Arista Brand?

brofkand · Aug 18, 2008

Hey guys,

What are your opinions on Arista brand stuff? I've been using the film developer, fixer, 35mm and 120 film (400 ISO) with no ill effects. Is it just as good, or can I get better performance from some other stuff?

I'm happy with my results, but then again I have nothing to compare it to.

Kevin Caulfield · Aug 18, 2008

I think the word is that the Arista 400 film is Ilford HP5, or at least it used to be. Several APUGers use it and swear by it. I'm not sure whether the dev and fix are also rebadged Ilford, but others who know more will chime in I'm sure.

srs5694 · Aug 18, 2008

Freestyle has used, and continues to use, several different suppliers for its Arista house brand. Ilford used to be one of these suppliers, but Ilford hasn't been a current supplier for a while. From memory, for films and paper, the sub-brands and matching suppliers are:

Arista Pro (film & paper; no longer available): Ilford
Arista II (film; limited supplies): Agfa
Arista II (paper): Kentmere
Arista.EDU (film & paper; no longer available): Forte
Arista.EDU Ultra (film & paper; current): Foma
Arista Premium (35mm film): Kodak (presumed)
Freestyle Private Reserve (paper; no longer available): Agfa

I don't know offhand who makes Freestyle's chemicals.

brofkand · Aug 18, 2008

Is this public knowledge? Does Freestyle advertise this fact? If not, how did you procure this information?

Dennis S · Aug 18, 2008

Yes all of their products have a good price and their delivery is very puctual. The use of their products have never disapointed me. We won't go in who makes their products just look under the thread "Arista Premium" that one has NEVER been answered for sure !!!

luckycharms · Aug 18, 2008

brofkand said:
Is this public knowledge? Does Freestyle advertise this fact? If not, how did you procure this information?

When I ordered my "Arista II" 400 at a clearance 20 roll price I remember seeing Aga APX 400 listed with it, but it looks like this wasn't something they advertised while Agfa was in business. The "Unlisted Data" section at Massive Dev Chart includes the following:

Arista II 100 = Agfa APX 100
Arista II 400 = Agfa APX 400 (new)
Arista EDU (old/new) = Fortepan
Arista EDU Ultra = Fomapan

While I can't corroborate all of this, I have been using APX 400 times for my Arista II with no problems. I'd definitely recommend the Arista film- the price is unbeatable.

srs5694 · Aug 18, 2008

Freestyle doesn't actively advertise the identities of their suppliers, but they do admit who most of them are when asked. It's also easy to figure it out by the advertised countries of origin. For instance, Foma is the only known company that makes film in the Czech Republic, and that's where Arista.EDU Ultra originates. Others have reported that Freestyle has been a bit cagey about who makes Arista Premium, but they do advertise it as coming from the United States, and that narrows the field to one supplier (Kodak) unless somebody else is coating B&W film in the US and nobody here knows about it. Early reports here about the characteristics of Arista Premium 400 closely match the characteristics of Kodak Tri-X. There are a couple of threads on these new films in which every detail is being discussed to death.

Joe Brugger · Aug 18, 2008

The house brand is something that's going to work the way you expect it to work; decent film, decent paper, something you can use and get a reliably good result.
Because they're buying it on contract, who makes the house brand is going to change once in a while.
If you're doing critical work and need to be able to repeat your results exactly, buy the brand-name stuff.
If you want to save some money, buy a supply of the house brand, get used to it, but don't expect it to always be exactly the same.

srs5694 · Aug 18, 2008

To the best of my knowledge, whenever Freestyle has changed suppliers for their house brand films and papers, they've changed the name of the product -- for instance, Arista Pro to Arista II to Arista Premium for their high-end house brand, or Arista.EDU to Arista.EDU Ultra for their "bargain" house brand. Of course, if you don't pay attention to the exact name, you could get caught off guard by a change, but if you know to attend to this detail, the risk should be minimal, at least in the case of Freestyle's products.

elekm · Aug 18, 2008

I've been shooting some of the Arista II-400 film, and from what I can tell and how it reacts with Rodinal, it's APX400. That's not a bad thing, because APX400 is a lovely film.

