Fomapan 200

Nick Rowland

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Hi Folks,

I am about to try Fompan 200 instead of my usual HP5. I normally develop in Rodinal but also use HC110, I have read that HC110 isn't suited to this film and plan to stick to Rodinal at 1+50 for 9mins. I'll shoot at ISO 150 as it seems to struggle to reach box speed.

Does anyone have any experience of Foma 200 5x4 sheet?

Thanks
Nick
 
I have used quite a bit of 5x4 Fomapan 200, and found it looks well in Fomadon RO9, which I suppose is Rodinal. In sunny conditions I give it 7.5 minutes in a 1+50 dilution.
ID11 at 1+2, for 10 minutes is even better. Sharper, and nicer tonality.
Why do I use both? Well, I bought the Fomadon RO9, and don't want to waste it. But when it's gone I'll stick to ID11.

Alan
 
Thanks Alan, hmmm I've always avoided powder developers maybe I should give it a go. I can still use the Rodinal & HC110 for my 35mm/120 films.

What ISO do you use?

Cheers
Nick
 
Hi Nick, I should have said, I rate it at 100, but your method of taking light readngs has some bearing on this, of course.
Don't let me put you off Rodinal. And I think you should try HC1110. I've never used it but a friend gets good results with it and Foma 200 . Make 2 exposures of the same subject, and develop one in Rodinal, and the other in HC110, and take things from there.

I should have said that that I develop sheet film in a Paterson processor and give constant, very gentle, agitation.

Good luck.

Alan
 
Wise advice Alan, I will do a series of tests and at various ISO. I believe HC110 develops too quickly but I can use a weaker dilution than the standard ones. As you say experimenting will reveal the best route.

Cheers
Nick
 
Nick, you mentioned HP5 earlier. It is my favourite film and I use it a lot in35mm and 120. But I can't justify the cost of it in 5x4, which is why I tried Foma 200. I do like it and have used it quite a lot. . Hope you get along with it as well.

Alan
 
Exactly my logic Alan, I’ve used HP4/HP5 for donkeys years and has been pretty much my goto 400 film. I do sometimes use Berrger 400 as I have grown to like that too. Whilst I am learning the LF craft they are too expensive to justify wasting, so Foma 200 seemed worth investigating. I didn’t like it in 35mm but I’ve read that it perfoms well in LF.
 
Alan is right current Foma RO9 is now the modern Rodinal formula, the only thing to watch is keep your temperature control tight between each bath and also washing, Foma films are a touch softer than Ilford or Kodak and R09 contains some free Hydroxide which increases emulsion softness that's why you nee to take care, But you really need to have tight control with any film to get the highest quality results.

HC110 is not the best of Kodak's developers, and even Kodak's own comparison charts acknowledge that, but it's convent, economic and has a very long shelf life, and slight differences in grain size will only be noticed with quite large enlargements. If I was to use Fomapan 200 with HC110 I'd go for one of the more dilute options, I've not used the developer for about 30 years so don't ask for more specific advice advice on Dilution and Development times :D

I've use a lot of 120 and some 5x4 Fomapan 200 in Xtolt and Pyrocat HD, I shoot at 100EI and have always had excellent results it's a very nice film but don't over develop - it needs about 75% development time compared to other films to tame it, as do other Foma films but it's worth the effort.

I used HP3 as a teenager and also HP4 (a bit of a dog) but HP5 was way ahead, I rarely use fast films for general work and only really used HP5 push processed until XP1 was released which gave higher quality results in terms of grain, tonality, etc.

Now I use quite a lot of HP5+ for my 5x4 work, often at box speed (and hand held), Fomapan 200 isn't a substitute as I shoot it at half box sped so two stops slower than HP5 to get comparable results.

I used Agfa films for many years, crossing over to Tmax when needed, then almost totally Ilford when abroad and also Fomapan which was cheap and available in bulk. But then I also use Forte and EFKE films and have a few boxes left all that matter is I've found my optimum EI & Dev time for my films, and much simpler than you might think :D

Ian
 
Thanks Ian, I’m not using Foma instead of HP5 for any reason other than experiment economy. Once I have techniques sorted I’ll go back to my normal films :). I need to check but I think my Adonal is the modern formula, I use HC110 with 35mm Kodak double X (5222) as it works well with that. I was just trying to use my stock devs to avoid having too many developers. I may try ID11 or Bellini Eco (effectively Xtol liquid) as I need to broaden my developers. I just liked Rodinal with HP5 as it worked for me.

I get what you mean about temp control, I’m pretty careful about that and have noted your advice about emulsion softness, I hadn’t realised that.

I’m sure I’ll haveca lot of fun getting wrong but that’s what learning is all about :)
Cheers
Nick
 
Nick, it was Alan who mentioned using Fomapan 200 for LF due to costs instead of HP5. It's actually a sentiment I agree with as Ilford prices are just way higher and Foma films are excellent, next time I buy 10x8 sheet film it'll be Foma, but I still have stocks of EFKE (adox) PL25 and Fortepan 200 left at the moment.

My problem is to achieve similar results I shoot Fomapan 200 at 100EI and HP5 often at 400EI, I tend to only use HP5 for hand held LF work or where there's moving objects. I ought to try some Fomapan 400, maybe a couple of rolls of 120 first where I'd expect see more of a difference compared to Delta 100 & 400 and Fomapan 100 & 200.

I think Adonal is the modern Rodinal formula, it all became a mess when John at J&C in the US managed to register the Rodinal name there after Agfa let it slip and began packing Calbe RO9 as Rodinal, while similar the formula had changed and different dilutions were used as well.

Ian
 
I tried Foma 400 for 6x6 and it wasn’t too bad at all. Grainier than HP5 but not awful. I developed in Adonal and it was fine, if a tad low on contrast. Reviews I’ve read seem to suggest Tmax developer works very well with it but I haven’t verified that.

I doubt I’ll do much 400 work in LF but time will tell on that.

Cheers
Nick
 
You really help everyone who likes to take photos! Thanks for this info.
 
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