Let’s face it: Shooting film is not exactly the cheapest of all possible endeavors. And many of us are looking for ways to shave a few bucks off the cost of our favorite hobby. That’s originally what got me to try Foma Bohemia‘s three primary film stocks — all under the Fomapan name — but it’s not what’s kept me using them.
(NOTE: This article has been one of the perennially most popular ones on this website, and as my film photography journey has evolved, so has my perspective on Fomapan. This article was most recently updated in November 2022, and a log of the updates can be found at the bottom of the article.)
To begin, Fomapan is available in three speeds, with the following names:
- Fomapan 100 Classic
- Fomapan 200 Creative
- Fomapan 400 Action
Of the three, I originally found 400 Action to be the most useful — largely due to the ISO 400 speed, and its ability to cover a wide range of shooting situations. These days, I primarily shoot 100 Classic, in large part because I use Fomapan a great deal in the testing of vintage cameras I’ve repaired or restored, and their limited shutter speeds and apertures make it difficult to properly expose on a bright, sunny day with fast ISO 400 film. Bottom line: All three provide very similar results; choose the speed based on your shoot needs, camera capabilities, and environment.
Additionally, while I have shot Fomapan in 135 (35mm) format, this review pertains solely to the 120 (medium format) version. Because Fomapan is a classic, old-school type of emulsion, its performance in 135 format is what you’d more or less expect when shot in the much smaller frame size of 35mm film, which in a word, a bit grainy. If that’s the look you’re going for, it may satisfy you, but I personally prefer Ilford Delta 100 for 35mm photography, and in terms of classic style emulsions, I even find that I prefer Kentmere 100 in 35mm to Fomapan. Again, much of that comes down to personal taste, and what you want from your photographs.
And one further note here. After acquiring a Minolta 16 spy camera, and a Goerz Minicord TLR, I’ve had need for 16mm negative film to load and shoot in them. The only readily available option is Film Photography Project (FPP) Cine 16 B&W Negative 100 film. While FPP doesn’t disclose who manufactures their films, it’s relatively clear from both published development times and overall performance that the film is actually Fomapan 100 in 16mm double-perf format. It performs surprisingly well in that tiny little format.
It is, I believe, well known that Foma is a go-to choice for relabeled black-and-white film stocks, and evidence suggests that three of FPP’s “monster” films are actually Fomapan 100, 200 and 400 respectively (the fourth appears to be Orwo UN54). Whether that’s true or not, it is widely known that Arista film (Freestyle’s house brand) is repackaged Foma; the Holga branded film sold by Freestyle is as well; and, Kosmo Foto’s Stephen Dowling has been quite open about his ISO 100 film being Foma too. Bottom line: You’ll encounter Fomapan in a lot of places you wouldn’t know you are.
What I Like
Moving on to the substance of this review, when it comes to Fomapan in 120 format, there’s a lot to like:
- Low Cost
The price point of Fomapan is pretty attractive. As of November 2022, Fomapan in 120 format (all three speeds) runs US$6.49 per roll from most major online sellers (an increase of US$1.50 per roll in the past year alone). At one point, there was a real price advantage over Ilford, but again, as of November 2022, Ilford HP5+ in 120 format runs US$6.99 per roll from Freestyle (while it’s slightly more from other sellers). While Fomapan is still about the least expensive 120 film you can get, its price advantage over arguably better films has eroded since I initially wrote this review. - Good Performance
As you might expect, Fomapan 100 Classic and 200 Creative have the best grain qualities; very fine and lots of detail. But honestly, Fomapan 400 Action is nearly indistinguishable from the two slower speeds in terms of grain, contrast, and image quality. It renders images with a decent level of detail, as well as a tonality and level of contrast that I personally gravitate toward, which hopefully comes across in the examples below. For some users, the contrast is excessive, but obviously you can control some of this in development. - Good Latitude
Foma’s data sheets for Fomapan 100 Classic, 200 Creative and 400 Action all cite good latitude, with a stated range of +1 EV (over-exposed up to 1 stop) to -2 EV (under-exposed up to 2 stops) with no adjustments to processing times. That’s matched my own experience. - Perfect for Sunny 16
Directly related to its latitude, Fomapan is a really strong candidate for using the Sunny 16 method of exposure. If you don’t get it quite right, Fomapan has your back — a couple of stops in either direction — which is arguably more than you’re going to need with Sunny 16. - Good Results Processing at Home
I’d hardly expect otherwise, I suppose, but I’ve had excellent results processing Fomapan at home with Kodak HC-110 Dilutions B and H. Strangely, Foma cite HC-110 development times in their own Foma Retropan 320 data sheet, but not in the regular Fomapan data sheets. I’ve also found that the Massive Dev Chart doesn’t give me the results I want, but I do have times that work for me, and I’ll include those at the bottom of this post. Additionally, I should note that the data sheet for Arista films — which is relabeled Fomapan — says that the use of HC-110 is not recommended. You may have better results with another developer, if that’s the case, but HC-110 works well for me. - Scans Great
As a hybrid workflow guy, the scan quality with my Epson V800 is important, and Fomapan delivers great scans. I don’t currently use Lightroom or Photoshop to adjust my images; I manually correct dust or other anomalies by hand in Photoshop, and leave it at that. The results really do speak for themselves.