I've ordered from Freestyle a number of times, and service has been very good. Delivery times are quick. Products are as advertised. I highly recommend them, if you're looking for a mail-order film source.

Here's a photo from the Arista II-400. It was shot with a Balda CE 35.

This was processed in Rodinal, 1+50, temperature about 70 degrees for 11 minutes with two gentle inversions every 30 seconds.

The neon lights were turned on. Or maybe that's the Balda "glow."

PHOTOTONE · Aug 18, 2008

Each Freestyle film and paper product has a country of origin printed on the packaging and often in the Freestyle catalogs. Being that there is only ONE film and paper manufacturer in each country, it is not hard to figure out. Also you can compare developer and times on the arista with times for the host brands and it is quite easy to figure out. For instance, the "Arista.edu" label product all says "Made in Hungary". Well, the defunct Forte was the only film and paper manufacturer in Hungary during the life of Arista.edu. It seems that all Freestyle film and paper products are private label versions of existing products, not custom products made just for Freestyle. Freestyle indicates the new "Arista.premium" 35mm films are "made in USA", and as Kodak is the ONLY manufacturer of b/w film products in the USA, it should be obvious the source for these films. Freestyle still has some stock of older discontinued films from Agfa and Forte under their own labels, until stocks are depleted.

I have used Freestyle b/w sheet films for years now and I have been very satisfied.

Ian Grant · Aug 18, 2008

PHOTOTONE said:
Being that there is only ONE film and paper manufacturer in each country, it is not hard to figure out.

Not quite true at all

There are are 3 factories making film or paper in Japan, at least 3 Film & paper manufacturers in China.

2 in the UK - Kodak & Ilford
2 in the US - Kodak & Fuji

2 in Germany/Belgium, what remains of Agfa and Filmotec (Orwo)

Ian

Alex Bishop-Thorpe · Aug 18, 2008

Kodak still have a UK plant? Good to know - I got some old Kodachrome-25 recently and it still had the processing mailer inside for Kodak UK, I began lamenting the bygone days.

I can vouch for Arista-II, I've shot 40 rolls of it and it's APX400. Quite lovely stuff, and cheap as anything right now. Expiry dates are getting a touch suspicious though...

AgX · Aug 18, 2008

Ian,

in Germany there are 3 coating companies:

Filmotec, Inoviscoat and Retina X-Ray (the latter only coating X-ray films)

In the Netherlands there were up to some weeks ago 2 companies:

Fuji and Polaroid (the latter did not any advanced coating however)

And as single companies of course Agfa, Ferrania, Ilford Imaging, Foma, Fotokemika…. Going further east: Tasma, Slavich.

Europe is hot…

Rolleijoe · Aug 18, 2008

brofkand said:
Hey guys,

What are your opinions on Arista brand stuff? I've been using the film developer, fixer, 35mm and 120 film (400 ISO) with no ill effects. Is it just as good, or can I get better performance from some other stuff?

I'm happy with my results, but then again I have nothing to compare it to.

If you want to know who makes what for them, just call and ask. They'll tell you. It's not like they're trying to hide it.

As long as I get the Fomapan in 120, I'm happy. Never used their chemicals, I'm not so cheap as to not buy actual Rodinal and HC-110.

Their pricier Foma paper is definitely so worth it. Fomatone 333 and 542 in Ethol LPD is all anyone needs. Although I would like to try some Moersch chemistry. From what I've seen done in it, it's 1st class, and I expect + am prepared to pay for 1st class.

dpurdy · Aug 18, 2008

Since the new Arista premium is made in the USA and it is stated above that fuji makes some film here, is it more likely that the new Arista premium 400 is Neopan 400 or Tri-X?

brian d · Aug 18, 2008

Any thoughts on Arista color film?

srs5694 · Aug 18, 2008

dpurdy said:
Since the new Arista premium is made in the USA and it is stated above that fuji makes some film here, is it more likely that the new Arista premium 400 is Neopan 400 or Tri-X?

