ARISTA EDU vs the old EFKE

A

ARCHIVIST

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I use 2 1/4 x 3 1/4 sheet film - HP5.

The cost of HP-5 is daunting. I notice that there is Arista-EDU in this format but what is it like to use?

I was a fan of EFKE but it is no longer made.

Using EFKE as a bench mark, how does Arista-EDU compare please?

I have heard reports of occasional holes in the emulsion?

Cheers
Peter
 
Arista EDU is Fomapan. The 100 and 400 are old school thick emulsions with coarse grain for the speed, very nice tonality. Foma 200 is more modern and has finer grain and a more modern tonality including less red sensitivity. Foma 320, when I used it, was very soft and mushy with large grain, but in this size it would look better than in 35mm.

In terms of comparison with Efke, it depends on which Efke, but the Efke films were mostly new versions of Adox films with fine traditional grain and thin emulsions.

Marty
 
ARCHIVIST said:
Thank you Marty. Very helpful info.

What do you know about the Adox CHS film?
Click to expand...

A fantastic, modern film, very similar tonality and colour sensitivity to Agfa APX. ‘New’ Adox is made in Germany for Fotoimpex. Panorthochromatic with decreased red sensitivity so the colour response is like Acros/II. It is a great choice in 100 speed film.

Marty
 
I still have a couple bricks of old Efke (50 and 100) in the freezer. I mostly bulk load these days, but was saving the commercial loads for when I travelled (by plane). Who knows when that'll be again. I haven't shot much Efke, but didn't they have a high silver content? Much different from the boat load of Foma (mostly 100) I've shot over the years.
 
steveyork said:
I still have a couple bricks of old Efke (50 and 100) in the freezer. I mostly bulk load these days, but was saving the commercial loads for when I travelled (by plane). Who knows when that'll be again. I haven't shot much Efke, but didn't they have a high silver content? Much different from the boat load of Foma (mostly 100) I've shot over the years.
Click to expand...

High silver content and associated properties are mostly myths. Emulsions are generally thicker or thinner and more or fewer layers. Foma is thicker, Efke was thinner. Foma has more layers, Efke, at least the 25 and 50 speed versions, was a single layer. Both contain mixed size traditional cubic silver crystals.

Marty
 
I shoot Arista EDU Ultra 400 film and still have a small supply of Efke 25. The AEU400 is a really nice film and I enjoy it, but if Efke were still available I wouldn't be buying nearly as much Foma film. In my opinion there really is no comparison but they are not really intended to be either.
 
Just go to town with fomapan, it's cheaper so what can it hurt? Probably same goes for Arista, I just haven't used it personally. Fomapan 200 shot at 400 is truly nice and can rival the look of HP5 and Tri-X.
 
For sheet film I use HP5 these days. Efke 100 was the nicest 4x5 film I ever shot. Shame it went away. I plan on trying the Adox when I get around to it. Seems that it is not available whenever I try to get some. I've shot a lot of Fomapan over the years. I used to buy it because it was cheaper and it looked good, but I'd always shoot two sheets of everything because of "issues" until one day I realized that if I was doing that, I might as well just use Ilford since I only need one. If you are scanning film then Foma is fine. Most issues are simple to fix in the computer. Not so much in the darkroom.

Hope that helps you.
 
Thanks to all for a wealth of good, solid information.
I will give the Adox a try.

I am using my Horseman VH-R more these days as I have issues with my
2 1/4 x 3 1/4 Graflex cameras - can't find a decent Ektar 101mm lens to replace the worn out ones on my cameras!

Thanks once again for the info.

Stay safe.
Cheers
Peter
 
I had trouble loading Efke film on developing reels without jamming, particularly 127 size.
IIRC it didn't dry very flat either.

Are the current ADOX films also made on a very thin base?

Chris
 
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