View Full Version : Any preference between Fomapan 100 and Fomapan 200?
Gene McCluney
8-Aug-2007, 05:34
Just wondering which of these two films many of you prefer in sheet film sizes?
This question would also include the Freestyle "ARISTA" brand of the same films.
I've just bought both, 20 rolls of each in 120 and a couple of boxes of the 200 in 5x4.
Couldn't find a review and comparison of these films anywhere.
Ian
Gene McCluney
8-Aug-2007, 06:29
So far, for me, I have found that Fomapan 200 really needs to be rated at ISO 100, or a little less to get the shadow detail I want. I wonder if the Fomapan 100 is more true to published ISO?
Scott Whitford
8-Aug-2007, 06:40
My experience with the Arista brand of Fomapan 100 is similar. Even if I rate it at 50, I need to place shadows at zone IV to preserve detail. This is for 4x5 sheets developed in Pyrocat M 1+1+100 with rotary development. If I were relying on a simple incident reading or in-camera meter, I would rate the film at 25 to be safe.
Scott
j.e.simmons
8-Aug-2007, 06:45
My BTZS tests show an EFS of 86 with an SBR 7 (N) negative for the Arista/Foma 200 film. I have not tried the 100, but I think the difference is that the 200 is a more modern, perhaps T-grain film. I find that it develops very, very quickly in Pyrocat. I haven't yet decided whether to accept the short times, or to dilute the developer more.
juan
Scott Davis
8-Aug-2007, 07:33
I've put a lot of the Arista.EDU Ultra 200 through my 5x7- maybe 150+ sheets now. It is best shot at 100, as Gene noted above. It is definitely NOT a T-grain film. It processes wonderfully in Pyrocat - I do mine in a Jobo Expert drum 1:1:100, for 12 mins @ 75F (75 is about the coldest I can get my water in the summertime, and the coldest I can get the heater in my CPA2 to stay in the winter). This yields good negatives for Pt/Pd printing. If my goal were a grade 2 print on silver paper, I'd cut the dev time back to around 9 - 9 1/2 mins.
Walter Foscari
8-Aug-2007, 09:24
In 4x5 I rate fomapan 100 @ 64 and the 200 @ 125.
Develop in pyrocat - jobo expert drum for 81/2 min the 100 and 71/2 the 200 both at 20C, this for silver printing or scanning.
Fine films both of them. Only drawback I've found the 100 is prone to uneven dev. unless I invert the rotation occasionally during the process (I roll the drum on a uniroller base that rotates one way only)
Walter, are you using Pyrocat at 1:1:100, I ask because your times seem shorter than I'd expect.
Gene McCluney
8-Aug-2007, 09:36
Only drawback I've found the 100 is prone to uneven dev. unless I invert the rotation occasionally during the process (I roll the drum on a uniroller base that rotates one way only)
Interesting. I have found the Fomapan 200 to be prone to uneven developing, so it seems both are prone to this problem.
Walter Foscari
8-Aug-2007, 19:18
Yep, pyrocat at 1:1:100. I don't find the times too short (rotary process), originally I was using longer times and the contrast was way too high.
As far as problems with uneven dev I guess I was spoilt by years of FP4+, which as you know is harder to screw-up than get it right.
Jiri Vasina
9-Aug-2007, 01:32
There is and interesting thread about Fomapan 200 over at APUG (http://www.apug.org/forums/forum37/40375-foma-t200.html) - especially post #39 from Roger Hicks regarding the film being T-grain. I've not used that film (yet), because here in the Czech Republic - the country of its production - it's not available in sheet form, only in rolls. And yes, it's speed is claimed by most to be around 100-125.
When using Fomapan 100, I rate it at 80, but have yet to do my precise testing.
Jiri, Fomafoto (http://www.fomafoto.com/) in Norway are European distributors and carry various sheet film sizes, as do Fotoimpex in Berlin & Silverprint in London.
All three companies will ship worldwide, and most definitely to the Czech Republic.
Jiri Vasina
9-Aug-2007, 02:35
Ian, that would be very funny (and expensive) for me to order from Norway - the film would have to be shipped from the Czech Republic to Norway and then back again. And the same with Fotoimpex and Silverprint. No way :)
If I decide I really need to try the 200 variant in sheets, I'll try contacting the factory by email/phone and arranging it this way. It may work; although as I have emailed them twice in the past and got no reply, it might turn the other way too... (I was asking about the availability of inch-sized Foma 100 here in CZ, as they offer only metric variants)
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