzgerald]

Really?

I can think of hundreds of ways film gets scratched. I would say hurrying is at the top of the list. Try this: shooting in the desert a grain of sand gets blown inside your film holder along the edge . As you slide the darkslide out that grain of sand gets wedged against the film and the darkslide and rolls across your exposure.

Or in automating your 4x5 washing using a film washer the film sticks to the plexiglass insert that holds the film, as you slide the insert out of the washer the adjacent film edge contacts the piece next to it. Or when removing the film from the washer the film is slick and slides onto the less than spic and span floor.

Ever use a lab? I was applying for a job at a lab in Baltimore one day I went there to see how they operated. One of the owners, not a novice dropped a clients negative and it slide across the floor about twenty feet. Of course none these I would consider good reasons, but doodie happens.

Really! I mean think about the entire process. I'm one who is in control of my entire process. Sand in a holder is something that can happen so I'll give you that one. But having a lab develop B&W film? Not on your life. I use Pyrocat to develop my Efke and it helps to harden the film. No automated film washer for me. One has to be careful with any film if you do not want to scratch it. Try double sided x-ray film then Efke will be a piece of cake!

[Sevo]

The emulsion is very soft - this is no film for easy tray development, but it does well in tanks. I've had several 9x12 boxes that had no edge notches - but given the price it is no big matter to sacrifice a sheet to identify the box orientation. And some years old casts often had pinholes - they seem to have installed new machines a year or two ago, and this is no issue any more, but if you buy expired sheets, they'd better be dirt cheap.

Apart from that it is a nice old-fashioned film that can deliver amazing results with Beutler/Neofin blau.

[Greg Blank]

Pyro developers do help some, using large sheets you probably develop one per time?

I never liked tray development with more than one sheet, I moved to the Jobo early in my LF experience. I agree about labs processing B&W. Never did it - never will, the story about see the neg dropped was incidental.

Really! I mean think about the entire process. I'm one who is in control of my entire process. Sand in a holder is something that can happen so I'll give you that one. But having a lab develop B&W film? Not on your life. I use Pyrocat to develop my Efke and it helps to harden the film. No automated film washer for me. One has to be careful with any film if you do not want to scratch it. Try double sided x-ray film then Efke will be a piece of cake!

[Greg Blank]

Back when I wrote the View Camera article, I was sent two boxes of film from J&C PL100 and this 25 speed film. The film lacked the very notches as you state- it may have been an intermittant issue through out the box. One of the films the base and emulsion was virtually identical in texture. The PL100 was so bad (Fogged) I sent it back to J&C twice. I really liked the 25 speed film, but 25 is very slow exposure in the Eastern US where you have much more green foliage absording light.

The emulsion is very soft - this is no film for easy tray development, but it does well in tanks. I've had several 9x12 boxes that had no edge notches - but given the price it is no big matter to sacrifice a sheet to identify the box orientation. And some years old casts often had pinholes - they seem to have installed new machines a year or two ago, and this is no issue any more, but if you buy expired sheets, they'd better be dirt cheap.

Apart from that it is a nice old-fashioned film that can deliver amazing results with Beutler/Neofin blau.

[false_Aesthetic]

My sunrise work was all shot with Efke 25 in PMK. Worked quite well.

[Donald Miller]

Efke Pl 100 has been my standard film for over ten years. I have used it in 4X5 and 5X7. I tube develop in Pyrocat HD. While Tmax 100 is a wonderful film, I find that Efke gives me the results that I want.

[Drew Wiley]

TMX and Efke 25 are very different animals. For one thing, the Efke is Orthopan rather
than panchromatic like TMX. This gives it a very different look - to me more natural,
rendering green foliage etc more buoyant - and thus requires a little different filtration.
It's finer-grained and with better edge effect than TMX, but obviously much slower. I
have been able to get twelve stops of range in pyro developers without resorting to
compensating devs or other tricks which would compromise midtone micro-contrast.
So quite an impressive film in this respect. A couple of things in the darkroom that
everyone would agree about, are that you don't want to use elevated dev or wash
temps with Efke 25 (the gelatin melts at a lower temp than many films), and that if
you use an acid stop bath it should be very weak.

[Jim Fitzgerald]

Drew, years ago I settled on the Efke 25 for the things you mention. With my carbon transfer printing I can hold all of those 12 stops and more in the print. But it is in the mid tones where this film really shines for me. It has an amazing range and is great in Pyro.

[drew.saunders]

I've used Efke IR820C and IR820 "Aura" infrared films in 4x5 (and 120 and 35mm). To deal with the softer emulsion, I just use Kodak's hardening fixer and that seems to make it tough enough for me and my clumsy film handling ways.

I switched from regular IR820 to "Aura" mainly because the Aura doesn't have an anti-halation layer, which requires a pre-wash. In smaller formats the Aura's stronger IR "bloom" is quite pronounced, but in 4x5, it's only a little stronger, and I like it.