Fortepan 200 B/W film - how good is it for the large format photography?

[wieslaw1]

Last Spring I bought 2 boxes of Fortepan 200 negative panchromatic film

while looking for films to replace my stock of Agfas.

 

I used at least one box, during the summer, while shooting in the Tatra

mountains. The film is very well packed, wrapped in dark paper in

addition to boxes and an envelope. I have developed the film in either

Kodak Microdol-X, or in HC-110, dilution B. I found normal developing

time for Fortepan around 14 minutes at 20C in Micr., instead of 10

minutes as recommended. I also routinely adjust the film speed by two

stops, (here 50 ASA) for Microdol. Other films I used were Agfa 100, Ilford

Delta 100, plus some films with different spectral response.

 

The negatives were OK with the provision that I immediately noticed that

Fortepan is not a fine-grain film. Back in my LF darkroom here in the US I

selected and enlarged my negatives. The Fortepan gives pronounced

grain already at 11x14 enlargements, so I decided not to make larger

prints with these negatives.

 

However it is interesting to know what films are available on the market,

and what are they capable of, especially since less B/W products are

available than 10 years ago. So I did the following tests:

 

I selected format 11x14 as the standard for comparison. This size does

not mean however, that this is the final magnification of the prints. The

procedure is the following. The enlarger is set for a 35mm film to be

magnified to 11x14 with a standard 50mm enlarging lens. I used

Componon-S at f/8 for all tests.

 

The results can be directly compared with that of 35mm negatives,

although I used 4x5 negatives.

 

The 4x5 film is then inserted into the negative holder, focused and framed

on the easel. The distance between the negative and the easel is

constant for all tests. Only a fraction of the negative is of interest,

sufficiently magnified to reveal the grain structure. Equal size segments

(4x5) of the resulting prints are then scanned and images of two different

films are superimposed in the computer on a single frame for

presentation. The magnification of each sample is thus equal and can be

compared with the scans of original 4x5 negatives.

 

Observations of the actual prints confirm that Fortepan is by no means a

fine grain film. Even when developed in Microdol-x (a fine grain developer)

the grain is substantial. Both, low speed Agfa and Delta are far superior

in this respect; the grain is practically invisible on the enlargements. I

was surprised to see that the fine structure of these films holds even with

the HC-110 developer, as I did not notice any marked improvement by the

Microdol.

 

 

The results are shown on negatives no.1 and 1a. Here Fortepan and

Delta are compared, both developed in MicrodolX.

 

Fig. Agfa/Forp/ 2 shows comparison of Agfa developed in Microdol and

Fortepan developed in HC-100. Note that the Agfa part is unsharp due to

blur. The original scenery, as shot on a 4x5, is shown in Figs. 1, 1a and 2.

with the actual (35x24mm) cutout shown, as well as a smaller fragment

chosen for the display on your screens. Negative No.2 was rather dense,

hence the sky is not quite clear, this is a scanning effect, no granularity on

the sky at that size.

 

 

C O N C L U S I O N S

 

1. Fortepan 200 ASA/24 DIN is grainy film. The grain is visible already at

modest, 4x5 to 11x14 inch enlargements. I have low speed films

enlarged from 24x35mm to 11x14 with less grain.

 

2. The comparison of low speed films with the high speed film, as made

here, was made to find out whether the Fortepan200 is suitable for LF

photography of static subjects. Since I consider grain as 'noise', film

graininess is not a part of my photography. Hence the Fortepan200 is

unsuitable for the purpose stated.

 

3. Large format photographers of static subjects still need fine-grain, low

speed films. It is a fallacy to believe that a large film size will defeat films

inherent graininess.

 

4. Film manufacturers should continue production of fine grain films in

large format sizes.

 

5. Tonal response of Fortepan200 appears to be satisfactory, although I

did not have time to make any exhibition quality prints yet.

 

6. To find out objectively if Fortepan200 is a 'good' or 'bad' film, one should

compare it with other films of equivalent speeds on the market.

 

7. The 'right' price of the film, 14$/25 sheets, which is about 40% less

than other brands, will make this film ideal for practicing LF photography,

or for all those who love grainy pictures.

(I admit, I have seen beautiful pictures where grain was part of the image.

There are photographers who know how to utilize this effect to enhance

the artistic value. I have not attempted this.)

-------------------------------------------------

Homework for the readers:

The actual magnification of the test samples can be figured out by

multiplying the number of 24x35 frames which constitute one 4x5

negative, (~12?) times 11x14. The linear dimensions around the

resulting area will give you the actual print size from which the cutout

fragments were made. Or you can compare magnification afforded by the

focal length of 50mm on a 4x5.

 

THE END

Enough my time wasted on this forum. It is your turn now. Enjoy it!

 

PS

Oh, by the way. I am inviting everybody to the show of my photographs

(real ones, not virtual samples), next Saturday, March 31 in Trenton NJ,

(druchstudio@comcast.net) as announced in the LF forum.

 

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[wieslaw1]

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[wieslaw1]

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[zach_abubeker]

I appreciate all of your time spent. (With examples to boot!)

[arthur_mcculloch]

I believe it is no longer manufactured, the Hungarian company having folded recently. Not sure if anyone has picked up the pieces and continued its manufacture.

 

I've used it a lot in 4x5, largely because it was cheap, and it was a good way to try out 4x5 - just starting - and because the oz agent was nearby. I was disappointed with its quality control (primary developer Rodinal)which meant it required lots of print touching up and knifing. I was not put off by the greater granularity, which, as you say can be used to great effect. I found the tonal range ok, but not as good as fp4, which I now use almost exclusively for 4x5

 

You've put a lot into testing this film. Pity the film appears to be gone.

 

Arthur McCulloch

[leicaglow]

I used a bit of it when it came out (in fact I used some of the last few rolls left today). It's very flat, as your tests show. I started developing it with Rodinal and the grain was like golf balls. Also had problems with HC110 and DDX. I had the best luck with D76. I use it in high contrast situations where I want lower contrast and don't want to fuss with zone system work in 120.

[wieslaw1]

This film is still available, at least in 4x5, at B-and-H in NYC.

 

But it is frustrating to hear that photographic products are

disappearing from the market.

[frank.schifano]

The point is moot unless you already have a large stash. The company has closed down operations and so far there is no definitive word that some other organization has picked up the pieces. I'm not holding my breath.

[gene_e._mccluney]

I like it quite a lot. True, it is not a "fine grain" film, but it has tonal qualities that I really

like, and I have a rather large stash of it. For now, until I use up what I have, I am

standardizing on it for my 4x5 bridge photography.<div></div>

[al_divenuti]

Regarding the future of this film...

 

Everything posted above is correct. Forte Photo of Vac, Hungary has ceased operations and they will not re-open because the ownership simply believes there's more money to be made by selling off the property that the factory occupies.

 

That said:

 

Bergger sold Fortepan 200 as BPF-200 and according to one of their principals (Gerard, who sent an email to an APUG member who reposted it) they are looking for an alternate source to manufacture their products.

 

So, in theory at least, the film could be (read: it's possible but not likely or cerain) manufactured again at a later time by another manufacturer. Naturally, should that come to pass, it will not be identical to the material used in the past.

 

We will have to see.