Arista Legacy Pro 100

Scott Wainer · Mar 8, 2011

Hi all,

I'm looking for a finer-grained and sharper ISO 100 film now that I am running low. From what I have seen, I like the look of what people have been getting from Fuji Acros and wanted to give it a try.

I called Freestyle today inquire about a discount for a large order and was told they were waiting on a shipment of Legacy Pro 100 36 exp which they said was very similar to Acros and would sell for $1.99 a roll. From past posts on numerous sites, I see the consensus is that Legacy Pro is private label Acros so I pre-ordered 400 rolls.

Having never shot Fuji film, my question is does this film work well in a developer like PC-Glycol with only borax, sodium metborate, or sodium carbonate? What kind of curve can I expect? Is it short toe/shoulder and straight line or is it more of a lazy "S" with long toe/shoulder?

Thanks in advance.

Jordan · Mar 8, 2011

I don't think I've ever tried Acros in PC-Glycol, but I have to say that pre-ordering 400 rolls before having tried even one is pretty brave!

wildbill · Mar 8, 2011

Well, at least you'll have plenty of film to test with!

heespharm · Mar 8, 2011

Its legacy pro is fuji acros.... I think they are discontinuing relabeling it so buy it up....

I have a stock pile of 35 and 120...

I've heard it's not that great in pyro but it's superb in rodinal

Scott Wainer · Mar 8, 2011

Jordan,

When Freestyle first started carrying Efke KB25 I bought 500 rolls because I love slow film and Agfa APX 25 was discontinued. I didn't know what I was getting but learned to control it and now I like it better than APX 25. I guess i'll be starting the learning curve all over again but at $1.99 a roll it'll be worth it.

heespharm,

I'm interested in what developer you use and what your thoughts are about the film.

2F/2F · Mar 8, 2011

I use Acros mainly with diluted Rodinal using standing development, or with PMK pyro (and often with both in a two-bath development with Rodinal first). I use this film primarily for long exposure night shots, which tend to be very high in contrast. I do this because exposures are shorter and easier to calculate with this film than with most. I can get better exposures, have more time to bracket or try more compositions, and keep my exposure to the elements down (because the elements are just so horrible here in L.A. ). Both of these developers suck the highlights down. (Rodinal by actually reducing density, and PMK by masking the higher densities with VC paper). Like many t-grained, or flat-grained, or whatever-you-want-to-call-them films, the effects of the pyro seem less than with a traditionally-grained product like FP4 or Plus-X. It's possibly because of less silver in the emulsions, but I don't know for sure. But it does work, and beautifully, if you like a compressed look in the high tones.

For more general purposes, it's also just beautiful in HC-110 at any dilution IME. As would it be in D-76, X-Tol, T-Max, or most other developers. It's just a good film, plain and simple.

But FWIW I think it is odd and foolish that you ordered 400 rolls of a film without ever having shot it, and then asked these questions. I don't think you'll be unhappy in the end. (After all, it is Acros, except for the box and edge markings.) But doing that probably is not too bright of a move, just on general principle. But good on ya for giving Freestyle your money if you have it to burn! Now, go make outstanding art and have an outstanding time with the film...or else you have wasted 800 bucks!

Mustafa Umut Sarac · Mar 8, 2011

Search google flickr and there are threads which comparing Acros to Legacy. If you see the results , you would never want to buy Legacy.
In Turkey there is a saying , You cant never make a great dinner with cheap meat.

Umut

2F/2F · Mar 8, 2011

Mustafa Umut Sarac said:
Search google flickr and there are threads which comparing Acros to Legacy. If you see the results , you would never want to buy Legacy.
In Turkey there is a saying , You cant never make a great dinner with cheap meat.

Umut

I think you might have that backwards, Mustafa. Once comparing results (identical, since the emulsions are identical), and comparing prices ($2 for Legacy and $4 for Acros), you will never want to buy Acros!

Scott Wainer · Mar 8, 2011

2F/2F

Mama didn't raise a COMPLETE fool ...

As the dying man said "You can't take it with you ..."

I did a lot of research over the past month and so many of the posts/reviews were good (none negative that I saw) that I thought it was a safe bet.

All of my film, except a large quantity of 5x7 Super XX donated by the local Navy lab to my college and then to me, was bought from Freestyle. From Efke KB25 to Arista Pro 125 they have never steered me wrong yet.

Most of my shots will be landscape and architectural done in the early morning or late evening plus a few still-lifes thrown in for good measure. I pretty much settled on a PC-Glycol homebrew but the Rodinal sounds interesting. I haven't had any luck with PMK or Pyrocat so I tend to shy away from those.