The question isn't just whether a company has manufacturing facilities in a country, but what specific products they make there. To the best of my knowledge, Fuji's US manufacturing facilities are used to make color print film, not B&W film. AFAIK, all Fuji B&W film comes from Japan. Certainly that's true of every box of Fuji B&W film I've ever examined for this detail. If I'm wrong and Fuji makes B&W film in the US, then of course Fuji as a supplier of Arista Premium is a possibility, at least based on this data. Those who've tried the Arista Premium 400 say it acts a lot like Tri-X, though.

srs5694 · Aug 18, 2008

brian d said:
Any thoughts on Arista color film?

Arista's color film is made by Ferrania. (I believe the edge markings even read "Ferrania," so there's little room for debate, unless my memory of this detail is faulty.) My opinion of this film is that it's a lot like the Kodak or Fuji products of a decade or two ago -- the colors are less saturated and the grain is more prominent.

Rolleijoe · Aug 18, 2008

dpurdy said:
Since the new Arista premium is made in the USA and it is stated above that fuji makes some film here, is it more likely that the new Arista premium 400 is Neopan 400 or Tri-X?

JUST CALL AND ASK THEY'LL TELL YOU!!!

1-800-292-6137

THESE KIND OF THREADS ARE ALWAYS WASTED SPACE. THEY'RE NOT HIDING ANYTHING, AND ARE HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTION ABOOUT ANYTHING THEY SELL YOU!

ROLLEIJOE

dpurdy · Aug 18, 2008

It was stated Rolleijoe in another thread that in this case freestyle wasn't letting on but in any case it has now been made clear that Fuji makes only color film in the US so it is a moot point. Personally I don't care since I don't use 35 mm so it was just an academic thought.

ssloansjca · Aug 18, 2008

Okay RollieJoe, what did Freestyle tell you about who makes the Arista Premium Films? I would love to hear what they told you.

~Steve

jim appleyard · Aug 18, 2008

Rolleijoe said:
JUST CALL AND ASK THEY'LL TELL YOU!!!

1-800-292-6137

THESE KIND OF THREADS ARE ALWAYS WASTED SPACE. THEY'RE NOT HIDING ANYTHING, AND ARE HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTION ABOOUT ANYTHING THEY SELL YOU!

ROLLEIJOE

People have already asked and Freestyle isn't telling.

(there was a url link here which no longer exists)

Paul Howell · Aug 18, 2008

dpurdy said:
It was stated Rolleijoe in another thread that in this case freestyle wasn't letting on but in any case it has now been made clear that Fuji makes only color film in the US so it is a moot point. Personally I don't care since I don't use 35 mm so it was just an academic thought.

I am under the impression that a modern coating line can coat color, black and white, film and paper. The times for Fuji neopan 400 do not match TriX, and the posted times for the new house brand, although the film speeds 400 and 100 seem to match neopan and acros and gives me pause. I dont shoot as much 35 as I once did, but I am hoping that we will see 120/220 and sheet film.

PHOTOTONE · Aug 18, 2008

I don't think anybody is going to coat a whole master run for private label sales to just one vendor (Freestyle), rather it is existing products that Freestyle works out deals with and orders large enough quantities to get custom private label packaging. I thought Fuji's USA operations were JUST to coat RA-4 paper for its extensive lines of mini-labs. As I am sure you know all the Fuji Frontier Mini-labs print on RA-4 style paper even from digital files. There are Tens of Thousands of these in the USA. I don't think there are any FILM coating operations in the USA other than Kodak (all kinds) and Ferrania (just C-41 35mm).

Arista Brand?

Privacy & Transparency

Privacy & Transparency