Zorki Photo Mono 100 Film

It's in everybody's interest that we support Ilford and Foma because Kodak don't care anymore and if Ilford and Foma go then you can kiss B&W film photography goodbye for ever. ...
Just my humble opinion.

OptiKen said:

Besides - what could be more cool that to shoot Zorki film in your Zorki camera?

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Such was part of the concept of "Rollei" films. Maco got the licence to use the Rollei brand on their mostly rebranded, own converted films, that in no way were related to the actual camera manufacturer.

However in the past there were films branded by true camera manufacturers as Zeiss Ikon or Voigtländer, but not made by them.

Has anyone placed a pre-order for this film?
It will only cost £4.00 / €4.60 / $5.27 (approx) so what's the big deal?
You know it's from one of the main manufacturers and it's relabeled, just like lots of other film, so what's the problem?

Why not be delighted that a "new" film is available in a small market. If it get a few more people shooting B&W then that's good, isn't it?

I am delighted for Stephen (Zorki Photo) and wish him the best of luck.

I suppose "There is only one thing in life worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about."

Harry Stevens said:

It's in everybody's interest that we support Ilford and Foma because Kodak don't care anymore and if Ilford and Foma go then you can kiss B&W film photography goodbye for ever. ...
Just my humble opinion.

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I have to agree....maybe a little harsh on Kodak, and I'd certainly continue to use their films if they were my first choice (and while they're still available). But Ilford have reliably produced and sold their range of speeds of film in both 120, 35mm and sheet, for many years.....andnot forgetting paper. Foma products (despite the occasional hiccup) also seem to be of good quality. And, of course, we also watch Ferrania with interest.

Bet you it is cine film - like Super XX.

Well look what just arrived today...



Unfortunately, upon further inspection...



My worst fears were realized...

3 rolls of Fomapan 100 for £16.40 / $21.91. I guess the packaging is cool at least...

I got my 5 rolls a few days ago - Foma is a nice film, isn't it ... ?
There where not so many other possibilities - I expected some Kentmere ...

Punker said:

Unfortunately, upon further inspection...

My worst fears were realized...

3 rolls of Fomapan 100 for £16.40 / $21.91. I guess the packaging is cool at least...

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The packaging is cool and what's more, the film is great too. Enjoy your Foma

Post #11:

darkosaric said:

On that link is says "It’s a film I’ve used for some years, and I love it.", so probably known brand in a different package (my bet is Foma 100).

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File closed.

Alessandro Serrao said:

There is a new film: Ferrania P30.

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Indeed there is....just a pity that we can't buy any of it.

foc said:

Has anyone placed a pre-order for this film?
It will only cost £4.00 / €4.60 / $5.27 (approx) so what's the big deal?
You know it's from one of the main manufacturers and it's relabeled, just like lots of other film, so what's the problem?

Why not be delighted that a "new" film is available in a small market. If it get a few more people shooting B&W then that's good, isn't it?

I am delighted for Stephen (Zorki Photo) and wish him the best of luck.

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What should we delighted that someone has taken an existing film and put a different label on it?

faberryman said:

What should we delighted that someone has taken an existing film and put a different label on it?

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I agree. Fomapan 100 is my default daylight black and white film. It's slightly old fashioned and develops nicely in the even older Rodinal formula developer. It has a thick base that makes it good for scanning and can be pushed 2 stops which is unusual for a slow film. I purchase it by the 100 ft roll, and get through a few every year.

I don't know if Kosmo film is Foma 100, or what would legally make it a different product, but if it is the same it raises a couple of points. One is whether Foma themselves would sell more by a little marketing, secondly, will a price rise give the company boutique ideas. Worst case scenario is it disappears in its original form, and comes back in groovier packaging with a premium product price.

blockend said:

. . .
I don't know if Kosmo film is Foma 100, or what would legally make it a different product, but if it is the same it raises a couple of points. One is whether Foma themselves would sell more by a little marketing, secondly, will a price rise give the company boutique ideas. Worst case scenario is it disappears in its original form, and comes back in groovier packaging with a premium product price.

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Reviving this thread . . .
I think it is very likely that once Kodak gets out, the remaining players will raise prices - unless there is a substantial increase in demand, which seems unlikely. FOMA still sells X-ray film to the "developing" world from what I read a couple of years ago and is therefore still reliant on a wholesale market (can't remember where I read this, but perhaps on their site). Harmon has been threatened by a land developer who wants to buy up the property, I understand. There are hopeful signs. No one in this thread has mentioned Adox with its new production facility outside Berlin: that is the kind of model that is best placed to survive as it small scale and aimed at the camera film market. Think of the rise of "craft" brewing. Of course, unlike brewing film production is complicated and there is a limited opening to find the machinery and expertise to open new facilities. Adox managed and what it took is described on its site. The other thing is that a limited market and short production runs means that costs and therefore prices will go up. Enjoy the cheap prices while you can.

