This Budget 4x5 Film Surprised Me (Fomapan 100 Review)

Oohh.. something to mention.. Foma 100 has a tendency to block up in the highlights.. expose a little more carefully for the highlights than with other films. :) handles underexposure pretty well.

The lighting on that church was so good before the cloud came in. Glad that it came back out for you a tad bit! Great video as usual. Thanks for sharing!

I love the contrast of this film. And how it looks with different color filters.
But I don’t know how it is with sheet film. But the 35mm if very very soft when wet.

This was brilliant photography. I still have a few sheets of the Foma100 and 200 left. May I ask how long you have it in DDX?

Foma is pretty good, its most of what I shoot due to the price. The only thing is their QA isn't great, if you shoot it often like I do you will get occasional packs with white marks, or even some purple spots (that aren't from fixer issues).

No drama if you're scanning to post online, but a pain if you wanna darkroom print em.

Another Great video Kyle. Foma delivers, Great film overall even though I have had a couple of bad box in the past with weird patterns I am still working with it from time to time for some work.

Great video!

What rig are you using to shoot your video these days? The colors are fantastic!

Been using Arista 100 as I understand it it's repackaged Fomapan. Really like it with my Speed Graphic, got some 8X10 in the mail the other day, looking forward to using that on my 1903 Century 8x10. The price makes it sting less for a relatively new large format photographer.
Always enjoy your work, thanks.

Do I spy a Hasselblad X2D Earth Explorer Edition box ?? 👀

So far, in 4x5, I found that Foma 100 yielded much pleasant results thant Tmax 400 and Tri-x 320 - and I'm a die hard fan of Tmax and Tri-x in 35mm and medium format. I knew it was good in the smaller format but paired with xtol like developer you can pretty much recover from any lighting situation or even overdevelopment without loosing too much of the highights. Definitely the best of the Fomas and one of my favorite B&W, whatever the format !

Great video as always. I love Fomapan in large format. I've used 100 and 400 in the past but over the last couple of years I've settled on Fomapan 200 for 5x4 and 10x8. I shoot it at 100 and develop in 510 Pyro (which I mix myself). Works great for alternative prints (kallitypes) and silver gelatin prints. Church interiors need very long exposures due to Fomapan's extreme reciprocity failure, usually between 5 and 20 minutes, but I don't mind that.

I like Fomapan.

Fomapan 100 is the only film I use and never fails to deliver.

This is awesome. Thanks for such an honest review as always- having an affordable 4x5 film really lowers the barrier to entry... especially when its good! Maybe its time I pulled the trigger sooner rather than later...

like to use fomapan 100 in my zero image 4x5 pin hole camera box of 50 sheets about £45 if you look around.

Good ole fomapan, yes.....poor latitude at times, one stop off and its over.

I've used Arista EDU 100 and 400 4x5 films, which are apparently just Fomapan with a different name, and I've found both of them to perform rather well. I used the 400 for some portraits, and while the grain is noticeable at large magnifications, I didn't find it to be detrimental, and the tonality was very smooth, especially with skin. The 100 speed is dramatically finer-grained and overall sharper, though, and I haven't yet found anything concerning with it. It is indeed a very neutral film, but that's just what I want when metering, exposing, and developing with the zone system. I shot an impossibly contrasty landscape earlier this year, and I was able to pull detail from every area of the image, from the deepest shadows to the brightest clouds all under midday sun. That's pretty incredible. For the price, I don't think it can be beat.

Hi Kyle, have you seen GP3 film from Shanghai? Similar sort of value proposition to Fomapan. A bit harder to get at the moment given politics but shoots well if you can find it at a good price for 4x5

Foma 100 is much better than 200 or 400, it stands out in the Foma family. I use it most for 8x10: at this size it is obviously accurate and gives you retro tones that other films seems to have lost

I wonder how Kyle would look without beard🤔

I just got into 4x5“ some weeks ago partly becoarse of your lovley videos! I got a Sinar Norma as a gift from a frend of mine… well. And now ive shoots twice with it. And what Film did i get to start with? Of coarse some Foma 100. i got a 50 sheets pack from Fotoimpex for under 50€ and thats perfect for me just to getting to know this camera and the process!

I love to shoot an fp4 in 35mm or 120mm but the Film was just to expensive for me. And i know the Foma 100 quite well becorse i use it as a bulk roll to test old cameras that i work on. Foma 100 is a bit finicy in 35mm becorse the base is a bit thin and it likes to roll its self and i was afraid of that with the 4x5“ film as well and was supriced to get a very (to my feeling) thick pice of Film or base. So! I tink around 3 weeks ago i took my very first shoot on 4x5“ with Foma 100! And i workt out well.

