Just to let others know, I ordered a couple of boxes of 7 x 17 ERA film for testing. More boxes are available on Ebay at $80 a box. I will let you know about the 'experience' and how I like the film. Should arrive in a couple of weeks. I opted for longer shipping, less expensive...I also picked up a box of 8 x 10 to check it out as well.
Scott,
Once you've had a chance to use it, please let us know how you like the ERA film. Although I'm well stocked on 7x17 TMY and FP4+, there are times when a lower cost ULF film comes in real handy. For example, I'm in the process of testing several lenses for coverage and I hate to deplete my supply of the more expensive films for such an application.
At $80/25 sheets, the ERA film is about half the cost of TMY or FP4+. However, by the time you include international shipping, it probably costs more than Efke PL100 from Freestyle or Digital Truth - $89.99/25 sheets plus $8.95 shipping for one box = $98.94/25 sheets delivered - and the shipping cost per box goes down when ordering more than one box. For example, the shipping cost for 5 boxes is only $16.99, for a total of $93.40/25 sheets delivered when buying 5 boxes.
It would be really nice to see a side by side comparison of the ERA and Efke films as they are priced comparably. For now, I'llk probably stick to Efke PL 100 as my low cost ULF film, but it's nice to know there is another alternative supplier for us ULF shooters.
Kerry