Please tell me where is the bargain. Four pounds sterling is about USD 6. NOT cheap for such a questionable film. - David Lyga

Noone had it about a bargain, so far.
One post in that direction should rather be read as "it could have been more expensive"

Punker said:

Well look what just arrived today...

Unfortunately, upon further inspection...

My worst fears were realized...

3 rolls of Fomapan 100 for £16.40 / $21.91. I guess the packaging is cool at least...

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Have you developed any yet? It might be Foma air 100 which is a different emulsion than fomapan 100, though the film tail looks a lot like Arista.edu 100, which is plain Foma 100

Adrian Bacon said:

Have you developed any yet? It might be Foma air 100 which is a different emulsion than fomapan 100, though the film tail looks a lot like Arista.edu 100, which is plain Foma 100

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Oh yeah. I did. I used the times for Foma 100. Legacy Eco Pro (Xtol) 1+1, 8 mins.

^
Nothing wrong with those photographs - well done !

Thanks! Yeah nothing wrong with the film. Just a little chapped I paid so much more for pretty packaging. Oh well. It is a cool design. Can't argue with that.

Punker said:

Oh yeah. I did. I used the times for Foma 100. Legacy Eco Pro (Xtol) 1+1, 8 mins.

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Hmm.. ok, well I have three rolls that I picked up thinking (hoping) it might be Foma air 100. I’ve not opened the boxes yet as the package design is pretty neat.

Given this info, I’m totally comfortable shooting a series of exposure levels of a gray card on one roll and do the same thing on a roll of fomapan 100, put them both in the same tank at the same time time and run it. If the density curve is the same between them, then it is what it is.

I’m working through a backlog of film in the lab, so it’ll be probably a couple weeks before I get to it, but when I do it, I’ll post the results here.

I'd say don't waste a roll doing detective work. Just shoot and enjoy

traveler_101 said:

. Harmon has been threatened by a land developer who wants to buy up the property, I understand.

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To correct this, yes harman lease their site but as a business lease holder in the UK they have rights to a new lease when it expires (eventually) enforceable in the courts if neccessary. The land owner has tried to get planning permission for housing on the site (Refused by both planning authority and UK government planning inspector on appeal as its on the Manchester airport flight path) however these plans would have accommodated harman activities in a new campus on about 20% of the original site, and they supported them as helping cut their costs (the site once had up to 2000 people working there, now its 200) so a lot of the site is unused. ( Rather like the recent pictures of the kodak site, big site, few people!) As has been reported elsewhere on here Harman who are privately held make a return of about 5% which is acceptable for a private business but demonstrates returns on film aren't that great for what is the market leader in B&W. A Plc would be looking for at least 2x that and so its probably why fujifilm under those pressures is exiting the traditional film business. Then i think we can worry about the cost of colour film with only one supplier left. Despite the recent bad news about Acros overall I suggest the B&W folks are in a better position going forward.

Sooo... I shot a test roll to see what the characteristic curve looks like. It's looking an awful lot like Fomapan 100.
The green line is Fomapan 100, the blue line is Kosmo Photo Mono, the black like is the standard ISO 0.62 contrast tone curve.

Across the bottom is an 18% grey card exposed with a studio strobe and metered with an incident light meter in full stop increments +-0.1 stop through a transmission stop rated lens. 0.0 is correct exposure, then over and under in full stop increments.

Up and down the left side is the average raw ADC value of a sample 1000x1000 pixels out of the center of the frame.

It's not scientific, but it's as accurate as I have access to equipment, and is accurate enough to show that the two curves are shockingly close given that neither roll was shot at the same time, neither was developed at the same time, or scanned at the same time. If it were Foma air 100 I'd expect a significantly more dramatic S-Curve shape much like what you see with JCH StreetPan, which looks *very* S-curvy relative to pretty much anything else you compare it to, whereas this has an ever so slight rolloff on the shadows before the FB+F, and an ever so slight more density in the highlights with a slightly more rounded roll off than Fomapan 100. It's so close I'd attribute it to process variations and well inside the noise limits.

So there you have it. Not to bag on Kosmo Foto, there's nothing wrong with re-branding or re-labeling as Foma is pretty much the re-label king and readily supplies film for private labels, and it allows Kosmo Foto to provide a way to support the site if you're inclined. So with that, mad respect there, but if you want to develop it, treat it like Fomapan 100.