Down the Road

Photographs and stories by Jim Grey

Since 2007

A bargain on Fomapan 100

Jim Grey
8 comments on A bargain on Fomapan 100
1 minute

Right now, Amazon (in the US) has 24-exposure 35mm Fomapan 100 on sale for $2.59 a roll. You have to buy $25 of merchandise from them to get this price — but that can be 10 rolls of this very film. Who knows how long this will last, so if this appeals to you go buy some now here.

Shut
Nikon F2AS, 35mm f/2.8 AI Nikkor, Fomapan 100, 2016

Fomapan 100 is a beautiful classic cubic-grain black-and-white film. I find that it tends toward blown highlights, but other film photographers tell me that if I would just process it myself (rather than sending it to a lab) I could control that easily. Check out my review of this film here.

Comments

8 responses to “A bargain on Fomapan 100”

  1. Christopher Smith Avatar
    Christopher Smith

    I can get 10 rolls of 36 for £34.99 which works out at about £3.50 per roll which is about comparable with the offer you mentioned on Amazon. I used to be able to get it for about £3 a roll from my local camera store but they don’t do it now but they do sell Kentmere for about the same price.

    Reply
    1. Jim Grey Avatar
      Jim Grey

      That’s a good deal, and the 36 exp rolls are more economical to have developed.

      Reply
  2. Joshua Fast Avatar
    Joshua Fast

    The deal must be over, it’s 3.51 a roll currently. You got in at the right time!

    If you buy the bulk roll it’s only 50$. That’s 18 rolls of 36 @ 2.78 a roll or 26 rolls of 24 @ 1.92 a roll. Just need a daylight loader and a dark bag to load it.

    Reply
    1. Jim Grey Avatar
      Jim Grey

      Good heavens! I thought it might last a few days, not a few hours!

      I haven’t tried bulk loading yet.

      Reply
  3. Olli Thomson Avatar
    Olli Thomson

    That’s interesting because I just got back a roll of Kosmofoto 100 which is rebranded Fomapan and blown highlights were definitely an issue (together with a general tendency to overexposure – though that could have been the camera or the lab.)

    Reply
    1. Jim Grey Avatar
      Jim Grey

      Every time I’ve shot the Kosmo Foto it’s been a cloudy day — less chance for the highlights to blow because there’s less chance for highlights.

      I’m close to buying a developing tank and associated accoutrements, and starting to process my own b/w. I’m going to start with a monobath just for ease’s sake. Maybe I can start to tame these ISO 100 films’ tendencies to blown highlights. It’s not just the Kosmo Foto/Fomapan, it’s also Kentmere and pretty much every non-Kodak/Fuji 100.

      Reply
  4. squirtiesdad Avatar
    squirtiesdad

    Thanks for the Amazon/Fomapan tip, Jim! I ordered ten rolls early this morning at $2.75 per 24-exposure roll, though I notice that now the price has indeed jumped up to $3.51 per roll, which is still not a bad deal. Fomapan/Arista in 24-exposure rolls is my daily black-and-white film; I haven’t experienced the blown highlights, though I develop and scan my own film. Glad to hear you’re on the verge of processing your own b/w; I think you’ll like it once you get started :-)

    Reply
    1. Jim Grey Avatar
      Jim Grey

      $3.51 isn’t bad, it’s still less than Arista.EDU (same emulsion) direct from Freestyle.

      I’ve developed film before, many years ago, and didn’t like it much. Didn’t hate it either. It was just tedious. That’s why I want to start with a monobath — easy.

      Reply

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