Just limbering up to develop some film. Last time I enquired of Silverprint if they had any kits they'd run out of Foma, but now they have some However my eyes went saucer size when I looked at the price: 26.73 + vat = £32.08 for a one shot chemical kit "representing very good value for money" it says at the catalogue page. I don't remember paying that money before? I had a trawl through old invoices and found one for June 2009 (only 2 years ago) where one kit cost me 'net' £17.41
I am grateful that Silverprint still stock (at times) the Foma kit but to call something that appears to have *doubled* in price over 2 years 'good value for money' I find slightly questionable to say the least.
I do not process film myself but many friends of mine do and as far as I know the Foma Kit is very expensive. It's better to use other chemicals or even buy them in any chemical shop.
Can Foma R100 be processed using standard Kodak reversal chemicals or even standard neg processing chemicals? Never tried processin Foma and labs in USA shy away from processing foma. Just wondered what the problem is.
mr8mm wrote:Can Foma R100 be processed using standard Kodak reversal chemicals or even standard neg processing chemicals? Never tried processin Foma and labs in USA shy away from processing foma. Just wondered what the problem is.
I did ask Yale Lab about a month ago concerning this. They said they can process Foma as reversal. They said it's not a problem.
mr8mm wrote:Can Foma R100 be processed using standard Kodak reversal chemicals or even standard neg processing chemicals? Never tried processin Foma and labs in USA shy away from processing foma. Just wondered what the problem is.
It's a normal reversal B/W film so can be processed with any common chemicals used for these. The problem seems to be that it adds a lot of dirt in the baths compared with others.
if anyone in the UK should know about this it would be Ilford but so far no response.
There's a pdf on this page but it just gives you basic information - there is nothing practical about how to actually collect these chemicals together. Pretty poor considering Ilford's high profile for DIY b/w photography - a heyday mainstay of so many school darkrooms ...
I develop Fomapan R100 using the Ilford reversal recommendations without problems.
I had luck that I found a 10 liter Bromophen pack in a recycling shop but when that runs out I will try D-19 or Ilford PQ Universal.
With Orwo UN54 I use 13-14 minutes for the first development.
unsanity wrote:I develop Fomapan R100 using the Ilford reversal recommendations without problems.
I had luck that I found a 10 liter Bromophen pack in a recycling shop but when that runs out I will try D-19 or Ilford PQ Universal.
With Orwo UN54 I use 13-14 minutes for the first development.
There must be something special about developing Foma reversal films otherwise Wittner would not offer it seperately from ordinary b/w reversal processing; they write that Foma reversal film needs a special type of processing. I read somewhere that Foma R100 film has a special layer on the back of the film to prevent backscattering of highlights. I guess a chemical in their developing kit removes this layer during processing. Anybody knows more details about all this?
To develop Foma you can try (as first developer) Kodak D19 with 1g potassium thiocyanate or Kodak D168, developing time would be 5-10 mins at 20C.
If you can mix your own baths check this link http://www.temnakomora.cz/modules.php?n ... ED+fomapan
use google translator to get the English version of the text. I did a developer test and all the foma baths were working well with new Foma stock. Developing time for the first developer would be 10 mins@100 ASA@20C, other baths as usual.
So in other words Foma author the only commercial kit for reversing black & white, whether Foma film or other brands.
I have been exceptionally please with Foma chemistry over the last couple of years but over that time their one shot kit has doubled in price. Silverprint (London) probably still offer the most reasonable price for this kit though - after a quick trawl of the internet.
However my eyes went saucer size when I looked at the price: 26.73 + vat = £32.08 for a one shot chemical kit "representing very good value for money" it says at the catalogue page. I don't remember paying that money before? I had a trawl through old invoices and found one for June 2009 (only 2 years ago) where one kit cost me 'net' £17.41
