Help me choosing film

HHPhoto said:
It's simple: I've tested both films under identical conditions.
Masterprinter Wolfgang Moersch ( www.moersch-photochemie.de ) did the same and came to the same conclusion: They are not identical.
But as already mentioned, the differences are not huge.

Cheers, Jan
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Could the small differences be due to being from a different batch?

Not that I _really_ care, as it does not soup well in Caffenol-C-M, so I've chosen not to use it. Just curious as to what is the case, as I happen to trust the gentleman who told me his information.
 
randomm said:
Could the small differences be due to being from a different batch?
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No, because there have only been one batch of RPX made by Ilford.
If all RPX films are sold, the filme is gone, no new production.
That was stated last year by the CEO of Maco's photo division in a German forum.

randomm said:
Not that I _really_ care, as it does not soup well in Caffenol-C-M, so I've chosen not to use it. Just curious as to what is the case, as I happen to trust the gentleman who told me his information.
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Trust whom you want. If you are so curious, just shoot the film parallel to Kentmere 400 and look at the results.
First what you will realize if you calibrate the films for your workflow is the development times do differ.

Cheers, Jan
 
Too bad you don't shoot 100, I have a lot of B&W 100 (FP4/Acros) in 35 and 120 in my fridge I would love to get rid of.

The Foma would come from abroad yes? Foma 100 was so nice in Rodinal... But you're a 400 guy anyways.
 
I think Kentmere 400 is more sensible to buy and I will order it. Thanks for your help.


morback said:
Too bad you don't shoot 100, I have a lot of B&W 100 (FP4/Acros) in 35 and 120 in my fridge I would love to get rid of.
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If you get rid of your films it is very easy Martin. I am a film monster 🙂.
 
taylan said:
Hi Pirate, Yes i am talking 135 bulk film.
Also I am living in Turkey and overseas shipping rates from US is very high. For this reason I prefer to buy in Europe. http://www.macodirect.de has the cheapest shipping rates for me. For this reason I am planning to buy there and unfortunately they are not selling Arista products. Otherwise Arista Premium will be my first choice.
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If you settled on Kentmere, http://generalphoto.biz may be even cheaper than Maco 🙂
 
randomm said:
The 400 ASA Ultrafine definitely isn't Fomapan 400. I have souped up about 50 metres of the stuff in Caffenol-C-M and gotten great results, but in the same soup using same temp and time Fomapan 400 is very thin.

To my eye the Ultrafine Extreme 400 looks very similar to HP5+. I shoot and develop them both side by side.

I can highly recommend Ultrafine Extreme 400.
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From what ive read on rff and elsewhere, most have said that it is fomapan. Would you be able to show some of the photos that you've developed side by side. If it is really HP5+, it really would quite a bargain!!
 
Odmit said:
From what ive read on rff and elsewhere, most have said that it is fomapan. Would you be able to show some of the photos that you've developed side by side. If it is really HP5+, it really would quite a bargain!!
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There's 'real' HP5+ available on the bay for similar price at the moment, if you bulk load.

I've only shot Fomapan 400 in medium format, but its been very disappointing in Caffenol. Especially compared to its sister 200 model, which works great. I'll see if I can dig up samples of Fomapan 400. My flickr is full of Ultrafine 400 and HP5+. I can't tell them apart. Love it.
 
randomm said:
There's 'real' HP5+ available on the bay for similar price at the moment, if you bulk load. [...]
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Unless I am missing something, the only HP5 available to compete pricewise with new Kentmere 400 is the expired (by two years) HP5 I linked to in one of the first responses in this thread. I got one of these rolls because I a) wanted to practice bulk loading b) was curious how this outdated HP5 would compare to new stock and whether it was a good and reliable savings in the future c) would be able to keep this film around for testing purposes (lighttighness of cameras, focus etc.) where I would otherwise not want to "waste" a perfect roll of film.

All in all new HP5 is probably a "better" film than new Kentmere 400 - but fresh Kentmere 400 in all likelihood better than expired HP5. So for reproducible results in the future, and having read the others' opinions in this thread I would agree that ordering fresh Kentmere is the way to go for the OP.

Greetings, Ljós
 
taylan said:
Hi
My film stock is getting finished and I need to buy some bulk film. Unfortunately I have some financial problems nowadays and I have to buy cheapest one. Films that I can find are Fomapan 400 Action, Kentmere 400 and Rollei Retro 400S, but I don't know the characteristics of these films. Can you give any recommend about these films or do these films resemble any other film?
I am familiar to Tri-X, T-max 400, HP5+, Ilford Pan 400, Neopan 400, APX 400 and Rollei RPX 400.
I am planning to use D-76 and Xtol as developer. Also I almost never push the films. For this reason pushing character of film are not important for me. Additionally I am doing wet printing and for this reason scanning results are not important for me.
I need your advices. Please help me 🙂
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Hi. You may try this: Eastman Double X. Here is a long running thread on this:
http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=52426
It is a great material, however is harder to buy, you may try this:
Istanbul
 Kodak (Near East) Inc.
Istanbul-Turkey
Nispetiye Cad. Toprakkale Sok. No:1
Dadas Apt. D:6
Etiler 34337
Istanbul
Phone:+ 90 212 265 40 50
Fax:+ 90 212 265 40 54

and you will have to buy at least 400 feet ($140 US), well, not quite bulk loader size, but worth the trouble.
 
