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Ola
5-Jul-2008, 02:32
Hi!

I'm thinking of trying out some 'new' film. It's either Fomapan Classic 100 or Efke PL100. Any thoughts? Has anyone compared these films?

Thank you,

Ola

eddie
5-Jul-2008, 04:18
just my opinion. i ujse foma100 (arista.edu.ultra) very successfully. i have used hc110 dil G (18min) and H (9min) the most and have been using pyro HD 1:1:100 (12min) and 2:2:100 (6min). all with great results for silver printing and van dyke brown.

i tried efke 25 a long long time ago and i just could not get it to give me the results i wanted. i was new, so that was probably the problem as a lot of people use and love efke.

arista.edu.ultra is so cheap and works so well that i have not changed back.

eddie

Lenny Eiger
5-Jul-2008, 18:14
Hi!

I'm thinking of trying out some 'new' film. It's either Fomapan Classic 100 or Efke PL100. Any thoughts? Has anyone compared these films?

Thank you,

Ola

Go with the Efke. I don't think Fomapan can compare. (That's been my experience...)

Lenny

rwyoung
5-Jul-2008, 20:27
How do they compare to the new Chinese films one is finding on eBay auctions?

The ERA sheet films have been around for a while (at least 2yrs on eBay that I can tell). I'm on my second batch and so far I've been very happy with them in Rodinal, D76 1:1 and now Pyrocat 2:2:100. They seem less scratch prone than the Fomapan 100. I don't have any Efke/Adox sheet film to compare to.

The ERA grain SEEMS a bit finer but it could also be that I've spent a bit more time tuning the Pyrocat development to ERA than to Fomapan. I haven't done any scientific testing, just the mark-I eyeball.

I've recently cracked open a box of Fomapan 100 in 4x5 and I'll be tuning the Pyrocat a bit for that. So far all I've done with the Fomapan is use it for some pinhole stuff (serious reciprocity failure to accomodate) and it looks good but was a bit grainy.

One thing I do like better about the Fomapan (bought it as Arista.Edu Ultra from Freestyle) is the packaging. While not a triple box, the Fomapan 100 in the Arista.Edu Ultra 100 sheet box is in a 5x7 box so no crowding/bowing. And there are 4 bunches of 25 sheets in a black bag. Each bunch is in its own U-shaped cardboard like Ilford does. The ERA on the other hand is interleaved with paper, inside a thin black bag, inside a foil pouch, inside a barely large enough 4x5 box. I can never seem to get the foil pouch just right again so the box bulges (rubberbands fix that). And the 4x5 and 8x10 I got had taken a mild curve. It was easy to flatten back out by resting some books on top overnight. Individually, the sheets seem fine once in the holder.

Shen45
5-Jul-2008, 20:34
Hi!

I'm thinking of trying out some 'new' film. It's either Fomapan Classic 100 or Efke PL100. Any thoughts? Has anyone compared these films?

Thank you,

Ola

I have used both Efke and Foma films and they are both very good. [PMK and D76] They are both scratch prone, with Efke more so. Both films will provide superb results but you must tailor your film development to the characteristics of the paper you intend to use. Not all papers work equally as well with all films and vice versa. don't dismiss the films based on one sheet until you learn the character of the film and paper combination you use.

Neil Purling
6-Jul-2008, 01:23
I have found my first lot of ERA 100 to have a lower contrast than other stuff shot only seconds earlier. I used the FP4 developement time with R09 diluted 1:25.
The ERA is actually portrait film, it is marked on the box label, so you'd expect a lower contrast level of something intended for exposure under studio flash.
The ERA and perhaps also the Shanghai is packed in a plastic bag inside a foil/paper bag and then in a cardboard box.I found my ERA to have a curl to it. I think that the box is somewhat short to accomodate all the packaging, which is what imparts the curl to the film.

I have used the EFKE PL25. I had developed the 35mm variant in R09 and found it tamed the film very nicely.
The 4x5 was just the same. The film is very soft, a hardening fixer is necessary.
The EFKE/Adox 25ASA only has one defect...... No grain to look at under the focus magnifier! My eyes were like chapel hat-pegs by the time I got the enlarger focused.
I have not used the other EFKE films in 4x5.


I have been told of horrendous reciprocity problems with the Foma 100. To be fair one should shoot a comparision with Ilford FP4 if you are using really long exposure times and go with the one that performs best. This would be relevant when shooting with my wide-angle rectilinears in winter. This would be for exposure times up to 10 seconds.

So far the Foma is the winner, but only after some more checks before doing any important shoots where long exposure times are going to be necessary.
The Foma 100 has a very short development time, so it won't go in with the ERA or FP4.

I haven't tried the Shanghai or EFkE 100ASA in 4x5 sheet. Perhaps you have some useful information to offer?