New Arista Premium 100 and 400 films Made in USA

dougb · Jul 29, 2008

Freestyle has a new film on their website called Arista Premium, which appears to be Tri-X. The times given in their dev chart are the same as for Tri-x.
so far they only have the 100' roll available for $30, which is $19 less than the Kodak 100' roll. There is also a 100 speed Arista Premium listed in the dev chart which matches the times given for Plus-X.

http://www.freestylephoto.biz/sc_prod.php?pid=1000003148

from the site:

Introducing Arista Premium, the new line of black and white films that takes that quality to an all-new level. Thanks to a new partnership with a major film manufacturer, Freestyle now offers two new films that are sure to find a place in every photo education program.

Manufactured in the U.S.A.

Barry S · Jul 29, 2008

You're probably right-- how many "major film manufacturers" are there? Oh, please--let there be sheet film soon.

2F/2F · Jul 29, 2008

Barry S said:
Oh, please--let there be sheet film soon.

Indeed...in all sizes and both speeds.........

dougb · Jul 29, 2008

i just got an email back from them that says it's only going to be available in 35mm they said they will have 24 and 36 exp rolls available in addition to the bulk.

Paul Verizzo · Jul 29, 2008

Please, please, please....

...let there be an American made 125 speed show up in the brand line. I wonder why they would list a 100 ISO film in the chart? But the Freestyle development chart shows the same time of 5.5 minutes with Plus-X and the Arista Premium "100." Hmmmm.....

And BTW, don't wait around for Film Emorium to have any 5231 Plus-X short ends. I ordered last fall, they had to refund my money. Yesterday I got on the phone and the guy even "made some calls," but to no avail. 18 cents a foot, bummer.

2F/2F · Jul 29, 2008

"I wonder why they would list a 100 ISO film in the chart?"

Close enough. Most people won't get box speed with a film anyhow. In my experience, usually below, sometimes above, and almost never spot on.

Paul Verizzo · Jul 29, 2008

Just heard from FS CS

"Mid August" for the 100.

Terrence Brennan · Jul 29, 2008

New film from Freestyle

Doesn't Fuji also manufacture in the United States?

Barry S · Jul 29, 2008

dougb said:
i just got an email back from them that says it's only going to be available in 35mm they said they will have 24 and 36 exp rolls available in addition to the bulk.

Ok, take away my dreams.

Paul Howell · Jul 29, 2008

Terrence Brennan said:
Doesn't Fuji also manufacture in the United States?

I think only color, all of their B&W is still made in Japan.

bcostin · Jul 29, 2008

I had a Freestyle shopping cart ready to go, so I tossed in a spool of this new film too. It'll be interesting to see what it actually is.

Jordan · Jul 29, 2008

I e-mailed them today and they replied with the news that it'll only be available in 100 and 400-speed, in 24exp, 36exp and 100-ft rolls.

Pity -- I would have bought a lot of 120 from them if the price was right. The Arista.EDU Ultra looks good but I can't deal with the curl.

randerson07 · Jul 30, 2008

Awesome, I was thinking about bulk loading soon, this should give me an excuse to buy a loader and a 100ft.

Paul Verizzo · Jul 30, 2008

randerson07 said:
Awesome, I was thinking about bulk loading soon, this should give me an excuse to buy a loader and a 100ft.

I've been bulk loading for decades, being an incorrigible cheapskate. Having said that, I recognize that there are some significant inconveniences.

First, the common Watson loader wastes two frames at the end of the roll unless you put the cassette in place in the dark. If you make short rolls, that can be 10% of your 100 foot roll!

Second, I have had to put a bit of rubber bumper on the lid opposite the cassette to keep it in place better. Of even more importance, is that the foot of the shaft with the points for the sprocket hole wanders in and out of its assigned location at will. When out, no counter. At that time its good to know the "how many turns" method of the old Lloyd bulk film loader:

36 exp 31 turns

24 24

18 19

10 13

It's surprisingly good despite film thickness differences. Frankly, I'm looking out for a Lloyd so I don't waste so much film.

Third, the counter on the Watson doesn't take into account the leader and aforementioned "trailer." Add 7 to your desired count to be correct. And never run your film to the very end, remember those wasted frames?

Now, taking into account the additional matters of reloadable cassettes, possible DX issures, your time, and other, er, negatives, I would suggest waiting to see what the prices will be for the 24 and 36 exp. reloads. I know I will.

randerson07 · Jul 30, 2008

good points on the waiting for the 24 and 36 exp rolls. I was actually going to skip the watson and grab the arista labeled loader, I figure if it costs more and its their house brand it had to be a little better right?

And about reloadable cassettes, I read on flickr somewhere about taping to the remaining leader from all my let over cassettes that ive been hanging onto. You cant use them too many times, but I cant imagine I would ever run out of them. It seems theres a number of folks who just go to the local 1 hr lab and get free cannisters and use the tape method.

DX wont be an issue.

srs5694 · Jul 30, 2008

randerson07 said:
And about reloadable cassettes, I read on flickr somewhere about taping to the remaining leader from all my let over cassettes that ive been hanging onto.

