Efke Film

[RubenBlaedel]

I finally got around to buy some EFKE 25 iso film from fotoimpex in the UK AKA retrophoyographic.
The film is described as ortho/pan
Question does anyone have experience with EFKE 25 ?? How Ortho and How Pan is it?
If a whant blue skyss to darken will I need orange filter or will a yellow do??
would be great to hear from all that has tried this film - also what developer etc. do you find best. Is the film base thicker or thinner than others and how does it scan??
cheers Ruben

 

[denishr]

Ruben,
I've tried it in 120 format, and it's a great film. I can't really
compare it to other films, since Efke is all I use in 120 format 🙂

Filters? Depends on how much dark you want. Try one shot with yellow
filter, and another shot with orange, and compare. I have some shots
with orange filter, and the skies turned out rather dark...

It scans well - see http://www.photo.net/photodb/folder?folder_id=437263
- first two (airplanes) were done on Efke R25, second one with orange
filter.

Judge the scans for yourself...

Denis

 

[doubs43]

Ruben, I have a 100 foot roll of EFKE 25 but have yet to expose any. In due time, I will. I plan to use Rodinal at 1:50 or maybe even a greater dilution to wring every bit of sharpness and tonality possible from it.

One VERY IMPORTANT point that I've picked up on by reading about EFKE 25 film: Pre-soak it in water at the proper temperature for 1 full minute before development. Failure to pre-soak it can result in the film retaining some of the backing they add during manufacture.

Walker

 

[peter_n]

I've seen some fantastic scans online from this film so I think it scans well. I have 4 rolls of the KB50 here that I haven't used yet I should try it.

OT: I see J&C are now selling 125 and 400 ASA Adox CHM film at $2.99/roll. Anyone tried it?

 

[Gabriel M.A.]

The only samples I've seen of Efke being used is denishr's fine pictures; it's actually his Summitar pictures that inticed my curiosity into trying (and buying) one!

I know B&H stocks it, and I'd like to try some, but I must burn some of my Tri-X, FP4, HP5+, XP2 and Acros before my girlfriend rolls her eyes if I buy any more film.

One question though: how does Efke compare to Fortepan? I know Fortepan 400 has two layers (one 400 and another ISO 50) but is reportedly "grainy", but apparently they're both "old style" emulsions.

Anybody with any experience using both Efke and Fortepan emulsions?

 

[Socke]

I've seen some fantastic scans online from this film so I think it scans well. I have 4 rolls of the KB50 here that I haven't used yet I should try it.

OT: I see J&C are now selling 125 and 400 ASA Adox CHM film at $2.99/roll. Anyone tried it?

The Adox CHM 125 and 400 is made from Ilford material, probably cut, perforated and spooled somewhere else. But essentialy it is FP4 and HP5 🙂

 

[Krasnaya_Zvezda]

Here's a shot on Efke 25, from 35mm. Zeiss Ikon Contina III, 30 seconds at f/11. Scans well, as far as I'm concerned.

 

[peter_n]

That night shot is very nice!! 🙂

The Adox CHM 125 and 400 is made from Ilford material, probably cut, perforated and spooled somewhere else. But essentialy it is FP4 and HP5 🙂

Interesting. J&C says the Adox films have "handling and developing similar" to FP4+ and HP5. That's because they are...

 

[RubenBlaedel]

Thanks all on the EFKE input! - I will use a Swedish "allmost rangfinder" with interchangeable filmbacks and try to do some comparing shots with PanF and Efke to see the how much different EFKE reacts to the colour of the filter 🙂

Denis - I see you live in the country were EFKE is produced - do you know if EFKE is suffering as much as the rest of the film manufactors ?

I would hate to fall inlove with a film only to see it discontinued

 

[BrianPhotog]

I know Fortepan 400 has two layers (one 400 and another ISO 50) but is reportedly "grainy", but apparently they're both "old style" emulsions.

"old style" usually just means uneven grain sizes and distribution. This is good for exposure lat but suffers sharpness...PanF/FP4/HP5 and TriX are all old style emultions while Delta & TMax are new style, even grain sizes evenly distributed.

Maybe here they mean high silver content?

 

[Duncan Ross]

"old style" usually just means uneven grain sizes and distribution. This is good for exposure lat but suffers sharpness...PanF/FP4/HP5 and TriX are all old style emultions while Delta & TMax are new style, even grain sizes evenly distributed.

Maybe here they mean high silver content?

I use Efke 25 and I believe they describe 'old style' as a single poured layer of milled silver oxide (not flattened like Tmax etc) on their blurb. With shallots and a white wine sauce. I think the grain size might be pretty uniform; certainly my honeymoon prints were utterly grainless. Can't comment on the skies as I don't think I had a single blue sky the whole time!

 

[denishr]

Denis - I see you live in the country were EFKE is produced - do you
know if EFKE is suffering as much as the rest of the film manufactors ?

I would hate to fall inlove with a film only to see it discontinued

Ruben, they (Efke) have their share of problems. However, they intend
to continue production, and AFAIK, they are doing relatively well.
I don't think they will vanish any time soon 🙂

I use Efke 25 and I believe they describe 'old style'
as a single poured layer of milled silver oxide (not flattened like Tmax
etc) on their blurb.

The "old-style" is precisely that. Their emulsions are prepared the way
it was done about 50-60 years ago, on appropriately antiquated equipment 🙂

Graksi could tell you more - he lives in Samobor, where they are located 🙂

We could go on forever about what "old-style" here means, but the best
thing is to shoot some and try it for yourself. I believe it *does*
have a higher silver content, but I'm not an expert on that.
In short, Efke films are not a "magic bullet", but they are OK - just
remember to prewash, and handle the emulsion with extreme care, since
it scratches very easily. Avoid squeegeeing and use only Photo-flo or
similar agent before hanging to dry.

You might also check out Efke threads on apug.org....

Denis

 

[wilt]

Most of the shots (at least the recent half) at 5063.com were shot on Efke KB100, souped in Rodinal 1+50 or Acutol 1+14.

I really like this film. The low price is an added bonus.

I buy it from Photax, a great supplier.

Have yet to try Efke 25, 50 or 400. Have a 30 m roll of 50 lying around, just waiting for some sunshine.

 

[pshinkaw]

I've recently tried both Efke 25 and Forte Pan 200. Not directly comparable I know, bu they were both available at the time the sun was shining.

The Efke looks more like like Panatomic X than anything else. The Forte 200 was grainy, more like FP4 than the old Tri-X. I intend to use more of the Efke. I probably won't buy anymore of the Forte after this batch is used up. Given the grain and speed, I prefer to use Fuji Neopan 400. However, in the right interpretive hands, this film might look quite nice in Rodinal or Accutol.

The Efke was shot in a Retina IIIS, 50/2.0 Xenon, 1/125@f5.6. The Forte was shot in a Zorki-3M, 50/2.0 Jupiter-8, 1/500@f11. Turns out the Zorki-3M also has shutter lag problem, hence the lightness on the left side of the frame. Deblopment was in D-76 full strength as per directions (including pre-soak).