Efke 25

[bmac]

I finally found a semi local source for Efke 25 (in San Francisco). I bought a few rolls of 120 to check out. What are the recommended soups for this film? I usually use D76, Rodinal, and sometimes microphen. Not brave enough to Pyro yet...

 

[Ole]

Oh, wonderful stuff! That's my favourite film, and they've even started making it in sheets!

Develop in just about anything - but since it is so fine-grained, you may as well use a sharp developer like - well, very dilute Rodinal. Or Neofin Blue. Or any other high-acutance developer. Beutler's is great: Give it 6-8 minutes, depending on what contrast you want. The film can take it - there's a lot of silver in there!

Don't forget that this film is nearly orthochromatic: A red filter is usually a BIG mistake!

 

[David Hall]

I am not at all familiar with Efke, although I am hearing the name more and more, just like with Bergger a year or two ago. What makes it different, other than the speed and assumably the grain?

dgh

 

[bmac]

From what I understand it is a vintage formula film.

 

[Tom Duffy]

David,
don't know much about it, though it seems well regarded. Some people started using it when agfa dropped APX 25. here is a link to the primary US source.
Tom

http://www.jandcphotography.com

 

[David Hall]

Shawnee Mission? Sounds like an Indian casino.

Anyway, for those who have used this film, can you compare it to something like Bergger or FP4 or Pan F or Panatomic X?

dgh

 

[Aggie]

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[bmac]

The 25 is close to Forte 200? In what ways?

 

[avandesande]

Efke 25 works very well in 'soft' compensating developers. It should do very well in pmk, I have been using it with Weston pyro. I would be curious if anyone has tried efke 25/weston pyro with an enlarger. I rate it at @6.

 

[Aggie]

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[SteveGangi]

I had a chance to buy and try some 2 years ago, and shied away because I hadn't yet heard of it. DOH!!! <kicking myself>

 

[bmac]

I'll take orders for it next time I go up to SF. It was $3 a roll of 120 there.

 

[clogz]

For a good guideline as to developing times for films I usually consult the Massive Development Chart at www.digitaltruth.com.

 

[bmac]

The M.D.C. has great info on starting times, but lacks info on what look the film / soup combo has. I'd love it if they added that info.

 

[edbuffaloe]

This is what Ansel called an ortho-panchromatic emulsion. It is more sensitive to green than most contemporary films, so it is superior for rendering foliage. I used to rate it at 12 and give it 9 minutes in Rodinal (1+100) at 70 degrees. I seem to recall that I also sometimes rated it at 40 and developed it in the Pyrocatechin Compensating Formula that Ansel gives in The Negative--developing time was in the vicinity of 15 to 20 minutes.

 

[clogz]

Hello Brian,

Did you have a look at www.fotokemika.com?

 

[bmac]

thanks for the link.

 

[durrago]

I don't believe you can compare Efke and Forte. They are both high silver films but the Eke films are thin emulsion while the Forte films are very thick emulsion. I've also found the Efke films to be true to their ISO while the Forte films usually work best rated a stop slower.

The Efke 25 is my favorite film. It has just become available in 11x14 from the jandc site listed previously. I cant' wait to process my first 11x14 ISO 25 negative.

 

[bmac]

11x14 ISO 25... Holy Smokes! What kind of shutter speeds are you going to get in order to have decent DOF?

 

[Ole]

That's the neat thing about using slow films - you count the exposure. In seconds. Very nice when using barrel mounted lenses - or old unreliable shutters!

 

[Robert]

Ya that's why I keep thinking of lith films. 25ISO is just too fast for me-)))

 

[avandesande]

You can feel the difference. When they are wet, efke films have a soft,smooth, rubbery feel to them, and scratch easily. Forte has a tough matte feel and is much more scratch resistant. Efke films do not have a hardened supercoat.

 

[clogz]

A few snippets of information gleaned from the Fotoimpex catalogue regarding Efke film:
- do not overexpose and/or overdevelop the ISO 25 and 50 films
- hardening fixer is recommended
-Efke films are made according to old Adox film recipes.
-the layer on which the emulsion is cast comes from Orwo.
-development temperature is critical.

Hope this helps a bit.

 

[Ole]

Those on the Portfolio list will see what I think of "do not overdevelop".

 

[Aggie]

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