If anybody cares, there's a thread on photo.net about this, complete with photos (about 2/3 of the way down the page). I've used this technique successfully, as well as bought re-usable plastic and metal cassettes. Which method I prefer depends on my mood.

Paul Verizzo · Jul 30, 2008

I just checked eBay and there are quite a few bulk loaders, some for $10. Mostly Watson, quite a few Aldens which look like a more colorful version of the Watson, a few Lloyds. And this is exciting: the Alden will load color OR B&W film! Wow! (Note sarcasm.)

I am just plain leery of taping film to the old bit sticking out. OTOH, you made me realize that doing so would minimize trailer loss. A long tape trailer would do the trick. (Where has my brain been?) I use packing or filament tape, it's both sticky and strong as hell.

jim appleyard · Jul 30, 2008

Paul Verizzo said:
I just checked eBay and there are quite a few bulk loaders, some for $10. Mostly Watson, quite a few Aldens which look like a more colorful version of the Watson, a few Lloyds. And this is exciting: the Alden will load color OR B&W film! Wow! (Note sarcasm.)

I am just plain leery of taping film to the old bit sticking out. OTOH, you made me realize that doing so would minimize trailer loss. A long tape trailer would do the trick. (Where has my brain been?) I use packing or filament tape, it's both sticky and strong as hell.

Paul, don't worry about taping bulk film to the bit sticking out of the pre-packaged cassettes for years; never a problem as long as you use good tape and cover both sides of the film.

As far as color AND b/w goes, I hear you can now buy two digital back for some MF cameras; one for color, the other for b/w!

geoferrell · Jul 30, 2008

I like the Arista film because it is similar and less expensive than Kodak, but there is a difference in the emulsion. I think the film is thinner and maybe slightly more fragile when processing.

dougb · Jul 30, 2008

geoferrell said:
I like the Arista film because it is similar and less expensive than Kodak, but there is a difference in the emulsion. I think the film is thinner and maybe slightly more fragile when processing.

This is a new film, it's only been available from the Freestyle site for 2 days now. From the information on the site it looks like it is Tri-X.

srs5694 · Jul 30, 2008

Freestyle's used several suppliers over the years, and has given each a different name, mostly in the "Arista" line. Here's the rundown on the versions I know, although there are so many that my memory may have failed me on one or two:

Arista Pro -- Ilford (film and paper)
Arista II -- Agfa (film) or Kentmere (paper)
Freestyle Private Reserve -- Agfa (paper only)
Arista.EDU -- Forte (film and paper)
Arista.EDU Ultra -- Foma (film and paper)
Arista Premium -- Kodak (film only)

Most of these are now unavailable under their Arista names. People often don't realize how Freestyle names these things and they simply say "I shot some Arista 400 film yesterday, and..." That could now be any of six different films from any of five different manufacturers (Freestyle offered both HP5+ and Delta 400 under the Arista Pro label), depending on when the film was bought!

Maybe there should be a sticky thread with this information...? It seems to be a FAQ (or perhaps a Frequently Unasked Question, although that has a rather unfortunate acronym).

Dennis S · Jul 30, 2008

The Arista RC + Pearl Grade 3 meduim weight 5 X7 paper from England.
Oh I wonder who that would be ??

Paul Verizzo · Jul 31, 2008

Tape update based on experience

jim appleyard said:
Paul, don't worry about taping bulk film to the bit sticking out of the pre-packaged cassettes for years; never a problem as long as you use good tape and cover both sides of the film.

As far as color AND b/w goes, I hear you can now buy two digital back for some MF cameras; one for color, the other for b/w!

I just did some bulk loading and looked at some things I've done recently.

I think it's safe to say that the blue variety of masking tape is worthy of loading cassettes. It's much tougher than the vanilla variety. The paper doesn't dry out, the adhesive is much stronger. The samples I did with it are bullet proof, no way can you tear it off of the spool.

Tim Gray · Jul 31, 2008

Paul Verizzo said:
I am just plain leery of taping film to the old bit sticking out. OTOH, you made me realize that doing so would minimize trailer loss. A long tape trailer would do the trick. (Where has my brain been?) I use packing or filament tape, it's both sticky and strong as hell.

It's actually pretty easy. I use scotch tape. I attach the tape to the empty rolls in the light and then load in the dark so I don't have to worry about the exposed leaders and tails. Just put the scotch tape on the emulsion side and leave enough hanging off either side to wrap around and completely cover the shiny side of the film.

justpete · Jul 31, 2008

randerson07 said:
I was actually going to skip the watson and grab the arista labeled loader, I figure if it costs more and its their house brand it had to be a little better right?

The AP bobinquick doesn't waste any frames, btw. You can shoot all the way to the last possible frame without a problem. And it doesn't load through a felt, there's a gate that opens completely when the crank is inserted after the cover is closed. Works very well although they are a bit pricey. Only one roll so far with a scratch, and only a few frames, due to my mucking up the velvet on the cartridge. Speaking of which, the AP metal reloadable cartridges turned out to be good quality, not a bad one in a batch of a hundred. No, I don't work for/with Freestyle or AP

New Arista Premium 100 and 400 films Made in USA

Privacy & Transparency

Privacy & Transparency