Those 12-exposure rolls were the last to go out of stock at Photo Warehouse, before it all sadly disappeared. Like others have noted, it's probably discontinued for good. Unless you stored them in extreme conditions, the film should be fine. Enjoy it, it was one of my favorite B&W film stocks, not just because of the budget price.In early 2020, I purchased (what was advertised at the time) what should have been a box of 20 rolls of Ultrafine Extreme 135-12 black and white film, from Photo Warehouse. When the order arrived, instead of one box of 20 rolls, I received 20 individual rolls of the film, inside their black plastic cans, inside a bag, with no film expiration date anywhere. Although I no longer have the email from them, when I inquired about this, I was not provided with an expiration date for the film, but that the film should otherwise be fine.
Although I have found positive reviews online about this film, I have yet to use it (pandemic, etc.), but once the warmer weather comes, I would like to dig out my Holgas and Dianas and shoot some film with them.
Given that it has been almost two years since I purchased the film, can it be assumed (reasonably) that the film would still be good at this point? Please note that not knowing what the actual expiration date is, I would be hesitant to purchase this film again.
Thank you in advance.
Pretty much this.
Choosing a film strictly based on price (high or low) guarantees nothing.
Those 12-exposure rolls were the last to go out of stock at Photo Warehouse, before it all sadly disappeared. Like others have noted, it's probably discontinued for good. Unless you stored them in extreme conditions, the film should be fine. Enjoy it, it was one of my favorite B&W film stocks, not just because of the budget price.
If Foma wants to improve the quality of their film to match that of Kodak, the easiest thing for them to do is set the same prices as Kodak.
Those 12-exposure rolls were the last to go out of stock at Photo Warehouse, before it all sadly disappeared. Like others have noted, it's probably discontinued for good. Unless you stored them in extreme conditions, the film should be fine. Enjoy it, it was one of my favorite B&W film stocks, not just because of the budget price.
I love that! I know many folks that buy by price when shopping and not the way you think. In the old days, before cross branding, a person could usually tell the quality of an item buy sight, feel or whatever. If it item A was heavier, better finished and had a respected name stamped on it compared to item B then it was certainly worth the higher price for many folks. That mentality went out the window with cross branding, reviving old well respect company trademark names and China. Still, I know people that will still buy item A at a higher price thinking if it cost more therefore it’s got to be better when item B is exactly the same thing. It’s called “programmed buying” I guess. Some companies have marketing schemes to take full advantage of that. It’s a ruthless word out there. JohnWKodak raised their prices by 20-30% in 2021.
In other news, their film now is also 20-30% better than it was before.
If Foma wants to improve the quality of their film to match that of Kodak, the easiest thing for them to do is set the same prices as Kodak.
There is nothing wrong with Foma films. Usually??? Buying up large quantities bothers me a little. I had some foma film that had a few emulsion defects and am certainly thankful I didn’t have a freezer full. Maybe if you knew you had a very good batch and bought more of that batch number then ok. JohnWNooooooooo! No Foma price increases, I love that 100 stuff, and the 400 too. Foma is the last good deal on B&W films, and if we're smart we'll stock up on it now. Remember when Freestyle was selling all that Tri-X for dirt cheap prices that was rebranded as Arista Premium? That dried up, and never came back.
I say Pffffffffffft! to Kodak's price increases, I'll just buy more Foma film.
Thanks for the recommendation, @relistan! I have not tried Fotoimpex CHM 100, and actually I've never tried UFX 100 or Kentmere 100 either. It was the UFX 400 that I loved and miss. But so it goes, film stocks come and go. Sadly, mostly go these days. I've been using Kentmere 400, and even though I don't think it's identical to UFX 400, I've still gotten results that I'm happy with. Compared to UFX 400, it's not better or worse, just different (at least to me, YMMV).Have you tried Fotoimpex CHM 100? They describe is as "old" Kentmere. I know you felt that UFX 100 was not identical to current Kentmere. So it might be worth a shot. It's not available bulk, but even shipped to the US the price should be reasonable.
@grainyvision, I'm not sure if it was "officially" discontinued by Photo Warehouse. Some people have called Photo Warehouse to inquire directly and gotten some updated information. Unfortunately, I can't find the exact posts to cite. In any case, the UFX 400 has been out of stock for well over a year, so combined with what I've read, it's functionally discontinued for me. Very unfortunate indeed!That is very unfortunate. I had no idea that extreme was officially discontinued. I got some of both 400 and 100 and both are stellar films, especially considering the price. Now regretting wasting a few rolls of 100 on developer testing. The 100 ISO film gives results which look like a more contrasty box speed even up to 400 ISO (but with ISO 100 grain) if processed using the a good developer.
"The report of my death was an exaggeration."I just looked, it is listed, down the page a bit down from where it had been listed, still out of stock.
They probably hope to get more of it, at a price that makes it possible for them to make some money on it.I still don’t understand why they refuse to make some kind of announcement regarding the future of the film.
As far as I concerned Ultrafine Xtreme is gone so not waiting for it. Ultrafine Finesse is only available on 35mm so not much use for me at the moment.Marcelo
They probably hope to get more of it, at a price that makes it possible for them to make some money on it.
What are you experiences with Finesse vs Foma?I have Finesse 100 and 400 in bulk, not available in cassettes. Photowearhouse list times for 400, had to figure out times for 100, developing times are closest to Foma 100 and 400, but it seems to shoot well at 400, with Foma I normally shoot 400 at 200 or 320 depending on the developer.
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