Forest path, local forest
Camera: Zeiss Ikon Super Ikonta III (531/16)
Lens: Carl Zeiss Tessar f/3.5 75 mm
Film: Fomapan Action 400 @ ISO 200
Exposure: 1/250 sec and f/4, hand-held
Film developed and scanned by Foto Brell, Bonn
Edited under Adobe Lightroom
Here, I used Fomapan 400, which has a quite different look and seems to be an alternative for specific intensions and photographic subjects. This classic film emulsion delivers more distinct grain (e.g., compared to HP5), more sooty dark tones and some blooming of the highlights, which can emphasize the mood of a picture favorably. However, the sensitivity of this film emulsion seems to be lower than box speed, because the shadows tend to lose detail. Meanwhile, I expose Fomapan 400 at ISO 200 rather than exposing the film at box speed.
In comparison with Ilford HP5 Plus and Kodak Tri-X, the first scans of Fomapan Action 400 came from the film lab with higher contrast and a more distinct grain. Regarding its contrast, this contradicts with many statements that the film has a comparatively low contrast, with overexposure being even lower. Nevertheless, this film definitely has a unique look, which is appreciated by many photographers. This film and a vintage folding camera seem to be a good combo and I decide to investigate this furthermore.
Fomapan Action 400 has much more sensitivity to the red end of the spectrum than it has in the blue and green region, so to speak a built-in orange or red filter. As a result, blue skies, green leaves and the shadow areas in general come darker in tonality. The darkening of the foliage and the shadows seems to pretend the higher contrast. The softening effect by overexposure is said to result from a poor anti-halation layer. The light bouncing around causes halos and glowing highlights, creeping into the darker areas and tending to wash the highlights out.
The more distinct grain results from the cubic grain structure of the emulsion. In contrast to the softer grain pattern of the tabular grain of modern films like the Ilford Delta or the Kodak TMax film series, cubic grain is more apparent. Together with its deep black and the glowing highlights, Fomapan Action 400 can produce the beautiful and timeless look of classic film emulsions, different from other b&w films and quite different from digital rendering.
The overall contrast and the graininess can both be reduced by overexposure. Rating Fomapan 400 @ ISO 200 seems to be a good idea to open up the shadows for showing more shadow detail.
Many thanks to G. Gallone (www.flickr.com/photos/blacknile/) for his valuable hint regarding the sensitivity of Fomapan 400 to red light!
For more information see the very interesting film reviews of Blue Moon Camera & Machine: bluemooncameracodex.com/film-fridays/fffomapan400
Forest path, local forest
Camera: Zeiss Ikon Super Ikonta III (531/16)
Lens: Carl Zeiss Tessar f/3.5 75 mm
Film: Fomapan Action 400 @ ISO 200
Exposure: 1/250 sec and f/4, hand-held
Film developed and scanned by Foto Brell, Bonn
Edited under Adobe Lightroom
Here, I used Fomapan 400, which has a quite different look and seems to be an alternative for specific intensions and photographic subjects. This classic film emulsion delivers more distinct grain (e.g., compared to HP5), more sooty dark tones and some blooming of the highlights, which can emphasize the mood of a picture favorably. However, the sensitivity of this film emulsion seems to be lower than box speed, because the shadows tend to lose detail. Meanwhile, I expose Fomapan 400 at ISO 200 rather than exposing the film at box speed.
In comparison with Ilford HP5 Plus and Kodak Tri-X, the first scans of Fomapan Action 400 came from the film lab with higher contrast and a more distinct grain. Regarding its contrast, this contradicts with many statements that the film has a comparatively low contrast, with overexposure being even lower. Nevertheless, this film definitely has a unique look, which is appreciated by many photographers. This film and a vintage folding camera seem to be a good combo and I decide to investigate this furthermore.
Fomapan Action 400 has much more sensitivity to the red end of the spectrum than it has in the blue and green region, so to speak a built-in orange or red filter. As a result, blue skies, green leaves and the shadow areas in general come darker in tonality. The darkening of the foliage and the shadows seems to pretend the higher contrast. The softening effect by overexposure is said to result from a poor anti-halation layer. The light bouncing around causes halos and glowing highlights, creeping into the darker areas and tending to wash the highlights out.
The more distinct grain results from the cubic grain structure of the emulsion. In contrast to the softer grain pattern of the tabular grain of modern films like the Ilford Delta or the Kodak TMax film series, cubic grain is more apparent. Together with its deep black and the glowing highlights, Fomapan Action 400 can produce the beautiful and timeless look of classic film emulsions, different from other b&w films and quite different from digital rendering.
The overall contrast and the graininess can both be reduced by overexposure. Rating Fomapan 400 @ ISO 200 seems to be a good idea to open up the shadows for showing more shadow detail.
Many thanks to G. Gallone (www.flickr.com/photos/blacknile/) for his valuable hint regarding the sensitivity of Fomapan 400 to red light!
For more information see the very interesting film reviews of Blue Moon Camera & Machine: bluemooncameracodex.com/film-fridays/fffomapan400