My first packs of film will be Arista EDU 100 - Which were yours?

Hi,

I am new to LF. I recently got a field camera. I am ready to shoot : ) !!!

Which were your first packs of film?

I have chosen Arista EDU 100 as the film I'll start with. One of the reasons
is because it is inexpensive, and because out of all the 4x5" B&W negative
films I've seen out there, this one comes second. The one film that comes
first in my preferences is more expensive, it is Ilford. I have thought on
shooting some one hundred sheets of this film and gain the experience that
comes doing the first shots in LF photography. Eventually I'll use the Ilford
films as I get more experienced. Do you think is a good move to start out
this way?

Thank you, kind regards,

Ig

I started out just like you, with Foma100 (=Arista Edu 100). To a large extent, I stuck with it, but I also shoot other types of film - sometimes TMAX100, and also Foma 200 and Foma 400. Frankly, I quite like the Foma films in 4x5, although Foma400 is of course relatively grainy and not as fast as the box says. But I generally don't need much speed in 4x5 anyway, so I mostly stick with slower films.

Honestly, if I could only get Foma100 in 4x5, I'd still be a happy shooter. Other films are more linear, but for me personally, that's usually not a necessity (and I use Foma200 or TMAX100 if it is important).

The one real problem IMO is Foma100's reciprocity characteristics, which are rather poor to say the least. So in low-light situations, any non-Foma film is a better choice. For this purpose, I rely on TMAX100.

Polaroid type 55 and Hp5+

Hp5+ is a good film to learn with. But I now seem to wobble between Delta 100 and FP4+.