Wednesday, November 21, 2001, 9:39:21 PM, Paul wrote: PJ> Hi, PJ> I'm looking for comments on Acupan 200 and 800, my local film supplier has PJ> stopped stocking it and is selling it all of quite cheaply, so if it was any PJ> good i was going to pick some up. PJ> It comes in little packs with developer and fixer or just in normal single PJ> rolls. PJ> Is the developer and fixer it comes with worth using?
Hi, Acupan sold by Patterson is simply rebadged Foma film Fomapan T. I know it well because it is made in my country. I tried out extensively Fomapan T800, and simply - it sucks. It is just 640 film (like the Fuji 1600 is also only ~640, and TMZ is ~1000), that's not a problem though. Problem is ugly grain in most developers and bad pushing. HP5+ is much better, I regulary use HP5+ at 800 iso without _any_ degradation from 400 iso speed. But one reviewer I trust quite liked the film in Pattersons' Varispeed developer, so you may try it in it. Fomapan T200, OTOH, is very nice film. Try it out in Xtol 1+3, do a series of exposures shot at 125,160,200 iso. One of them should work best for you. Also try it out in Microphen, 1+1 or 1+3, at 160 and 200 iso. I have some nice 30x40cm blowups on it, without any problems. Just now, I like to use Fomapan 100, developed in Microphen 1+1, which, when spotmetered, captures a suprisingly wide range of shadows and highlights. It also has crisp but small grain, 30x40cm without problems and bigger of course possible too (but 30x40 is my current limit on easel and trays. Which is fun - I rarely print smaller in B&W :) I don't know about the developer and fixer it comes with, but if it's Patterson's FX39, it's said it's _the_ developer for Acupan 200. Or try Xtol and Microphen. Any Thiosulfide ammonium fixer is good, use the cheapest available (don't use the old non-rapid fixers, though, they are less permitting on overfixing) Frantisek Best regards, Frantisek Vlcek - This message is from the Pentax-Discuss Mail List. To unsubscribe, go to http://www.pdml.net and follow the directions. Don't forget to visit the Pentax Users' Gallery at http://pug.komkon.org .
