Favourite budget film emulsions

[OurManInTangier]

After a tumultuous time over recent years the film market seems to be settling somewhat, some films seemingly gone forever, some back in new guises and some surviving through it all. For example I'm down to my last four rolls of Agfa APX and will be trying the Rollei Retro as, I'm told, its basically the same thing.

Whilst scouting for good prices on this I came across FirstCall Photographic's website here in the UK and discovered they've just released (or looking at the supply date, are about to release) their own 135-36 black and white film.

http://www.firstcall-photographic.co.uk/products/4916/firstcall-400s-135-36-iso-400

All of which just made me wonder what deals, cheap new emulsions and re-branded old emulsions are really out there for us to choose from at the moment and how they may perform? Perhaps those 'in-the-know' could share with those not so.

My apologies if there's a thread/sticky about this already. I've searched but found nothing similar.

 

[sebastel]

been exactly there about a year ago. instead of searching everywhere for the last remaining stock of APX100, i decided to try something different.

fomapan 100 was my first candidate, and i was delighted. i even liked it better than apx .... until i noticed how very easily the film caught scratches, and collected dust.

then, tried out rollei rpx 100. in my eyes completely different from apx 100.
then i tried fuji acros 100 and ilford pan 100. both are less expensive here in shanghai (ok, the acros was close to expiry...).

i found rollei rpx and ilford pan hardly distinguishable. acros of course differs again. all three are more scratch resistant than foma. none of them is like apx, but all of them nice enough to get where i want them, if i only adjust my processing accordingly.

in the end i settled for ilford pan 100 as my standard.

now, what does this mean for you? i can't tell. maybe only, that you better forget about finding a film similar to apx. buy a few rolls of those films easily available where you live, try them out, and select the one that doesn't require too much effort to achieve what you are looking for.

by the way, i tagged the photos on my flickr account with the film type, and the development parameters, as far as i could remember.

www.flickr.com/photos/sebastel23

cheers,
sebastian

 

[Noll]

Haven't had the issue with foma 100/arista edu 100 scratching. Maybe I've been lucky or maybe I have have not looked close enough. Also very pleased with its look and high sharpness.

I would also put a vote in for Ilford's bulk rolls. Compared to Kodak, they are still very reasonably priced and bulk loaders are dirt cheap.

 

[DominikDUK]

I like Fomapan 200 I also rate it at ISO 200. It is a beautiful film with midtones that just glow.

Rollei Retro is not APX 100 the old Rollei Retro was APX the new ones are Aviphot and other mfg. products in disguise. If you only shoot 35mm ORWO UN54 isn't a bad film at all.

 

[tunalegs]

I still have some rolls of Neopan SS and Plus-X... but beyond that Fuji Acros is my go to B&W film these days. Still want to try out Kentmere.

In color I've been shooting nothing but Agfa Precisa for over a year now. Although I eagerly await my roll of Ferrania slide film.

 

[darkosaric1234567890]

Fomapan. If you order in fotoimpex more than 10 films - then the price is 2,8€ for iso 100. Very good film, and iso 400 is also very good.
If you want even cheaper then you can buy Polypan F: 90 meters roll cost around 35€ - so it is like 50 cents for a 36 exp film.

 

[Jockos]

I also like the FPN 100. No problems with scratches since I quit using squeegee. The one thing I don't like about it is the crazy reciprocity (especially problematic in large format).
I sure wish they'd offer a real 400 ISO film at the same price point..

 

[Tijmendal]

Interesting that firstcall is introducing their own film. Manufactured in Germany which can only mean one thing: Rollei (correct me if I'm wrong).
I'm interested to see some samples. My guess is it's rebranded.

 

[f16sunshine]

I also like the FPN 100. No problems with scratches since I quit using squeegee. The one thing I don't like about it is the crazy reciprocity (especially problematic in large format).
I sure wish they'd offer a real 400 ISO film at the same price point..

It's true they don't offer a real 400.
I've been using the rebranded 200 from Freestyle and find it excellent. The 200 is the best of the Foma films imo.
It's sort of a hybrid T-grain film. The new and improved base is very limp and curl free. Stays flat for scanning.
At $3.19 per roll for 120 I'm quite satisfied to use this as my main film. This affords me to buy Tmax400 or HP5 when I need more speed (granted at a price premium over the foma).

 

[joeswe]

For example I'm down to my last four rolls of Agfa APX and will be trying the Rollei Retro as, I'm told, its basically the same thing.

Hm, which "Rollei Retro" are you referring to? Maco used to rebadge and sell old stock APX100 as "Rollei Retro" for some time, but that is over and gone. Then we have Rollei Retro 80S and Retro 400S, which are super-panchromatic films based on material for aerial photography from current (well, who knows ...) Agfa-Gevaert (Belgium) production. They are not the same thing (not even remotely) as the classic APX100. Then, maybe you think of the new Rollei RPX 100 which is said to be very close (if not identical) to the new APX100 distributed since last year or so by Lupus imaging, but it has to be stressed that this new APX100 has, except for its name, very little to nothing in common with the real APX100 of old ... Now, if you are really looking for a film that comes very close in look to the old APX100, I would suggest you to try Adox Silvermax, but it is only available in 35mm.

