Whats a beautiful dev for Foma films?

peter k. said:

Oh my:

Glad you get the results you like with HC110, but then your in Maryland, out here in the southwest, that combo has way to much contrast.

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I'm sure some day I will grow up and want my pictures to be all middle gray but I am still young and enjoying contrast.


I see what you mean about harsh light and this combo, though. I bet you get a lot of that out west!

I spend all this money on fancy films from Ilford and Kodak and for some reason almost every single one of my favorite pictures I've taken of people has been on Foma 400. Usually indoors with some morning light from a window.

Another few examples:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/132764966@N03/48662410362/in/dateposted-public/
Dilution B for 6 minutes 30 seconds, 68 deg F, Mamiya C330 cropped

https://www.flickr.com/photos/132764966@N03/32782545668/in/dateposted-public/
Dilution H, 12 minutes 30 seconds, 65 degrees F, Konica Auto S3

caffenol C with 20cc /L of dektol mixed in

Based on my experience with Foma 100 and 400 in 120 format, I'd recommend

-Fomadon R09 1+50 for Foma 100 and 200 (Foma's Rodinal)
-Fomadon Excel 1+1 for Foma 400 (Foma's Xtol)

Really stunning results IME.

Anon Ymous said:

@pentaxuser Fomadon Excel is their Xtol clone. Foma provide development times for both Xtol and Fomadon Excel in their film datasheets. They even provide gamma - development time charts for Fomadon Excel in film datasheets.

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I have found the Foma site and can find the products but how do I get to the datasheets? Thanks

pentaxuser

pentaxuser said:

I have found the Foma site and can find the products but how do I get to the datasheets? Thanks

pentaxuser

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There's a link on each film weboage for the "Technical data sheet". For example, this is the Fomapan 100 page, which has a link to the datasheet:

https://www.foma.cz/en/catalogue-fomapan-100-classic-detail-406

I always develop both Fomapan 200 and 400 in RO9/one shot (Rodinal by another name) 1/50 beautiful

R.Gould said:

I always develop both Fomapan 200 and 400 in RO9/one shot (Rodinal by another name) 1/50 beautiful

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I also find RO9 at 50:1 optimal, but with Fomapan 100. As others have said, Foma 100 is prone to contrast and increased grain if over-developed, even slightly. Correctly exposed and dev'd, it's a luminous, traditional looking film.

Anon Ymous said:

There's a link on each film weboage for the "Technical data sheet". For example, this is the Fomapan 100 page, which has a link to the datasheet:

https://www.foma.cz/en/catalogue-fomapan-100-classic-detail-406

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Thanks I was about to write back that I had found it. The problem was that there are 4 categories under each film such as Parameters, Product Query etc. 3 of them are in English but the fourth which is the datasheet link is in Czech only but I clicked on it just in case what it took me to was in English and found it was the datasheet in English. Pity that the webmaster at Foma hasn't spotted that everything needed in English is there except the translation of what must be the Czech for Datasheet

The times for Kodak Excel and Fomadon Excel for Foma 400 are exactly the same which proves that the two developers are interchangeable which is great What is missing is that neither Foma nor Kodak provide times for each other's films.

It quotes 7 minutes which I initially thought made the times very short but in fact this is for stock solution and when I checked the MDC it was also 7 minutes stock and 9.5 for 1+1.

Interestingly the time for HP5+ in ID11 is only 30 secs more than the time for Xtol so about 7% longer and in Tmax 3200 the Xtol time is only 30 secs shorter than ID11 as well so the differences between Xtol and another type of developer altogether looks fairly marginal.

So for all practical purposes it is not a question of shortening the development time for Xtol and Foma films but simply a matter of using the developer maker's time for Xtol

pentaxuser

The best developers I have found for Foma films just depends on what you want to emphasize. If you want to emphasize the glow they tend to have, then a solvent based Glycin developer works best. Defender 777 and Edwal 10 are two that deliver for that.

If you want to sharpen it up without the contrast going nuts, Beutler's is the way to go. Better than Rodinal for Foma films in my opinion, and it pains me to say that. If you want to use Rodinal stick to the 1:50 dilutions.

Hope that helps you Chip.

Thanks, Patrick. I love GLOW!