4x5 EDU Aristra 400 / Foma 400 users ..what are you using now?

peter k. · Oct 14, 2013

Well I finally got the developing time down, the ISO for my camera with developing manner, for this 4x5 sheet film, and nuts.. no longer manufactured. Had quiet a bit of it, and suddenly when reordering found out discontinued, no longer manufactured.
So...
Any suggestions..
What was so wonderful about it, it was inexpensive!
Those who used it, where have ya gone... what are you using now?

wildbill · Oct 14, 2013

I don't think hp5 is going to disappear any time soon.

MartinP · Oct 14, 2013

I think you actually mean that your dealer has stopped stocking the film?

It is a current product and available all over the place, in Europe at least, in just about any size up to 10x8" and bigger by special order.

DREW WILEY · Oct 14, 2013

TMY400 is great stuff. Not cheap to buy, but probably cheaper to use because it's more versatile, and also close to true 400 speed. If you
want cheap 4x5, then just shoot 8x10 for awhile - after that, all 4x5 film will seem cheap.

MartinP · Oct 14, 2013

And if you worry about the cost of 10x8" black and white, have the bright idea to try some Portra in your big foamboard pinhole camera . . . I dropped that idea rather quickly, unfortunately!!

Light Guru · Oct 14, 2013

peter k. said:
Well I finally got the developing time down, the ISO for my camera with developing manner, for this 4x5 sheet film, and nuts.. no longer manufactured. Had quiet a bit of it, and suddenly when reordering found out discontinued, no longer manufactured.
So...
Any suggestions..
What was so wonderful about it, it was inexpensive!
Those who used it, where have ya gone... what are you using now?

Freestyle still sells it in 8x10. Why not just buy that and cut it. The 50 sheet box for $144 will give you 200 sheets once cut.

If your just after cheep film then buy X-ray film. You can buy 100 sheets 8x10 of X-ray film for $30-35. That would give you 400 sheets once cut down to 4x5.

Pioneer · Oct 14, 2013

Am I missing something? Freestyle shows that they still have Arista EDU 400 in stock.

Light Guru · Oct 14, 2013

Pioneer said:
Am I missing something? Freestyle shows that they still have Arista EDU 400 in stock.

Not in the 4x5 size they don't. It is not even listed on the website. They have Arista EDU 400 in 5x7 and 8x10 but not in 4x5

peter k. · Oct 14, 2013

Pioneer said:
Am I missing something? Freestyle shows that they still have Arista EDU 400 in stock.

Check again... nope.. discontinued... that's my supplier.. ;-)

Were in Us... notice on e-bay.. can get fresh Foma 400 for something like $63.00 ,, from overseas not so inexpensive.

The 8x10.. was thought of, but I cut the 4x5 for an 'orphan' 3,25 x 4,25 soo.. I'm set up fer that.. sigh..

Pioneer · Oct 14, 2013

peter k. said:
Check again... nope.. discontinued... that's my supplier.. ;-)

Were in Us... notice on e-bay.. can get fresh Foma 400 for something like $63.00 ,, from overseas not so inexpensive.

The 8x10.. was thought of, but I cut the 4x5 for an 'orphan' 3,25 x 4,25 soo.. I'm set up fer that.. sigh..

Sorry, should have looked closer.

I use this in 35mm but have stayed with Ilford for my large format. When one frame costs this much I really want to be confident in the quality so the slight additional cost doesn't cause me too much concern. BHPhoto and Adorama have pretty good prices on their Ilford stock. Besides, I am pretty confident they will be around for the long term.

peter k. · Oct 14, 2013

Well here's where my thoughts have been, love TriX and shoot it in MF. \
Haven't shot HP5 for a couple of years, but when I did, I was just starting learning how to develop, so been thinking that maybe I really didn't give it a chance. So I ordered two rolls of HP5 in 120 MF, and got them today.
Concept.. Ive done this before... to test a smaller samples of large format film, without going through the expense of the larger image. It takes a more than a few shots to find out the parameters of your developing. At least for me.

Now, this is where I may leave most of you,,, ;-) sliced up the first roll into 10 individual strips. Yep they curl.
Placed one in my 6x6 120 back for the Speed Graphic.. will shoot these individually, and test develop.
Will see how these do,, ...