 

[OurManInTangier]

Hm, which "Rollei Retro" are you referring to? Maco used to rebadge and sell old stock APX100 as "Rollei Retro" for some time, but that is over and gone. Then we have Rollei Retro 80S and Retro 400S, which are super-panchromatic films based on material for aerial photography from current (well, who knows ...) Agfa-Gevaert (Belgium) production. They are not the same thing (not even remotely) as the classic APX100. Then, maybe you think of the new Rollei RPX 100 which is said to be very close (if not identical) to the new APX100 distributed since last year or so by Lupus imaging, but it has to be stressed that this new APX100 has, except for its name, very little to nothing in common with the real APX100 of old ... Now, if you are really looking for a film that comes very close in look to the old APX100, I would suggest you to try Adox Silvermax, but it is only available in 35mm.

...and this is why I come to RFF for answers and clarification as there's always someone who knows more than I do.

I shoot film only in 35mm format so perhaps I need to look at the Adox Silvermax as a near replacement for APX100.

Interesting that firstcall is introducing their own film. Manufactured in Germany which can only mean one thing: Rollei (correct me if I'm wrong).
I'm interested to see some samples. My guess is it's rebranded.

Once they have it in stock I'll be trying it out. Whether I get on with it or not may be another question but at half the price of a roll of HP5 its certainly worth a try.

Thanks for the input everyone. As I tend to shoot digital more often I don't necessarily manage to keep up with whats happening with film, though now my stocks are running low its time to get up to speed.

 

[hamradio]

Acros 100 used to be my go-to cheap film, back when it was under $20 for a 120 pro pack. Foma 100 stayed cheap, Acros went up to over $5/roll. Now, Foma is my go-to in 4x5, 120, and 35mm.

 

[ravilamir]

The Firstcall film is an Agfa Belgium emulsion. The same as Rollei Retro 400S.
If you factor the delivery price, you'll need to buy 2 bricks of it to offset the £8 p&p.
Fomapan 400 at Silverprint gets cheaper for me as I can go there.

 

[DominikDUK]

Firstcall 400s = Rollei Retro 400s = Agfa Aviphot = higher contrast at 400ISO better derated to E.I. 250 doesn't like Pyro developers.
Good film for bland days as it ads some umph.

 

[Fotohuis]

The Fomapan 100 and especially the Fomapan 200 is my favorite film. I am using it in 35mm and 120 roll film format. You only have to take care of the soft emulsion, especially the T200 film.

In the past I like the APX 100 (Agfa) and the similar Rollei Retro 100 but these stocks are gone now. FP 100 is very close to it and it also rocks in R09/Rodinal 1+50 like the APX 100 films did.

I am buying the FP films from the factory so I can not complaining about their prices. 🙂

 

[02Pilot]

I tried the Fomapan 200 in 120 after reading good reviews of it here, but I ran into the same problems with the soft emulsion as others have mentioned. It also doesn't seem to like Caffenol, which is my only developer, so after I use up what I have I'm moving on to something else.

In 35mm, I liked Kentmere 100 quite a lot when I tried it; haven't tried the 400. But here in the US, the bulk roll price of Kentmere is so close to that of FP4+ and HP5+ that I usually just opt for the latter.

 

[Fotohuis]

In 120 roll film format I can recommend R09/Rodinal or Xtol/Fomadon Excel W27:

FP200 E.I. 125 in R09/Rodinal 1+50

FP200 E.I. 160 in Xtol 1+1

FP200 E.I. 100 in Windisch W665 (Ultra fine Grain) 1+0, 35mm.

 

[Tijmendal]

I have had incredibly bad experiences with Fomapan 200 developed in Rodinal. Might have to do with the softer emulsion, I don't know. I've shot about 10 rolls, and all have turned out really, really, really bad. I've got a couple rolls left and I'll see what I can do. I've only developed in Rodinal so far and want to stick with that because I've seen great results online, but everything I'm producing looks like complete and utter crap and I'm not picky at ALL. Oh well.

 

[DominikDUK]

I have had incredibly bad experiences with Fomapan 200 developed in Rodinal. Might have to do with the softer emulsion, I don't know. I've shot about 10 rolls, and all have turned out really, really, really bad. I've got a couple rolls left and I'll see what I can do. I've only developed in Rodinal so far and want to stick with that because I've seen great results online, but everything I'm producing looks like complete and utter crap and I'm not picky at ALL. Oh well.

Define crap Using Rodinal shouldn't result in crap. The best developer aside from some pyro dev. for Fomapan 100 to 400 is X-tol undiluted or the Foma Variation Fomadon Excel. The Emulsion softness results in scratches not in bad Pictures/tones. Rodinal and Fomapan 100 to 400 results in grain but gives a great gritty old time look. In most developers the 200 is an E.I. 125 film, also never ever overdevelop Fomapan.

 

[Filzkoeter]

Interesting that firstcall is introducing their own film. Manufactured in Germany which can only mean one thing: Rollei (correct me if I'm wrong).
I'm interested to see some samples. My guess is it's rebranded.

*corrects you* Rollei does not produce film 😉
Orwo does and Adox does. Inoviscoat coats.

The "400s" and the clear PET base points to Belgian Agfa Aviphot Pan 400s (The same stuff as Rollei Retro 400s and many other rebranded cheap iso400 films)