Who uses 8x10 Efke, ANy problems still?

[G Benaim]

I'm about to order some film, was wondering if efke still suffers from manufacturing defects. Thanks,

GB

[MenacingTourist]

GB,

I'm one of the people who have never had a problem with Efke film. Others have only had problems. I recently bought a big box of 25iso 8x10 from Freestyle and shot a few sheets last week. Haven't had time to process yet but I'm not worried based on my past experience.

Alan.

[tim810]

I just bought a box of 12x20 Efke 25. Havn't shot any yet. I was told that if you use a non acid stop and hardener in your fixer there won't be any problems. I will try and see!!

Good luck
Tim

[IanG]

I just bought a box of 12x20 Efke 25. Havn't shot any yet. I was told that if you use a non acid stop and hardener in your fixer there won't be any problems. I will try and see!!

Good luck
Tim

That advice has been given for EFKE films in general, and is possibly a good idea. I don't use a hardener and I use a water stop bath.

But that isn't really related to the coating issue GB is asking about. Over the years I've used a lot of EFKE film and been lucky & never had a coating defect, however there was a problem a year or two back, and a number of people had unusable film. It has to be borne in mind that there was a lot of panic in the industry after Agfa, then Ilford had problems, followed by uncertainty then later closure of Forte, as we know only Ilford survide. EFKE films were suddenly in much grater demand and there was insufficient quality control. J&C and Mirko/Fotoimpex were involved in trying to get quality controls tightened.

You would need to ask Mirko, but I think he posted on APUGb that there was going to be an additional inspection prior to slitting and packing of the EFKE he was selling under the Adox brand name. Mirko certainly got the last master rolls of Forte paper slit somewhere else, possibly Foma. Foma have just built a new slitting & packing facility in partnership with Fuji.

Mirko/Fotoimpex supplies Freestyle with Adxo branded EFKE film.

Ian

[henrysamson]

I stocked up on 8x10 PL100 right before J&C closed. They were clearing it out at a very nice price. Stuck it all in the freezer while I used up some older stock. Old stock had no defects. Just started using the new batch and have gone through about 50-60 sheets. A few had one or two small clear spots. Very small, looked like dust until viewed with a loupe. Perfectly round, fuzzy edge and a black spot in the center. Perhaps caused by a speck of dirt coated on. Only on a few sheets and no worse problem than actual dust. Needless to say I was worried about my "investment" for a couple years while it sat in the freezer but now wish I had bought more.

I use pyrocat hd, half strength stop and Kodak rapid fix with the hardener. It is very soft. I can not do more than one sheet at a time without a chance of scratching.

[G Benaim]

So Adox film is rebranded EFke, hopefully w better QC?

[IanG]

EFKE used the Adox brand name after they moved the former Dupont plant to Croatia, then the license ran out, Dupont held the name, but let it lapse and Mirko bought it. It's probable that most of EFKE's production now goes through Fotoimpex and is once again sold under its old Adox name.

There haven't been any reports of defective film either here or on APUG for some time now, so yes presumably QC is better now.

Ian

[Jim Noel]

I use Efke 25 and 100 almost exclusively for 717.
I have no problems with either. Yes, they are soft but careful handling takes care of that problem.
If using Pyrocat HD, or any of the various pyrocatechol or pyrogallic acid developers there is no need for hardener in the fix. Also, as I understand it, the hardener reduces th stain so much of the advantage of these developers is negated.

[Richard Wall]

I have used Efke PL-25 without any problems. I have only developed it in Rodinal 1:100 and I never use an acid stop.

[IanG]

The EFKE films have evolved slightly and compared to the early 70's when I first used them now have slightly better hardening. It is possible to use a pre development hardening bath, but I preferred to add a small amount of formaldehyde solution to a one shot developer, only 2 or 3 drops. You can find plenty of tales of the emulsion just sliding off the base, but it could if you weren't careful.

Now that's not really necessary, it is better hardened and as Jim says tanning/staining developers help to harden the emulsion further. but you do still need to handle it with care. care.

Ian

[Lenny Eiger]

I use it. It's been pretty stable lately. I like the ISO 25, I soup it in D-23... very smooth.

lenny

[Gary L. Quay]

I had a single 4x5 PL25 sheet come out with cracking in the emulsion, llooking ike confused lightning for lack of a better simile, and with streaks of white that ran diagonally down from left to right. Weird. I have heard that there have been emulsion troubles, but I'd never had a problem before. Has anyone seen this before?
Developed in Pyrocat HD, water stop, fixed in PF TF-4. I have read that if you use a pyro developer, which hardens the film as it develops, you don't have issues with soft emulsions. Is this true also for pyrocat?

--Gary

[Rick Olson]

Well, I was a frustrated Efke user because I thought I had a "banding" problem and mentioned so in a recent thread. I was processing 8x20 in Pyrocat-HD in a 16x20 rotary drum. Knowing that Pyrocat-HD was made for roller-type processing, I knew it had to be my Efke film when I had uneven vertical streaks. I even sacrificed a sheet from the box, held it up to the light and saw what appeared to me as uneven (vertical) emulsion coating. Well, at that point, I was done with Efke. Then I received a box of Kodak TMY in 8 x 20 and developed it exactly the same way in Pyrocat-HD in the 16x20 drum. Guess what? Same uneven vertical density streaks. I was processing at a slow, even rotary speed, reversing the drum every minute, shaking it side by side to disrupt the flow during rotation, etc. Everything I thought would produce even development. Frustrated, I knew I needed to try something else. I read about tray processing and about others having similar uneven development, etc. Since I process only one sheet at a time, I did more reading and researched brush development. I didn't have a fancy Hake brush, so I ran over to Lowes and purchased a 4" foam brush to do a quick test. I set up the 8x20 camera, loaded two sheets of my "banned" Efke PL100 and took two shots. I grabbed some trays and set up the pre-soak and Pyrocat-HD and grabbed my foam brush and developed. I was really curious to see if 1) the brush destroyed Efke's soft emulsion and 2) if I was able to get a decent sky without the banding. Well, the 8x20 negative was the smoothest and best developed to date I have done. And ... no scratches or missing emulsion!

While I know others have had QC problems with Efke (and I thought I was another), I can truly rest assured that the 30 remaining sheets of PL100 are good to go and are back in my "to use" area in the freezer.

Sorry for the long post, but perhaps this can offer assistance to anyone wondering about strange developing problems.

Rick