foma 100 vs Efke 100

[archer]

How do the two films compare for grain and contrast? I thought I had tested every available film but somehow I missed these two. I know that there is a reciprocity issue with Foma 100 but have never had a serious issue with Efke 50 regarding reciprocity and I'm hoping the same applies to the 100 emuslion. I would prefer to use Xtol with both films as I would like to standardize on a developer for both, hence the question regarding grain and contrast especially in continuous rotary development. Any advice will be greatly appreciated.
Denise Libby

 

[Adrian Twiss]

I cant give you any information about developing in Xtol but I would say that Fomapan builds contrast quicker than Efke. I develop them in Pyrocat and need 15 minutes for Adox and 11 minutes for Fomapan. Be warned - Fomapan can be fussy in processing. I have recently had a case of mottled skies and I don't know why. Its worth getting to grips with as its a very nice film.

 

[Ian Grant]

As Adrian says Foma films are very responsive to developers and need less time, aprox 75%, than all other comparative films. Cut the box speed in half and they are fine and contrast is not a problem.

The Adox/EFKE emulsions are quite different, the box speed is actually the Tungsten speed, they are faster in daylight according to their datasheet and that's borne out in practice.

It's rather a long time since I shot the EFKE 100 (mid 1970's) but I've used the KB/R/PL25 at 50 EI in daylight since then and it's a great film. So I shoot Fomapan 100 @ 50EI 11mins dev time and Adox/EFKE 25 @ 50EI 15mins dev time both Pyrocat HD, same contrast and easy to print on Gd2

It's a toss up between them but I think I prefer Fomapa 100 as my fall back film because it's results are closer to my main Ilford films.

Ian

 

[JPD]

Efke 50 regarding reciprocity and I'm hoping the same applies to the 100 emuslion.

I don't know about reciprocity, but Efke 100 is very different from the 25 and 50 films. Efke 100 is panchromatic so it will give a different look. It's also a very forgiving film.

When I tried to find the correct time in a home-mixed developer for Agfa APX 100 and Efke 100, I shot the films with different exposures +3 +2 +1 0 -1 -2 -3, and was fun to see how much better Efke 100 handled the over and under exposures.