Foma 400 is now my go to film

R.Gould · May 8, 2021

foc said:
I squeegee all my films, have done so for the last 35 years. I never had any problems with any film.

Now before you get the pitchforks and torchlights, let me say there is a right and wrong way to squeegee any film.

In fact you can look at my Foma 400 samples in post # 63, there are no marks.

Each to their own I stoped using a squeegee backed in the 70's, long before Foma, I was using Trix, and had been happily using a squeegee since I started in the late 50's, but I ruined 4 films with it, It was a paterson, same as they produce today, never used one again and started using a pad of kitchen towel, and have been doing so ever since, with 35mm, I never did anything else but wetting agent , ( in those days I used a few drops of washing up stuff) shake and dry, I know there is a right and wrong way to squeegee a film and I had no problems until then, I think about 1975, It was my first paid photographic job, and I had to go out and shoot it all over, the negatives were un printable, cost me money, so never again.

takilmaboxer · May 8, 2021

Scratch avoidance is straightforward:
1. Once the film is on the developing reel, never touch it except to remove it from the reel when processing is finished, and then only hold it by the ends.
2. The last rinse should be in distilled water; it can evaporate without leaving deposits or marks.
3. Never touch the film when wet. Not with fingers, squeegees, towels or anything else. Hang it up to dry and leave it alone until it dries by evaporation.
I'm sure there are users out there who will disagree, but this method has worked for me for 40 years, and I learned it by experience. It became especially useful in my Efke 25 days; that stuff would scratch especially easily. And of course, it won't prevent production defects.

baachitraka · May 8, 2021

After wetting agent it goes directly to hang dry, disregarding any film. What fun is there by touching it...

Donald Qualls · May 9, 2021

unwantedfocus said:
What prevented me from shooting FOMA in 120 yet, was images I saw where the backing paper frame numbers where shown on the film after development. I don't know if this was only a batch or occurs occasionally.

I've used a lot of 120 size Arista .EDU Ultra, which is rebranded Fomapan. The only time I've seen wrapper offset (either paper grain mottling or frame numbers transferred) was in film that had been out of the original airtight pouch for a prolonged period of time, leading me to believe this is a phenomenon linked to humidity and its interaction with the inks on the backing paper. I've had film that sat in a film can literally alongside a roll that showed offset, from the same purchase and put into the film can at the same time, but was still in its pouch in the can, not show offset while the one that was in the (airtight?) film can did. IMO, that's all I need to see.

TheFlyingCamera · May 10, 2021

takilmaboxer said:
Borderline orthochromatic? Foma's published data do not support this assertion at all. 100, 200 and 400 drop off between 650-700 nm, same as other panchromatic films. In fact the 200 sheet films and the 400 film go nearly to 700.
Personally I prefer the 100 speed, but I use it in larger formats, where grain is not an issue.

If you throw a red filter on, a 650nm red cutoff will fall within even a Red 25's range. You'll have to add more than just the exposure comp for a red filter on a more red sensitive film like Tmax 100 or FP4+. I say this from personal experience. Now, perhaps Foma has changed the formulation since I last tried Fomapan 200 with a red filter, and I am speaking from out-of-date personal experience. I'm perfectly willing to be wrong about this - it would be great, because it would be nice to use a red filter with it.

Donald Qualls · May 10, 2021

@TheFlyingCamera I've used a red filter with .EDU Ultra. Works fine, though others have posted results consistent with extended red sensitivity (i.e. higher speed in red that some films at similar ISO rating).

takilmaboxer · May 10, 2021

My point is that it is normal for modern films to cut at about 650 nm, like Foma's. They require 2 (or even 3) stops additional exposure with a red filter. Orthochromatic film cuts around 550 nm and doesn't "see" red at all. Agfa's aerial films go past 700 and only require one stop additional exposure in the red. But we digress.....

Donald Qualls · May 11, 2021

Plus two stops with orange on Foma 100 should be fine.

takilmaboxer · May 11, 2021

The standard recommendation for pan films is, +1 stop for a #8 yellow filter, +2 for a deep yellow (#15) or orange filter, and +3 for a red filter. I also own a deep red filter which I don't use much. The deep yellow is as far as I go thee days. You should be fine with 2 stops.

Ces1um · May 11, 2021

@momus Is foma 400 the same thing as holga 400? I think holga is just rebadged foma but I'm not 100% sure. I used to shoot it anyways. Good price and I liked the look of it. Had some nice deep, rich blacks to it.

foc · May 11, 2021

Ces1um said:
@momus Is foma 400 the same thing as holga 400? I think holga is just rebadged foma but I'm not 100% sure. I used to shoot it anyways. Good price and I liked the look of it. Had some nice deep, rich blacks to it.

To my knowledge Holga 400 35mm is rebadged Foma film.

darkosaric · May 11, 2021

takilmaboxer said:
Scratch avoidance is straightforward:
1. Once the film is on the developing reel, never touch it except to remove it from the reel when processing is finished, and then only hold it by the ends.
2. The last rinse should be in distilled water; it can evaporate without leaving deposits or marks.
3. Never touch the film when wet. Not with fingers, squeegees, towels or anything else. Hang it up to dry and leave it alone until it dries by evaporation.
I'm sure there are users out there who will disagree, but this method has worked for me for 40 years, and I learned it by experience. It became especially useful in my Efke 25 days; that stuff would scratch especially easily. And of course, it won't prevent production defects.

I confirm all of this 101% , and I used Efke a lot, when I lived in Croatia, back in the days. Nothing is/was delicate as beautiful Efke.

gone · Jul 30, 2021

I dredged this thread up because I finally figured this 400 film out. It doesn't like a wide tonal range in a shot, although a yellow filter does help. My experiments w/ a red filter were disastrous. It just doesn't like that, at least in this Az desert sun. I tried shooting it at 320 and 250, w/ 250 seeming to be it's sweet spot.

What it does like is subdued lighting, or at least light that isn't noon day bright. My last roll was developed in F76+ for 7.40 minutes at 1:8 dilution vs the recommended 1:9. The grain and tonality finally looks close to what I've been after. This pic could be sharper, and Imgur loses a lot of sharpness on the uploads, but mostly it's the chicken's fault. Ever tried to take a close up shot of a chicken? Just as I was about to press the shutter, she would suddenly cock her head and ruin the focus. Any movement up close spooks them. Guess that's where the term "chicken"came from regarding people. The grain may even be better than my old Tri-X negs if the Foma is shot and developed like this.

Foma 400 is now my go to film

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