Newbie Re; ERA Film

[briand]

Hi to all::D
my question is, does anyone have experience with ERA B/W Film 100asa from China,it has been reccommended to me by a couple of Large Format chaps from the camera Store I deal with in Melbourne Aus. its about half the price of Ilfords B/W films. my reasearch says the ERA factory is no longer operating since 2007?:rolleyes: I can get this Film from Isac Chen in Tainan, or should I stick with a known brand,:confused:
In the past [ back in the dark ages } when I was using film cameras I was using Ilford FP4 for most of my 35mm and medium format work, 4x5 is a new format for me and a new learning curve.
any advice is appreciated.:) Brian

[Tim Meisburger]

Hi Brian,

Not sure about Era, but you can get Shanghai 4x5 pretty cheaply on ebay. Its mailed direct from Shanghai, no matter who you buy it from, and the prices varies quite a bit in different posts. The cheapest is usually just be for an auction ends , even though its "buy It Now". Anyway, I use it a lot as shipping out of the US to Bangkok costs as much as the film.

Best, Tim

[Patrick Dixon]

I have a load of secondhand ERA film and shot my first sheets a couple of days ago. I'm pretty new to LF and B&W, so I'm not sure what I can tell you, but it looks OK to me.

Ektar 127mm/f4.7 - ISO100 DD-X 1:6 8.5m 20degC

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3571/3800843773_5b0715c368.jpg

Angulon 90mm/f6.8 - ISO50 DD-X 1:4 8m 20degC

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2611/3801602855_c45384a8d0.jpg

[ChrisN]

Hi Brian; I'm only slightly ahead of you on this learning curve, and I've used about 30 sheets of ERA 100 in 4x5. I got mine from Isaac Chen too. It was so cheap (compared with Ilford) that I thought I'd give it a go. In 35mm it gives a lot of grain, but it's not too noticable in 4x5! I'm happy with the results, but I frequently find small pits in the emulsion, so if you are after perfect negs I'd try one of the mainstream offerings.

Cheers!

Chris

[philbed]

Hi Everybody,
I use this film since 1 year. I like it. It has a higher B+F than modern film (around 0,11 for N development). I soup it in HC-110 dil E (1+11) for 4' in BTZS tube. Film speed is 80 ISO. With a such cheap film you can shot what you want !

[briand]

Hi ALL.:)
Thanks for the replies, I have decided to purchase 50 sheets to try, so hopefully it should be here by the end of the week,it is a lot cheaper than the main stream films,
US $29.00 for 50 sheets compared to AU $47.00 for 25sheets. it will be interesting to compare the results of the ERA to Ilford Delta 100.
thanks again and happy shooting :D
Brian.

[philbed]

Well Brian,
You will be quite disappointed if you compare Era and Delta. They are completly different film. Era is less versatile than Delta. It is more sensitive to over/under exposure and development. You need to test it carefully to have the best results.

[briand]

Hi Phil. :)
thanks for the Advice, I will run some test on it before I start using it for any finished works
Cheers Brian:rolleyes:

[dng88]

I order 100 rolls 135 plus 2 box of 4x5 over the boarder here direct from factory last year. Seems still going since 1970s. I mainly use shanghai 8x10 and 120 but for 135 era is the main choice.

4x5 is ok.