Roger Cole · Oct 14, 2013

Foma aka Arista 200. It's closer to box speed than the 400 so the speed difference isn't as great as it seems, more like a half stop than a full stop. Disclaimer - I shot a couple of boxes of the 400 and liked it at 200 but only a few sheets so far of 200 which looks ok at somewhere between 125 and 160 - either will work and it's almost impossible to tell a 1/3 stop difference in black and white without a densitometer.

I still shoot the 400 in 120 as it is still made in rolls just not in sheets.

summicron1 · Oct 14, 2013

interestingly, both freestyle and adorama have limited asa 400 film in 4 by 5. Wonder if someone went on a buying spree, or is everyone cutting back?

prices sure went up too. Glad i stocked up a coupla months ago.

Roger Cole · Oct 15, 2013

No Foma cancelled Foma 400 in sheets though they still make it rolls and there is some remaining stock around.

MartinP · Oct 15, 2013

Roger Cole said:
No Foma cancelled Foma 400 in sheets though they still make it rolls and there is some remaining stock around.

Do you have a link to the relevant press-release please? It still seems to be listed as a stock item on the manufacturers website, but it would not be the first time that a manufacturers website has not been updated with negative* news.

* Yes, it's a pun.

Edit:
There seems to be a mix of information on the website. The stock PDF lists the film in sheets while the verbal sub-page for Fomapan 400 doesn't mention it. However, different parts of the Foma website and between different languages, also give different information about several of their materials. It would be handy to have a definitive source for the information. As an alternative, I'd suggest using the Fomapan 200, as there is less than a stop difference in effective speed.

peter k. · Oct 15, 2013

I'd suggest using the Fomapan 200, as there is less than a stop difference in effective speed.

Yes this is true, but I understand that most shoot it at ISO of 100.. and often for the shots I want to shoot requires a tripod.
Shooting the 400 at ISO of 200, still allowed the freedom of being free.

gliderbee · Oct 15, 2013

I just ordered 5 boxes of 50 sheets foma 400 4x5 from macodirect in Germany.

Stefan

Verstuurd van mijn GT-P3110 met Tapatalk

peter k. · Oct 15, 2013

Thanks Stefan, went to their website, and they ship internationally.
So made inquiry on cost ect, and if in fact Foma has stop manufacturing 400 in sheet film.

Roger Cole · Oct 15, 2013

I think it was from Freestyle that I read of the cancellation. Once I'm back at the computer with that email archive on it I can check. I remember being bothered by it (slightly.)

Thomas Bertilsson · Oct 15, 2013

That's too bad. Foma 400 in sheets was great! If I shot more sheet film I'd probably move to HP5+. TMax 400 in sheets is way too expensive for my budget.

By the way, me knowingly, those are the only two ISO 400 films left in sheet film size.

Roger Cole · Oct 15, 2013

Well there's also TXP at 320. Close.

Pioneer · Oct 15, 2013

I think there are four

TMX
TMY
HP5
Delta 400

Roger Cole · Oct 15, 2013

TMX is not ISO 400. It's not even 200. It's rated at 100 and many people think closer to 80.

And I think you missed the part where we were talking about sheet film. Delta 400 is not available in sheets. It used to be - I still have some from the 90s frozen though I haven't tried it to see how well it has kept. IF Kodak were to cancel TMY-2 then Ilford might reconsider making Delta 400 in sheets.

If they'd make XP2 Super in sheets like they used to make XP2 many of us would LOVE that, and there'd be another 400 speed sheet film.

Tom1956 · Oct 15, 2013

Roger, I've head those assertions that some particular film is "actually 25% of published speed on the box". Always had a hart time swallowing that Kodak, especially; would print something on the box that differed drastically from actuality. After having a few shutter repairs and checks under my belt, I've re-learned practically 40 years in photography. Now I know that shutters on the larger cameras are usually 400 miles off in accuracy. On top of that, fooling around with Xray film, those guys are getting these crazy blinding-fast film speeds on the LF forum has turned me into a total skeptic. I've learned better, thanks to a lot of you guys here. And the moral of the story is to find out what your shutter speeds really are, and then, we'll see. Me, I say: Kodak says it's thus and so, it usually is. They made history for more than a hundred years as one of the worlds leading companies in the annals of laboratory accuracy. More so than even Dow, 3M, I venture to say. Just my take on the film speed discussion.

Pioneer · Oct 15, 2013

Sorry Roger. I meant Tri X, not TMX.

And I did not realize that Delta 400 was no longer available in sheet film.

Edited the post.

Getting a bit thin.

4x5 EDU Aristra 400 / Foma 400 users ..what are you using now?

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