Foma 400 is now my go to film

[gone]

I really like this film. Leica R 90 Elmarit, D76 stock. Mostly shot at 400 w/ no filter, 250 w/ a Y filter, 100 w/ the red one.


Link not working. Scroll down one to see images.

 

[cjbecker]

Im just starting my testing of foma 200 in 4x5 and I am really like it. I never thought I would use anything besides kodak and ilford. I have one roll of foma 200 in 120 im going to test also. My go to film is hp5+

ps the link is not working. Says the site of over loaded. Might work itself out.

 

[gone]

I'm going to have to figure out what's wrong w/ Imgur. Here's a couple of the shots at small sizes.

 

[Horatio]

Foma/Arista Edu 200 is very nice in D76 and pushes well to 400. This was shot at 400:

 

[gone]

I like that one a lot. This is just great. For once a new film turned out better than I'd expected. Nearly all of this grain largely disappears in the prints. Just need to figure out the blue/red sensitivity, especially when using filters. The 400 doesn't like to be overexposed too much.

 

[Horatio]

The motorcycle engine looks fabulous. I'll probably buy Foma or Catlabs the next time I stock up on 120.

 

[warden]

I really like this film. Leica R 90 Elmarit, D76 stock. Mostly shot at 400 w/ no filter, 250 w/ a Y filter, 100 w/ the red one.

Quite nice!

 

[gone]

It looks very close to Tri-X, just lacks the exposure latitude. Get the metering right though and it does it's thing.

 

[cjbecker]

Those examples look really good. The tonality is perfect.

 

[Tim Stapp]

Nice images. I have come to really like FOMA/Arista EDU films. I shoot their 200 at box speed in XTOL straight (original form) rotary in my JOBO. I add a 5 minute presoak and develop for 6 minutes.

Juri V. over on the Large Format Forum shoots FOMA and processes rotary as well using Rodinal, of all things. Stunning images.

 

[machine]

Question; which of the Foma films is the "best" (i.e. given different speeds and all, but if I am to shoot box speed and light is adequate, which is worth trying first)?

Subjects to be people.

 

[cjbecker]

Fomapan films get a lot of flack for iffy quality control, but their spectral response is the most unusual IMO. When I look at my B&W albums I rarely can tell which stock was used for a particular photograph, but Fomapan scans are always obvious!

View attachment 273689

I can't share portraits here, but that's Foma's strong suit. It makes faces 3-dimensional in less that ideal (flat) light. But it's quite weak if there's a sky in a photo. Probably orange/red filter helps, but these films are already quite slow. I shoot 100 at 80, 200 at 160 and 400 at 200.

that taken with a 4x5?

 

[Paul Howell]

As I understand it Foma 200 is a T grain hybrid, I shoot mostly Foma 200 from 35mm, 120, 21/4 X 31/4 sheet and 4X5 and some 400 in 35mm. No longer in production is Foma T800, another film that I really liked. As Foma films are not Dx coded I still use Ultrafine 400 for my point and shoots many which defalut to ISO 25 with non Dx films.

 

[machine]

Thank you. Looking at the images above, esp. the motorcycle engine - it's very impressive (both the picture/composition - well seen) and the tonality. However it looks to be 6x4.5. Hence my question... if 400 speed will be good? In 35mm, and at box speed.

Based on above, I am thinking of trying the 200 speed first.

 

[Huss]

I find that Foma 400 seems to be overrated by 1 stop. I shoot it at 200 to get results I like.
35mm.

 

[relistan]

I find that Foma 400 seems to be overrated by 1 stop. I shoot it at 200 to get results I like.
35mm.

Yep, even Foma's own datasheet says so!

Foma 100 in 35mm is pretty neat, especially portraits. I wish I could post some:

Some beautiful shots! I also like Fomapan 100 a lot. I went to Prague in 2003 and brought some home and pretty much started using it exclusively after that for most of a decade.

This is Fomapan 100 in 120 (Bronica S2A, Nikkor 75mm), in ADOX XT-3 (Xtol)

 

[radiant]

I also like Fomapan 100 a lot.

Same here. Fomapan 100 is a blessing. In sheet film it is like free gold.

 

[R.Gould]

I've been using Fomapan 200 and 400 for at least 25 years, rate 400 at 250, and 200 at 125, and wouldn't use anything else, never had any problems with it, I use 120 and 35mm,

 

[removedacct3]

In sheet film it is like free gold.

What is your favorite developer to harvest the free gold?

 

[radiant]

What is your favorite developer to harvest the free gold?

Any developer will do. They all harvest the gold. If you want to see grain on large format film with bare eyes, Rodinal is your weapon of choice.

 

[Ko.Fe.]

I don't know if Arista 400 is same as Foma 400, but Arista is seems to be not this over grainy as Foma I had some years ago.

 

[FotoD]

Fomapan films get a lot of flack for iffy quality control

Do they really? I mean if you disregard the two or three photrio members that had some problems ten years ago, and need to tell the world again and again whenever the word 'fomapan' is mentioned? Unfortunately it's easy for these things to get repeated like it's a fact on the internet.

I have mostly read about problems with Kodak films TBH, not to mention their chemistry.

 

[R.Gould]

Do they really? I mean if you disregard the two or three photrio members that had some problems ten years ago, and need to tell the world again and again whenever the word 'fomapan' is mentioned? Unfortunately it's easy for these things to get repeated like it's a fact on the internet.

I have mostly read about problems with Kodak films TBH, not to mention their chemistry.

Completely agree, I have had more of what could be called QC problems than ever had with Fomapan, great films and very popular indeed over here, everyone sells them,
,
,

 

[radiant]

Do they really? I mean if you disregard the two or three photrio members that had some problems ten years ago, and need to tell the world again and again whenever the word 'fomapan' is mentioned? Unfortunately it's easy for these things to get repeated like it's a fact on the internet.

I agree 100%. It seems like the same broken record starts to play whenever Foma is mentioned Including what is the real film speed.. To this day I haven't found any quality issues with Foma and I have used their products a lot. Papers, films, developers etc.

 

[albireo]

Do they really? I mean if you disregard the two or three photrio members that had some problems ten years ago, and need to tell the world again and again whenever the word 'fomapan' is mentioned? Unfortunately it's easy for these things to get repeated like it's a fact on the internet.

Careful! The Antifoma brigade will be along shortly to let you know you that

a) you're wrong
b) Foma 400 has WWII levels of grain, and is manufactured by a bunch of domesticated raccoons who pour emulsion on the gelatine in exchange for a sugar cube
c) you need to expose Foma 400 at 50, Foma 200 at 7 and Foma 100 at -1 EI, otherwise an X-rite densitometer, somewhere, will cry in agony.
d) Foma is probably produced by non-baptised communists the other side of the Eastern Block, so it's EVIL stuff - use TriX