What's the risk?

[nealjpage]

So I'm placing an order from Freestyle and remember that I need a new 100' roll of film. So far I've used Tri-X 400 and really enjoyed it, but I figure that maybe I should expand my horizions a bit. I saw listings for a few I've heard of, but don't know much about. I was wondering if anyone had any advice.

First is Kodak Plus-X. It's 125 ASA and I guess it's been around for quite some time. Anyone have any opinions on this one?

Second is Efke/Fotokemika 100. This one claims to use "classic emulsions with very high silver content," whatever that means. Anyone have anything to say about this one?

I've tried Ilford and Agfa and Neopan--all of which were acceptable, but never really "wowed" me. I've been sticking with the TX because it's easy to come across and it just happens to be what I learned to shoot on.

I should add that I'm a weekend photographer. I live in southern Oregon, so I take mostly outdoor shots on nicer (or only slightly misting) days with my Pentax K1000 and process in D76 and fix with RapidFix. I like the idea of using the slower films for more detail and less grain. Then again, I shoot mostly ruins (sawmills, industrial landscapes, mines, dams, etc), so maybe the grain is helpful.:er: Anyways, any insight any of you have would be greatly appreciated.

 

[selmerdave]

To me the Kodak B&W films have a family characteristic, and I'm not particularly into it. But I would say if you like Tri-X there is a good chance you'll like Plus-X. I'm not familiar with the Efke 100 but I am with the Efke 25, and it's quite nice, at the moment probably my favorite commercially available. I suppose I would assume the 100 would be similar. I quite like Agfa APX100 (although not as much as APX25 - my all-time favourite), so it appears our tastes are somewhat dissimilar.

FWIW my experiences with all of the above are with processing at a local pro lab and not on my own so I realize that one might get different results that way.

Dave

 

[fmw]

Plus X will be somewhat finer grained and contrastier. Otherwise you won't notice much difference. When I used Plus X I generally developed in Diafine which develops even more contrast than most developers. I'm sure I've used D76 with it but the details of it escape me because it was a long time ago. It should give you a classic negative, however, with just a litte extra contrast.

 

[Torus34]

I've found Ilford Pan F/Microdol to be fully acceptable when I want high definition with minimal grain.

 

[Jestpg]

i shoot a lot of plus-x, so far i really like it, finer grain, and i like the contrast of it a lot. you can always try out a roll of it before buying the bulk roll.

 

[nealjpage]

you can always try out a roll of it before buying the bulk roll.

That occurred to me after I sent my question. I try to combine my orders, though, to save on shipping. But, sometimes you gotta take one for the team, right?

 

[mysteryscribe]

Shot plus x for years but it was twenty years ago. I had no problems with it in d76 usually did the 1'1 dilution though. Not sure why but I think it had finer grain that way. Anyway I liked it's grain pattern.

I did that forget thing and called them the same day well too bad sir the order is being processed now and we can't stop it. So I just bought more stuff

 

[JC1220]

Efke/Adox films are excellent and are very much like older style emulsions, with long tonal ranges. Much like APX 100 but better IMO and in practical use for such ability to capture that long tonal range. Of course your paper must be able to produce similar results to really see this film shine. It is my standard film for 8x10 & 12x20, developed in ABC. It responds very well to pyro based developers and in using stand and semi-stand development as well.