Comments on: A Few of my Favorite Films

By: figitalrevolution

figitalrevolution — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 00:56:42 +0000

I rate the Efke 25 at 25 but with Stand Deve in Rodinal it is fine but just be sure to meter for the shadows. I have tried the R50 and liked it a lot… I have not tried the 100 which is a different beast… the R25 and R50 both have a different sensitivity and very good reciprocity.

Cheers-
Stephen

By: maro

maro — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 23:22:18 +0000

Stephen,

how do you rate the Efke 25? any idea what its usable Exposure Index is? and have you tried the Efke R50 and R100?

maro

By: figitalrevolution

figitalrevolution — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 20:44:08 +0000

I like the film a lot but the production according to what I have heard is over for now and what is left is what there is… it works quite nice in Rodinal and PMK. I am currently working with Efke 25 in Rodinal and love it…

By: maro

maro — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 19:42:54 +0000

Hi Stephen

From the B&W films you have tested which films have beautiful grain? The Across has almost no grain and for the work I am doing, shooting with my new Rolleiflex 2.8a with a wonderful soft lens, I need an old-fashioned look where the grain structure will be present and visible. Of course I am scanning the negatives before the next steps of my workflow….

Even though you have tested a LOT of films, I have not heard from you regarding the Bergger 200; I would love to hear your thoughts and any recommendations for developers for this particular film

maro

By: Dana Davis

Dana Davis — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 18:14:25 +0000

Film has never been better!! I tried for several years to get (old) Tmax100 to work for me and went back to Plus-X and embraced the grain for the sake of the tones and then came Acros and I have never looked back EXCEPT when I get the BUBBLES; little beggars, usually on the edge near the reel and on the first few images. 120 film, 2 reel tank, open tank, tapping, banging and using a Sharper Image (ironic, I know) vibrator to knock the little beggars loose. Edwal FG7, mixing the sodium sulfite and water 24 hours ahead. Anyway, Acros is the most amazing film ever. Compensates beautifully for over exposure/under developing. I print 120 to 18″square with no grain and the most creamy highlights. I do, however, miss licking the tape…

By: figitalrevolution

figitalrevolution — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 03:27:18 +0000

I’ve tried several 400 speed CN films but for my works the slower Ektar 100 has been my go to film… I will do a bit of looking and get back to you in a week or so…

By: Don Michael brown

Don Michael brown — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 00:50:04 +0000

I agree with Mr. Schaub. Fuji Acros & TMY-2 & for that biting look, Tri-X. He’s spot on da money-honey. As for XTOL… Agreed; though I do like the reliability of D-76… XTOL is a winning combo. with these films.

DM Brown

By: cidereye

cidereye — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 23:38:43 +0000

Enjoyed the podcast Stephen as always, just wondering though what you consider a good/great 400 colour film, we in the UK need this most of the year it seems at times compared to you in the USA maybe only needing it in winter.

I’ve been very lazy of late by using BW400CN after your rec’s but must now return to processing my own BW work after many years and can’t wait to try out T-MAX 400. Your rec of Ektar has taken me away from using Velvia 100 RVP and I thank you for that as I can get that processed foe 1/2 the price of an E6 film. Top stuff as always and look forward to your comments.

By: Justin Berger

Justin Berger — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 04:04:54 +0000

I think it’s important to underscore that favorite films/developers are often completely pretty idiosyncratic depending on who’s shooting and why. There’s a school of thought that films are like lovers and you want to really spend time with one and learn it’s ins and outs before you even think about trying something else. That has merit up and to a point, and certainly it’s a good way to go if the idea is to create a specific body of work or assignment, but I’ve found that I like a bunch of different films depending on the format, lens etc, and I wouldn’t know unless I had tried them all.

I really like velvia100 in old cameras with lower contrast lenses, especially my olympus pen where the ultra fine grain makes up for the tiny neg size, but with my very contrasty Voigtlander lenses and my Olympus xa Astia works a lot better. I’ve had great results with acros in my ancient folding camera in 120 but for what ever reason it doesn’t work for me in 35. Recently tried plus-x and I like it a lot even though it seems to be on virtually no one’s rader– it’s much closer to being truly panchromatic than other oldskool films which is really great for skies etc.

TMY-2 is the shiz nit. I could use that as my only b+w film and not miss having a 100 speed emulsion.

By: figitalrevolution

figitalrevolution — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 15:53:25 +0000

I’d rate it at box speed 400 but with the understanding that it will be a bit forgiving with regards to underexposure. At 800 there is no need to adjust processing so 400-800 just shoot and process. At 1600 and 3200 there is an increase in development, please refer to the Tmax 400 TMY-2 data sheet from Kodak for the most current processing times as it is different for the new Tmax 400…

Cheers-
Stephen