Learning by doing -- what to do with Fomapan 400 film?

[@JanneRanta]

Oh man, that MacGyver theme just gave me major nostalgia.

[@thevalleyofdisappointment]

pretty sure it was quantum leap...

[@spyratekodaks7494]

As soon as I heard the MacGyver theme I rushed to comment about it!! I guess you beat me to it!! Love the song!!

[@ShootOnFilm]

:-)

[@MarksPhoto]

Your accented English totally paid off at 5:37 "Graflex RB serious B" Yes, a Graflex is a totally serious heavy weapon. *Boss camera has entered the room.* Great video, with a question asked by many "What to do with Foma 400" I think we've all been disappointed by it. But, like you say, it gives us another subject (victim?) to experiment on!

[@ShootOnFilm]

Funny. My accent makes everything a bit more serious :-)

[@fabianmallmann4834]

The ALF-theme!!!! More reasons to love this channel every time...

[@Dwarvenchef]

I’m right there with you, I run a roll through every camera I come across. Film I try as I come across it or I see a video on various films. Soon I will be developing my own film and learning a whole new variable :)

[@ShootOnFilm]

:-) It's a good way to learn -- and a lot of fun!

[@GONZOFAM7]

A new way of thinking for me. Excellent shots on both film stocks.

[@ShootOnFilm]

Thanks, thanks. Yeah, i like them both :-)

[@camerasam1]

Fantastic content as usual would love to see a collaboration between yourself and Martin Henson another true great film photographer Please. I am sure that anyone who knows you both would agree. Something like one of you shoots a roll of film forwarding to the other and then the second person shoots over the same roll resulting in obviously a double exposed roll hope that makes sense .

[@ShootOnFilm]

Thanks. That is an interesting suggestion. I know his work and channel and he's a great photographer!

[@camerasam1]

@@ShootOnFilm Yes Ari he is I think very much the same style as you. I seriously believe this would be a fantastic collaboration by two of the best film photographer's on utube. Best wishes and thanks for the positive response.

[@1973sonvis]

Lovely pictures! It would be interesting to see how you work with the old Graflex «in the field». If you could get anyone to film you shooting that lovely old camera, that would surely make a KZbin hit 😊👍🏻

[@ShootOnFilm]

Thanks! Hey that's an idea. Maybe I could find somebody.... let's see...

[@filibertkraxner305]

Hehehe, I do like your unfiltered opinions 🙂. I personally really like Fomapan 400 on 35mm because it's kind of 'muddy and unusable', as you stated, lol. Gives me a kind of vintage and low contrast feel that goes well for some moody images.

[@SilntObsvr]

I quite like Fomapan 400. Unlike a lot of folks, I shoot it at box speed and get good shadow detail (maybe I meter differently?), and find it's quite smooth in D-23, HC-110, Xtol, and even okay in Parodinal. Maybe I'm just easy to please, but I think a lot of folks haven't taken the time to learn how to get the best out of Fomapan 400. I like it well enough even in smaller formats that I'm working on my third 30.5 m roll of 35 mm; I keep it on hand in 120 (which I also recut when I need fast film for 127 or 828) and of course 4x5. It's pretty much my default B&W film.

[@jonz2984]

I have used Fomapan 400 a lot in both 35mm and 120 and agree with many of the comments here. It works well exposed at EI 200 when developed in all the normal developers I have used: e.g.ID-11 (1+1, 1+3); Foma R09 (1+49, 1+75). It seems possible to achieve EI 400 using developers which deliver higher apparent speed like T-Max and Microphen. Under exposure and over development gives 'soot and whitewash' gradation very easily and under exposure and normal development gives flat negatives, as would be expected.

[@ShootOnFilm]

I have not tried it @200. I'll make some tests :-) Thanks!!

[@rick-fstop-lewis]

those 4x5 foma are nice but yes...very contrasty...I think it looks like only 3 maybe 4 zones at most.

[@ShootOnFilm]

That is Fomapan 400! You either like it or not :-)

[@aantonic]

i just developed and wet printed a roll of foma 400 in 120 shot on my TLR. I relly like it. I guess its up to developer and process. I use Foma developer called Excel and it works great. Also i like Foma 100 best in Excel, what a good combo.

[@ShootOnFilm]

Excel is a great developer. I use it a lot mostly with Ilford FP4 and HP5. I also like Foma 100. Foma 400 -- well, now I have a use for it. And here, pushing made Foma 400 even muddier than usually.

[@edwardcrosby5034]

I agree with you about the muddy Fomapan 400, and was wondering how I was going to shoot the remaining 45 sheets. I then tried developing it in FX-39, and whilst the grain was more pronounced the gradation was much more pleasing. Not bad at all !

[@ShootOnFilm]

Interesting. The developer is often more important than the film selected. You just need to find a proper combination.

[@buyaport]

Using Fomapan 400 at box speed ist already pushing it. Giving it just an eighth of the recommended light -- what do you expect? It is a nice film for medium and large format if used correctly, although I prefer Fomapan 200 any time (just my experience). Main point is: Foma makes large format photography affordable with very good results.

