Arista Edu and Fomapan 100: still the same thing?

I've decided to buy some bulk-load Arista Edu 100, which is consistently said to be actually Fomapan 100. Freestyle has both in stock, though low on the Foma product. I'm wondering if anyone has purchased and used the Arista re-labeled film recently, and can confirm that it remains Fomapan 100. I ask because it occurs to me that Freestyle is under no particular obligation to continue to use a Foma product; there's nothing I can think of that would prevent them from switching to another emulsion and continuing to sell it under the Arista Edu name, since they've never advertised that it is (and should continue to be) Fomapan 100. I'm not suggesting they'd be underhanded, just reacting to decreasing (?) availability of Foma film and looking for alternatives.

Historically, any time Freestyle has changed the source of their house brand products they've also changed the name, at least slightly.

Arista edu ultra 100 is still made in the Czech Republic.

I bought ten rolls of Foma 100 / Arista EDU Ultra in 120, just to use in my pinhole camera. The film has changed, as I understand, undergone a quality improvement with a new backing paper, a new clear film base, and I noticed that the dyes come out a different color in my Xtol. Bright green as opposed to turquoise in the past when they had the blue film base.

The film though, seems to behave the same as it always has, once processed.

Thomas Bertilsson said:

I bought ten rolls of Foma 100 / Arista EDU Ultra in 120, just to use in my pinhole camera. The film has changed, as I understand, undergone a quality improvement with a new backing paper, a new clear film base, and I noticed that the dyes come out a different color in my Xtol. Bright green as opposed to turquoise in the past when they had the blue film base.

The film though, seems to behave the same as it always has, once processed.

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Yes, this is what I saw on the ten I just finished. Pretty darn good film for the money and didn't seem as curly as the old stuff did. I found my ten rolls a little on the slow side when it comes to ISO, but it could be just the way I work and what I like. It's a little grainy, but it's not a clumpy type grain or at least not in the developers I used. I'm now going to buy 10 rolls of the Arista EDU 200 in 120 and see how that looks. I figure for a few pennies more I might have a true ISO 100 film and if the grain structure is to my liking I wouldn't see much sense in buying the Arista EDU 100

Thanks for the feedback. I guess I can go with the Arista film. As for the 120, I've used it back when the film base was blue, and was struck that this film seemed to do a great job of making clouds stand out when other films didn't. I don't know if that was an aspect of the blue film base somehow, or if the revised film on clear film base has the same quality.

When in doubt, call Freestyle and ask. They've always been very open about such things when you ask them.

John Wiegerink said:

Yes, this is what I saw on the ten I just finished. Pretty darn good film for the money and didn't seem as curly as the old stuff did. I found my ten rolls a little on the slow side when it comes to ISO, but it could be just the way I work and what I like. It's a little grainy, but it's not a clumpy type grain or at least not in the developers I used. I'm now going to buy 10 rolls of the Arista EDU 200 in 120 and see how that looks. I figure for a few pennies more I might have a true ISO 100 film and if the grain structure is to my liking I wouldn't see much sense in buying the Arista EDU 100

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The 200 is what I wanted to buy, but they had no stock at the time. I like the 200 a lot, and I do expose it at EI 100 or I lose the shadows.

Next time.

Trask said:

Thanks for the feedback. I guess I can go with the Arista film. As for the 120, I've used it back when the film base was blue, and was struck that this film seemed to do a great job of making clouds stand out when other films didn't. I don't know if that was an aspect of the blue film base somehow, or if the revised film on clear film base has the same quality.

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I use fomapan 400 as my main film, and I find that the QC, which was always pretty good, is now even better, it seems to have lost the curl problems, and the emulsion they use is still the same, and certainly the clouds stand out a lot better than with any other film I have used, even unfiltered I can get great skys, clouds really standing out, add a yellow or orange and you have the best,no difference between the blue or clear base.
Richard

John Wiegerink said:

I found my ten rolls a little on the slow side when it comes to ISO, but it could be just the way I work and what I like. It's a little grainy, but it's not a clumpy type grain or at least not in the developers I used.

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I think both of those are common experiences with Fomapan 100. A lot of people rate it at 50 (depending on development regime, of course). I don't mind the grain personally, especially from medium format up.

Recent rolls I've bought with the Arista branding have actually *said* "Fomapan" on the edges, which I think is pretty definitive!

-NT

Thomas Bertilsson said:

The 200 is what I wanted to buy, but they had no stock at the time. I like the 200 a lot, and I do expose it at EI 100 or I lose the shadows.

Next time.

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Tom,
Yes, I was ready to order the EDU 200 and saw they were "out of stock" so I put all my basket of goodies on hold. Tom, have you used the EDU 200 yet in 120 format? I figure if the film is of equal quality to the EDU 100 and I can shoot at ISO 100 then it's the cats meow for me. I like the grain structure of the EDU 100 and hope the EDU 200 is the same or at least close. The EDU 100/Foma 100 has grain with "character". Darn good bang for the buck and my hats off to both Foma and Freestyle for giving poor folks like me something that is this good. JohnW

John Wiegerink said:

Tom,
Yes, I was ready to order the EDU 200 and saw they were "out of stock" so I put all my basket of goodies on hold. Tom, have you used the EDU 200 yet in 120 format? I figure if the film is of equal quality to the EDU 100 and I can shoot at ISO 100 then it's the cats meow for me. I like the grain structure of the EDU 100 and hope the EDU 200 is the same or at least close. The EDU 100/Foma 100 has grain with "character". Darn good bang for the buck and my hats off to both Foma and Freestyle for giving poor folks like me something that is this good. JohnW

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John,

The 200 is really nice. Bar the antihalation properties, it kind of reminds me of the previous generation Koda Tri-X 400. Tonality wise. Color reproduction wise it's a bit more ortho. It's great for alternative printers, because it builds contrast in the developer like a madman.
The grain is really nice, and for portraits it's simply stunning.
The 100, to my eyes, doesn't build contrast as well as the 200. It just kind of blocks up. The highs are a bit troublesome, and works best with compensating development, using Xtol at 1+3, Rodinal 1+50, D76 1.+3, Pyrocat Hd, and slow down agitation a bit.

That's my experience, anyway.

- Thomas

Thomas Bertilsson said:

John,

The 200 is really nice. Bar the antihalation properties, it kind of reminds me of the previous generation Koda Tri-X 400. Tonality wise. Color reproduction wise it's a bit more ortho. It's great for alternative printers, because it builds contrast in the developer like a madman.
The grain is really nice, and for portraits it's simply stunning.
The 100, to my eyes, doesn't build contrast as well as the 200. It just kind of blocks up. The highs are a bit troublesome, and works best with compensating development, using Xtol at 1+3, Rodinal 1+50, D76 1.+3, Pyrocat Hd, and slow down agitation a bit.

That's my experience, anyway.

- Thomas

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Thanks Thomas! I'm going to pickup 10 rolls of Arista EDU 200 and try it with FX37 - Pyrocat-MC - Perceptol 1:3 and see how I like it.