Mustafa,

Several of the posts/reviews I read were on flicker:

http://www.flickr.com/groups/diafine/discuss/72157624498173869/

http://www.flickr.com/groups/diafine/discuss/72157624494380024/?search=legacy+pro+100+film

I would tend to disagree with you because some of the best dinners I ever ate were made with what most people throw away.

Thomas Bertilsson · Mar 8, 2011

Acros / Legacy Pro 100 is amazing film. High resolution, extremely fine grain, and a beautiful tonality.

It has a long straight curve, but by altering your processing, you can bend a shoulder.

The developer I use for it is replenished Xtol. I have also tried HC-110, Rodinal, and Diafine, but I much prefer replenished Xtol due to the combination of gorgeous highlight tonality, fine grain, and sharpness.
Just the other day I made 16x20 prints from 35mm in the darkroom, and the grain isn't really noticeable until you get pretty close.
If grain free negs is what you want, Acros is fabulous. It behaves a whole heck of a lot like TMax 100, by the way. I can't really tell the two apart in prints.

Never tried it in Pyrocat, but never found a reason to either. I get larger variation by altering technique rather than altering developer.

Wish I had 400 rolls of the stuff... That would set me up for shooting for the next couple of years.

- Thomas

marcmarc · Mar 9, 2011

I use Rodinal 1+100 for 12 minutes with standard agitation (one minute for first minute and five seconds every thirty) and get great results. I also was told that Legacy Pro is discontinued. I was at Freestyle a few weeks ago and they were sold out of the 100 36 exp rolls. I have about 30 rolls that are going to expire this month so I put 'em in the freezer just to be safe. I was/is a nice film.

heespharm · Mar 9, 2011

Scott Wainer said:
heespharm,

I'm interested in what developer you use and what your thoughts are about the film.

Acros is my FAVORITE film... i like it as much as my fp4 in 4x5 and my tri-x in any size... (ok so maybe i have 3 favorites.. we'll say favorite t-grained film)

So a couple of things why i like it.. very little reciprocity adjustments needed... easy to use on a good base...

I have tried many developers (though never in pyro as i just started using pyro) and the one I liked the most was rodinal in 1:50 or 1:100 (follow standard dev times)

I like it in a box i like it with a fox, I like it in a train and I like it in the rain... I like it here or there, I like it anywhere!

mouren · Mar 24, 2011

Acros is great in Pyrocat. I think if you check out Sandy King's page, he has a whole article dedicated to acros.

I have developed Acros 120 in PyrocatHD, and it's very nice. I haven't tried the 35mm yet, but I can't imagine it to be much different.

Dennis S · Mar 24, 2011

Works great with Arista Premium developer 1-19 11 min. Great for mid tones and when I need contrast that is what the filters are for.
I even did a 120 Acros with the same solution and time and got great returns

I don't do enough developing to warrant any D76 or ID 11. Concentrate is the answer for my kit

easily becoming a "must have" film for me. Sorry the picture is not of Legacy Pro but you get the idea of the look ;o)

segedi · Mar 24, 2011

And I thought I was brave for my recent - wednesday - 75 roll purchase! Also bit and got 25 rolls of the iso 400 (neopan). Can't wait to try it out. And 100 rolls should keep me plenty busy for at least two years...

I've also made a preorder of acros 120 from Adorama as the still have it listed at $2.69/roll. Really want to test in the 6x12 pinhole since reciprocity seems nil.

Scott Wainer · Mar 24, 2011

I've used D-76, Sprint, Xtol, Rodinal, and Pyrocat developers and prefer Xtol. After several "sudden deaths" (one time in less than 24 hrs) I began looking for a developer with a better shelf-life. I tried Gainer's PC-Glycol but the tonalities were a little harsh for me so I decided to tinker with the formula. I tried making it more like Xtol and D-76 and finally settled on the formula in post (there was a url link here which no longer exists). I really like the tonality and sharpness and with slow speed films (25, 50, & 100) there is very little grain. Generally I shoot landscapes and architecture (indoor and outdoor) in available light at box speed or a stop more. My exposures usually run between 1 and 10 seconds. Development is single-shot usually minimal to semi-stand depending upon content (minimal for landscapes and semi-stand for architecture and closeups). I tend to like punchy images and try to place most (if not all) of the scene on the straight-line portion of the curve.

