Howdy...
Someone just gave me some Bergger film, swearing by it. I've never heard of it before. So I have two questions:
1) What are the pros and cons about this film, and how does it compare to, say, FP4+ or TMX 100 or Delta 100?
2) I notice that it does not come with guidelines for XTOL or PMK devolopers. Any experience here that anyone could share?
Thanks. I LOVE this forum.
David, Personally I find that it doesn't compare well with FP4+. I have found that it is quite a bit more "grainy". BUT others swear by it!! It would be worth giving it a try.
Hi, David, Bergger is a french manufacturer, they are known for their pretty good darkroom products. The phone number is (in France): 02 47 57 65 06. Bergger papers are very rich in silver, often very warmtone and I must say I really like them! They are slow, so you have to increase the exposure time in the enlarger(about X2). You're right about this forum. Ciao! Daniel Ps: It seems to me I've read a test on that Film a few months ago in a mag, I'll look for it
Hi David,
Delta and T-Max are high tech T-grain films. Bergger is somehow the rebirds of and old time films (many people compares is to Super XX) so it is much more forgiving in exposure/processing and capable of N+3 N-3 development (T-Max will only allow N-1 N+1)
I't diferent but you migth like it. Give it a try...
Enrique.-
David,
Bergger 200 is a close match to the long discontinued Kodak Super XX. I am sure that "The Film Developing Cookbook" (Steve Anschell - Focal Press) gives suggested times for both those developers.
It is a classic 'straight-line' emulsion and would not readily compare with a shouldered film such as FP4+.
It may prove quite grainy but when you take into account that it is available in sheet sizes up to about 24x20 you will realise that its main strength is in contact printing.
We all love the forum because we all love photography - how about for the New Year we all try a little harder to love each other.
Peace, love & happiness ... Walter
I just saw a review of the Berger 200 speed film, which is now available in 120. Maybe it was in _Photovision_ or _Camera Arts_? It looked kind of grainy, even developed in Pyro, in medium format, but might be interesting in a larger format. The attraction is that it is supposed to be a single, thick emulsion film like Super XX with a wide density range for N+ developing.
How does the Forte Fortepan 200 compare to Bergger? I have seen that it is much cheaper.
I shoot Bergger film in 8x10 for contact printing and love the results- absolutely nothing else like it. I shoot it at EI 100 and my normal developing time is 11 minutes at 70 degrees in PMK. In my experience, when enlarged it's kind of grainy and not the sharpest film in the world, but it's not nearly as bad as some would have you believe. As Walter pointed out, though, it's main strength lies in contact printing. I print all my 8x10 negs with Azo and Ansco 130 these days and the results are the best I've been able to produce. Good luck.
According to most users I know (I am not one of them....), the film emulsion is richer in silver than more modern film, this makes it the Ideal film to produce contacts since this way the greys range and contrast values are very much enhanced. I admit that there is a lot of hearsay in my entry, maybe you could get in touch with Lotus cameras, they are distributors of the film Good luck
In the Film Developing Cookbook Anchell and Troop recommend 12 minutes in PMK (1+2+100). No recommendation for XTOL.
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