Fomapan 100 and 400
It’s also called Arista EDU and Lomography Lady/Earl Grey.
Hi Curly
Fomapan gives a classical film look that is timeless and beautiful.
Fomapan 400 and 100 are inexpensive films that provide that vintage and artistic style look. With that being said its biggest advantage is price.
Overview
Fomapan is one of my favorite films. It’s cheap, it provides a grainy classic look, and is a great beginner film. Without reading below, I recommend this film for test shooting, having fun, a first film for getting into black and white film, or achieving a classic film look. I even trust it well enough to use professionally.
sharper than expected
Despite the larger grain compared to more expensive films, I’m pleased with the amount of details this film resolves. There are more detailed film out there, but I prefer the balance of grain and details of Fomapan.
Grain
In either 400 or 100 speed, this film has a noticeable grain. If you compared the 400 speed fomapan to Tri-X you will notice a bit more grain. With that being said it’s not much larger, and the results still show great detail. This leads to it looking a bit more vintage. In 100 speed, it looks perfectly detailed and and finds a great balance of grain and detail for up close portraits or macro work. That being said, if you are looking for more detail then films like Ilfords’ Delta 100 or Kodak’s TMax 100 produce a much finer grain.
Sharpness
Sharpness is perfectly fine. I find that 100 lets me print around 16x20 without any noticeable issues. 400 speed prints comfortably around 11x14. I find that a sharp lens with this film does a fantastic job. The film has a solid balance of sharpness to grain that keeps the image looking classic yet sharp.
Contrast
Contrast is higher on this film than some, and that’s where you may run into issues. Blacks and whites can blow out or get crushed quickly. As long as you get your exposure right then this film does fine. I find that pairing this film with studio strobes does wonders as well. It increased the contrast without blowing out the highlights and shadows.
Film Sizes
One of the reasons I love fomapan film is the shear number of sizes it comes in. You can get it in 35mm, 120 medium format, and even 4x5 sheets. It’s great for mixing and matching from different cameras and I’ve noticed all the films behave very similarly.
Easy to Shoot!
Fomapan films are usually my recommendation to people beginning film photography.
Cost
Fomapan is cheap! This is good for bulk projects or beginners for this reason. I always keep a stock of Fomapan’s films on me for this reason. You may also find this film under different brands. I know that the Arista EDU films are the same as their same speed Foma counterparts. If i can’t find Fomapan in stock, I’ll go with the Arista EDU variant. I also use this to see which is currently less expensive and generally just buy that.
Look
Imagine shooting film about 40 years ago… that’s what you can expect. It’s a classic look good for general purpose shooting. As you can see in the examples it’s a versatile film. Development times and technique can also make subtle yet noticeable changes in the way this film looks, so practice a technique that gives you the results you want. I generally over agitate my film to push that contrast just a bit higher.
Other fun facts
All Fomapan films lack DX coding. I’ve heard some have it, but I’ve never seen one that does. Make sure you set your ISO before you begin shooting.
Like mentioned above, you can get Fomapan film under the Arista EDU branding. It is identical film, but just a different brand name.
Fomapan makes 5 different film stocks. We discussed 400 and 100 here, but there is also a 200 speed, a soft look 320 speed, and a black and white reversal film as well. The 200 speed is a different emulsion than the 400 and 100, and in my experience has a little less contrast and slightly finer grain.
Conclusion
Buy it, and keep buying it. It’s such a great film that is cheap and versatile. It gives a classic look and and comes in multiple sizes. Yes, I recommend this film. If not to keep for general shooting, but to learn a new camera or try new techniques.
Versatile
Be it documenting a moment or creating art, Fomapan does a great job at anything you can throw at it.
Quick Review
Look - The grain of these films are a bit chunkier than most, but provide great details despite this. Contrast is good, and the tones it provides are smooth enough. In my experience it performs similar to Tri-X in it’s gradient structure, with a bit more contrast.
Cost - Cheap as it gets really, so I say grab a few rolls just to try out new techniques or cameras. Depending on the week sometimes the Arista EDU branding of this film is cheaper, but is identical film.