I ran out of 100 speed and thought about replacing it with Acros. I called Freestyle and asked if they offered a bulk discount (which they don't). They offered Legacy Pro 100 as an inexpensive alternative and I bought it. I figured I could always find a way to make it work like I did with Arista Pro and Arista Edu.

The Legacy Pro was short-dated (01/2011) but the 20 roll packs worked out to $1.75 a roll. Most film is good for about 6 months past it's date - even longer for slower films. Popped in my freezer (at 0F) it should last a long time.

Call me crazy if you will. Thank you to everyone you've all given me much to think about.

MaximusM3 · Mar 24, 2011

Love Acros, and that's all I've been shooting lately. Posted a test here with Formulary's TFX-2, if anyone is interested. Great combination but there isn't a lot of data out there so testing is a must.
(there was a url link here which no longer exists)

segedi · Mar 30, 2011

I just relieved freestyle of 5 more twenty packs. Shortdated but the cost, less the $2/roll, shipped to Canada makes it well worth it. Now have 175 rolls of it on its way. I'm set for a couple years now! Have been wanting to try cardamom and experiment and this will do the trick.

MichaelMadio · Mar 31, 2011

Essentially echoing the others, Acros/LegacyPro 100 is great. It works well with PC-Glycol and I prefer borax ... it's a bit slower and grain is extremely fine. IMHO, you need a compensating developer to really make it sing. Dilute rodinal with stand development works well as does Caffenol-C (see http://caffenol.blogspot.com/) but my absolute favorite for this film is semi-stand development in a p-aminophenol/vitamin-c/borax developer inspired by a post from Patrick Gainer (essentially low pH rodinal sans sulfite).

Mustafa Umut Sarac · Mar 31, 2011

Scott , 2F ,

Look below , there are two pictures are telling me a lot , you can tell me lots of things but seeing is believing.

There are lots of posts like this.

http://www.flickr.com/groups/32685380@N00/discuss/72157624498250277/

Umut

2F/2F · Mar 31, 2011

Mustafa Umut Sarac said:
Scott , 2F ,

Look below , there are two pictures are telling me a lot , you can tell me lots of things but seeing is believing.

There are lots of posts like this.

http://www.flickr.com/groups/32685380@N00/discuss/72157624498250277/

Umut

If you believe that they are different, then by all means, spend twice as much for the same film. But they are not.

Klainmeister · Mar 31, 2011

If you look at my 5 uploads, all were taken with Acros shot at 64 and developed in Pyrocat HD with the supplied SBR chart from Sandy King (Silver printing chart). For what I do, I couldn't think of a better combo.

Well, I used to only shoot Neopan 400 and still think it was the best, but of course, that no longer exist in 120.

Mustafa Umut Sarac · Mar 31, 2011

If you believe that they are different, then by all means, spend twice as much for the same film. But they are not.

I think you have no business with photography but may be literarure. You have excellent writing skills , great will and capability to show something wrong as something right.

as If you cant hear the notes , if you cant identify the notes in the chord , you have no business with music.

I am sorry but I found this every interception by you at threads.

Umut

2F/2F · Mar 31, 2011

Mustafa, what in high hell are you talking about?

They are the same film, yet you are going on that they are not. And your evidence? A link to a page in which the author says they are, followed by the scans of someone who obviously doesn't know what they are doing. And then you write some nonsensical post to me about whether or not I should be involved in photography and music when you are called on it.

All I said was that if you believe they are different, against all credible evidence on the matter, then you go spend twice as much. But quit trying to convince us that they are different; they are not, and it is quite provable with an hour or two of anyone's time. If you want to argue the point, at least show us your own results and method of obtaining them. Have you actually shot either of these films?

Thomas Bertilsson · Apr 4, 2011

2F/2F said:
Mustafa, what in high hell are you talking about?

They are the same film, yet you are going on that they are not. And your evidence? A link to a page in which the author says they are, followed by the scans of someone who obviously doesn't know what they are doing. And then you write some nonsensical post to me about whether or not I should be involved in photography and music when you are called on it.

All I said was that if you believe they are different, against all credible evidence on the matter, then you go spend twice as much. But quit trying to convince us that they are different; they are not, and it is quite provable with an hour or two of anyone's time. If you want to argue the point, at least show us your own results and method of obtaining them. Have you actually shot either of these films?

The films are indeed the same, there is no question about it. The comparison on that Flickr example is laughable at best. I have used Acros and Legacy Pro 100 side by side, and it's impossible to tell which is which. I am not going to go through the trouble of proving this, because I simply don't wish to waste my time on it. I have better things to do. But I have used both enough to be able to tell.

Arista Legacy Pro 100

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