Ljós said:
Unless I am missing something, the only HP5 available to compete pricewise with new Kentmere 400 is the expired (by two years) HP5 I linked to in one of the first responses in this thread. I got one of these rolls because I a) wanted to practice bulk loading b) was curious how this outdated HP5 would compare to new stock and whether it was a good and reliable savings in the future c) would be able to keep this film around for testing purposes (lighttighness of cameras, focus etc.) where I would otherwise not want to "waste" a perfect roll of film.

All in all new HP5 is probably a "better" film than new Kentmere 400 - but fresh Kentmere 400 in all likelihood better than expired HP5. So for reproducible results in the future, and having read the others' opinions in this thread I would agree that ordering fresh Kentmere is the way to go for the OP.

Greetings, Ljós
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Yes, sorry, the one I was referring to was that surveillance stuff from Germany, and that was only 17m per can (around 20 euros), so its not cheaper than buying fresh in the end. I did not realise they were shorter rolls...

Many people have had good results with Kentmere, so why not give it a go. It just does not soup well in Caffenol, thus I'm steering clear of it at this point.
 
timor said:
Hi. You may try this: Eastman Double X. Here is a long running thread on this:
http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=52426
It is a great material, however is harder to buy, you may try this:
Istanbul
 Kodak (Near East) Inc.
Istanbul-Turkey
Nispetiye Cad. Toprakkale Sok. No:1
Dadas Apt. D:6
Etiler 34337
Istanbul
Phone:+ 90 212 265 40 50
Fax:+ 90 212 265 40 54

and you will have to buy at least 400 feet ($140 US), well, not quite bulk loader size, but worth the trouble.
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If one can source Double-X at a reasonable price then I'd highly recommend trying it. I'd shoot it myself, but it seems to be rather difficult to get hold of in or to Finland. I shot few rolls last autumn myself, loved it in Caffenol-C-M:


5222 bench by randomm, on Flickr
 
Additionally I am doing wet printing and for this reason scanning results are not important for me.
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Rollei Retro 400S E.I. 200 in D74 1+15 for 5:15 minutes at 20C
Fiber/Baryta photo print on Fomabrom Variant 111.

6880258239_2a305de119_z.jpg


As already said Retro 400S is sharp, fine grain but a lack of speed. It's also possible to use for IR film. RPX 400 is an Ilford/Harman type emulsion. It looks like Kentmere 400.
Fomapan 400 has the same lack of speed compared with Retro 400S. But it has more grain.
 
Taylan, IMO the best way for obtaining inexpensive but quality film for Turkey is to import it from the States (Freestyle, Adorama, B&H) as bulk, be it 100' or 36-exp. rolls. Nowadays the HP5+ goes for $9.79 to 10.50 for three or around $50 for 30m rolls. Coming together with friends and ordering a bulk would be the best way, even cheaper than importing from EU countries provided that you can place an order around $1K... Together with freight and tax it will cost you around $5 a roll (7% tax for USA + 18% KDV) Tri-X is more expensive.. I do not know why the importer of Ilford had overlooked this opportunity to offer 3-pack in Turkey as it was in the States since months...
 
randomm said:
To my eye the Ultrafine Extreme 400 looks very similar to HP5+. I shoot and develop them both side by side.

I can highly recommend Ultrafine Extreme 400.
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Okay, just thought to report back, that this above observation was made with HP5+ expired in 1998. I recently acquired a larger lot of much fresher HP5+ and I have to say that Ultrafine Extreme 400 certainly is not HP5+. The developing time of the fresher stuff I now have is much less than Ultrafine Extreme 400 in Caffenol-C-M.

I apologize for any confusion! I get nice results with both emulsions though.
 
randomm said:
Okay, just thought to report back, that this above observation was made with HP5+ expired in 1998. I recently acquired a larger lot of much fresher HP5+ and I have to say that Ultrafine Extreme 400 certainly is not HP5+. The developing time of the fresher stuff I now have is much less than Ultrafine Extreme 400 in Caffenol-C-M.

I apologize for any confusion! I get nice results with both emulsions though.
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Hi. Are we talking about UX400 in 135 format or 120 ? That might be two totally different emulsions.
 
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