More contrast from batch of cheap B&W film

Don't discount the possibility that the problem originates from your meter.
Do you recall what the lighting conditions were for your tests, along with the actual exposures used for the EI 25, EI 50, EI 200 and EI 400 exposures?

MattKing said:

Don't discount the possibility that the problem originates from your meter.
Do you recall what the lighting conditions were for your tests, along with the actual exposures used for the EI 25, EI 50, EI 200 and EI 400 exposures?

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I admit I've only used the Minox once before, but the exposures were good on that test with Kodak ColorPlus 200. I have used this cheap B&W film twice however on my reliable Nikon F2. The first time with all shots at ISO 400 (see the first photo in this thread) and then a second time with shots at 400 and 200. The 200 shots were marginally better but the negatives still looked washed out and consistent with the Minox test. I did actually take note of the aperture of my test but not the the shutter speed as the Minox is aperture priority automatic. All the the dog shots were at f/8 except the 400 shot, which was at f/11. I'm pretty sure it was sunny. I think the 400 shot would have been at around 1/500 sec, the max speed of the Minox 35GT.

What battery do you have in the Minox?

Xícara said:

Well this is fun. The code is 013994, which shows up as the film of a certain French photographic store, but also, of the non-discontinued films, "Fomapan 400 ProfiLine Action T400" and "Arista EDU Ultra 400". Are all 3 the same film under different names?

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Arista, like Rollei, sells only re-branded film. See:
https://emulsive.org/reviews/film-review-fomapan-400-arista-edu-ultra-400

In conclusion Fomapan 400 (Arista EDU Ultra 400) is an excellent mid range film at a good price, but you might want to do some quick testing to find developing times and EIs that suit you best. It’s well worth a try.

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EI 25 remains surprising.

MattKing said:

What battery do you have in the Minox?

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I have tested this. 4 SR44 batteries (6.2V) gives the same exposure time (actual shuter time, not the v/f display) as an original PX27 (5.4V). Note that I mean 4 individual SR44's with a paper wrapper; the 4SR44 battery, besides being rare and expensive, is longer than the four SR44's and will not fit. Of course, the meter circuit of the OP's Minox might be off for whatever reason. Hard to draw conclusions about a film's sensitivity using an auto camera, except if it is really known good.

MattKing said:

What battery do you have in the Minox?

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Like Bernard_L, 4 X SR44 batteries wrapped up in tape to insulate the sides. When I've tested the meter against one of my other cameras, the Minox meter has been good.

bernard_L said:

Hard to draw conclusions about a film's sensitivity using an auto camera, except if it is really known good.

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Yes it's true, but as I mentioned, tests with a a Nikon F2 at 400 and 200 gave very similar unsatisfactory results with low density negatives. Someone above said that old film can "lose ISO" (or something similar). I think I probably have old stock (there was no use by date).

Fomapan 400 has an effective iso of some 200-250 in most developers. If you assume that film tends to lose about a stop of speed every 10 years (which is a reasonable rule of thumb often applied), and you assume that the film is most likely not more than 10 years old, reasonable results are ro be expected around the 100 iso mark. Looking at the photograph of your film strip, I wouldn't be surprised if you could get useable negatives at around that speed if you give a bit more development. More exposure won't hurt much though, so if you prefer eg 50, it should work as well. But I think you can get a bit more out of it.