[@FTropper]

Unfortunately you didn't put a "regular" image of the Fomapan 400 into the video - I always imaged Foma 400 to be like HP5 or stuff like that. But I totally understand the love for the hard contrast look. I'm currently in love with Rollei 80S. Next I will try to stuff from ADOX. I always reminds me to when somebody said to me: "It's called black and white photography - not gray and gray photography". Oh, and the MacGyver Theme was very fitting. :D

[@ShootOnFilm]

I shoot a lot with HP5+. I would not say Foma 400 is like HP5+. They both have their own different character 🙂

[@ejorbe]

Interesting concept again. My question is what did you look at in your pictures to determine what you liked and didn’t like of your own work? Was it the composition or strictly the contrast of the film? Thanks for another great video!!

[@ShootOnFilm]

It was first the realization that the contrast is huge. Then thinking how to use that - what kind of pictures would benefit from it.

[@danncorbit3623]

I liked the pictures and the minimalist type images (I often like such images because the artist's purpose seems clear). The emulated replication was close but not quite as contrasty by my eye. But (for instance the photo of the young lady) some of the images I think I like better without a pure two tone black/white effect. With some subjects, I think it could become "cartoon like." Did you try Adox CMS 20 II? I would be especially keen to see the results on 4x5 (I think you can only get 35mm and 4x5 sheet film currently). It also requires special and fussy development, so if you don't feel like it or it is not your cup of tea, I understand that. But it has (so far as I can see) absolutely absurd detail (due to grain size? Not sure why). I guess 4x5 film might give one billion bits of information if you could find a lens capable of that. I experiment also. And I listen to ideas from other people and try it myself. It's like the man who never ate aspearagus. Maybe if he tried it, it would be his favorite food of all time. Maybe he would not like it. But we will never know, because he is the man who never ate it. I think that all of us should want to grow and get better and produce things that make us happy and make other people happy. Sometimes I make something just for me, and I really like it but other people don't think as much of it. I wish that they would like it too, but you can't push a rope. And if everyone liked exactly the same things and disliked exactly the same things, it would be a very boring world. I watch videos by people who know a lot. I watch videos by people with enormous talent. But my favorites are probably you and Steven O'Nions because those videos force me to think.

[@SilntObsvr]

I haven't tried CMS 20 II, but I shot a couple rolls of the original CMS 20. I didn't find it hard to develop, but I'd been shooting actual microfilm in 16 mm cameras before CMS 20 came out, so I developed it the same way: in a low contrast variant of Caffenol with reduced agitation. I agree, the resolution and grain will do justice to the best lens you can find. I recently got several rolls of Copex Rapid in 120; it's a similar film, but a stop or so faster (with a developer like H&W Control you can shoot it at the same speed as Ilford Pan F+, but get at least twice the resolution). I haven't had a chance to shoot and process it yet, but I see every likelihood I'll love it -- it'll make good 8x10 prints from a 13x17 mm negative, so it should be amazing in 6x7 cm...

[@erome5903]

Maybe you can achive those results by using kodak d19 high contrast developer.

[@jimmyha5212]

You said you pushed to 1600. With what developer, developer concentration, time?

[@ShootOnFilm]

XTOL, stock, 14 min

[@jimmyha5212]

@@ShootOnFilm thanks!

[@florian_kopr]

rofl.. the a team? thx for antoher great inspiring video

[@florian_kopr]

oh no.. i got that wrong that's mc gyver, very matching 🙂

[@toulcaz31]

Did you try Ferrania P30?

[@ShootOnFilm]

Not yet, not yet 🙂

[@genegoranov5865]

" Ma... MacGyveeeer! " :)

[@ShootOnFilm]

.. here we go and anything is possible!

[@thedondeluxe6941]

I think Fomapan 400 is like JCH Streetpan 400. Useless (my opinion!) at box speed, but really quite nice 1-2 stops overexposed.

[@ShootOnFilm]

They are, yes, very contrasty both. But I think JCH is not as muddy ... whatever that means :-)

[@thedondeluxe6941]

@@ShootOnFilm I understand what you mean :-)

[@theliftlifepl]

I will really disagree with your opininion, but I think you need more testing and experience with the film. I shoot foma 400 as my all around film for 3 years now in 35mm. The key to good negative is iso rating and developer. So yes as you said, foma 400 is not 400iso. My tested way of shooting it is: exposing at 250iso and developing normal for 400iso in Kodak Tmax Dev 1/4 for 8min. Never use rodinal with this film, it will look muddy and too grainy!

[@ShootOnFilm]

I’m happy you found a way to use Foma 400! As you can see from the comments here people have opinions about it. :-)

[@ZBSstudioBE]

McGuyver theme :)

[@ShootOnFilm]

Indeed 🙂

[@stephensmith8325]

Much too hard on Fomapan 400!

[@ShootOnFilm]

Ha haa!! 😁it’s a love hate relationship

[@fab9207]

Formapan is definitely more of a 200

[@erome5903]

Maybe you can achive those results by using kodak d19 high contrast developer.