I use Foma 100 in 8x10 and 5x7 for cost reasons. I never rate it faster than ISO 50 and that gives really good results (I tray develop in 1+1+100 Pyrocat HD). Main problem is quality control (pinholes and scuffs a bit more often than I would like), and the emulsion seems very soft when wet, so you have to handle it very carefully.

I shoot some rolls of foma 400 in 35mm by the way and was a bit upset in the end. Waht i disliked the most was, that the hole image has this very washt out look. Its was like i layed a gray haze filter over the image. I really did not like the look. Shoot some Foma 100 after that and was feeling a lot! better with my results. I shoot 1 roll of Foma 200 and cida had simmilar feelings to the 400. But it was different. The 200 lookt a lot better than the 400 but the 200 hase a look to it that i dont like that much. Mayby i need to shoot i some more. Mayby my setup dit not fit the stock. Becoarse the tones seem to be very interesting but it is fore shure much less nutral than the 100. The Foma 100 is just solid. Shoot it at 80 and use a mid yellow filter and i dig the look. And if you have the price in mind at the same time it becomes a steal.

The comp & exposure on that church shot was amazing. When I saw the light in the glas at first It was rare for me to think I wish you got that frame on color film.

Well done! I am one who doesn't like or use LF! I appreciate your hard work and dedication. I print small. I use 35mm mainly.. I cut films out of camera, developing short lengths. More control of Developing! Some very nice images. Bravo.

I got a box of 50 sheets of foma100 as my first box to learn 4x5. I'm about half way through, mostly developed in rodinal, and yeah, I like it. I feel like maybe I don't need the exposure latitude of FP4+ in 4x5 as I'm just much more controlled shooting 4x5 than something like 35mm (or even 120), where I'm usually Sunny16'ing it.

Thanks for thegreat video, I used Fomapan100 a lot and liked it a lot. Flexible and cheap. What enraged me and pushed me away is the inconsistency in the emulsions - sensitivity and tonality varied quite a bit between batches and I experienced enfuriating amounts of tiny specs and dots every now and then. Randomly. I'd still say it's a good choice for anybody getting into large format or black and white, it makes those earlier mistakes much less costly. But when I look forward to that shot and go to all these lengths to make things right I need something more reliable like HP5.

Nice photos... but the sky or the
church is just sad and empty... we
need clouds or a dramatic sky just
before a storm... and second problem the top of the tower is
not above the Hills behind... so
the picture is a little bit flat....
one of your fan from France

.... The sky of the church....

Just for kicks last week I shot some old (but refrigerated) 5x7 Arista Edu 100 (aka fomapan 100 but even cheaper) and was very pleased with the results metered at 50 iso and developed as if 100 iso in Rodinal 1+50. Liked it enough to order a 50-sheet box of 8x10.

I have used 100 quite a lot for reversal processing and it is great, the DMAX is really nice when reverse processed, beautiful rich blacks.

Been shooting Fomapan 100 sheet film for years and I quite like its tonality. Due to its attractive price point, it's the only 8x10 film I shoot nowadays.

I use Kentmere 400 in 35mm and Foma 100 in 4x5. I like it. Of late I've been trying out some recently expired TMax320 which is really nice.

Love the old station and the 'prowl' of old Jags is great. (Yes, I looked it up ;) )

with HC-110 Fomapan 100 is awesome. It's a good film for old brass lenses with no shutter, it endures overexposure

Foma 100 is better than 400 in all formats. Even when push 100 to shoot at 400.

Great video, thanks! Can someone help me finding the platform where people are sharing their photobooks? Curious to check and share.

Really lovely images man and the film looked great I think. Makes me want to give 4x5 a go haha

Today’s video is brought to you by Michelin.

This is a very small thing: but I really appreciate the even lighting in your driving shots. Sunroof and English weather, what a combo. Thanks for your work Kyle.

I’m an auto tech from Ontario and I need to say that we are seeing the decline of the independent auto repair shop. Similar to the decline of the gas station of the ‘50’s. Those Michelin signs hit me.

I have 200 sheets of Foma 4x5 in my freezer that I was sent in compensation because some other sheet film I ordered went missing and they didn't have any more in stock. I could have got my money back but decided to accept this instead. It's such a huge amount of film I'm not sure what to use it on.

OH MAN. I WANT ONE OF THESE SO BAD!!!

You are the most courteous photographer I’ve ever seen, love hearing you interact with folks. Seems like this stock held up well! Thanks for the video.

Foma 100 is so lovely even in 35mm, great work man

I'm a big fan of Fomapan 100; I shoot it a lot in 120 and 35mm but oddly never in 4x5; maybe next year! These are stunning shots, but I love the leaning church the best!

I love the suggestion you made about possibly doing a direct comparison with fomapan 100 and FP4. Keep up the good work!

Kyle, you should find someone to help you print some of your negatives in a darkroom. I'm so curious to see the difference between your digital editing an what can be achieved in a darkroom. It would make a very cool video I think