What I Don’t Like
Of course, I don’t love everything about Fomapan…
- Challenging to Make Darkroom Prints
If you make darkroom prints on traditional photo paper using an enlarger, Fomapan can be a challenge when it comes to making prints with well-balanced tonality — at least it has been for me. As I already mentioned, my Fomapan negatives tend to come-out contrasty. When scanned, the results are quite pleasing to me, and I can easily adjust it in Photoshop if need or want to. But darkroom prints? It’s challenging to get the sorts of results I’m looking for. - Oh, That Anti-Halation Dye!
While not an issue for people who take their film to the lab, all flavors of Fomapan (in 120 format) carry a vivid blue/green anti-halation dye. The Fomapan data sheets indicate that it clears during development, but that’s not been my experience. If you’re developing at home, and using a one-shot developer like I do, it’s not a huge issue; when I dump the HC-110, it comes out shamrock green. I actually rinse the film several times at that point so the color doesn’t contaminate the chemicals (which is likely harmless, for the record). This rinsing step makes the stop bath itself unnecessary. If you’re a reusable developer person, you may want to consider a presoak step. (Incidentally, the anti-halation treatment is different in the 135 versions of the film, so none of this applies.) - Occasional Emulsion Anomalies
From time to time with Fomapan, I’ve observed some weirdness in the results — certainly with greater frequency than Kodak or Ilford films.
It doesn’t happen with every roll, but I do fairly regularly experience anomalies in the emulsion. These present themselves as tiny white or black dots in the positive scans (hence they’d be the reverse in the negative). Considering I don’t experience them with other films, it suggests that there are potential quality control issues with Fomapan occasionally. For the price, I accept them, and simply deal with it in Photoshop during post-scan processing, along with the customary dust and so on, as they’re never too serious.
I’ve also seen tiny dark streaks in the scanned images from time to time. These could be the result of processing inconsistencies (agitation, temperature control, etc.), but again, given that I don’t see them in other films, it would appear to be something with Fomapan.
When processing Fomapan films at home, I would recommend a tempering bath, just as you would use for color film processing. The consistency and accuracy of temperature does seem to improve the results. Very careful attention to inversion technique and timing also benefits the results. While it’s true that temperature control and good technique are essential for good results when processing any film at home, experience suggests that Fomapan is somewhat less forgiving of sloppiness than some films.
The Proof
Here are a few examples of shots I’ve taken with Fomapan 400 Action, 200 Creative, and 100 Classic.
The Verdict
My bottom line is that while I might well have first considered Fomapan for the price alone, it’s a decent quality black-and-white offering that delivers good results at a favorable price point. While the pricing advantage of Fomapan has eroded recently due to inflation and other factors, it’s still usually my go-to when film-testing recently repaired cameras, and even the modest price savings from using it might help encourage experimentation and creative exploration that higher-priced films inherently rather discourage. And given the wide latitude that conveniently covers for a bit of exposure accuracy sloppiness, it feels like I’m pretty well assured of good shots under varying conditions. Hopefully the results above prove me right.
Processing Notes and Development Times
I don’t believe that reusable developers are a great idea with Fomapan, due to the anti-halation dye (see above, and a note below as well); one-shot developers where you can dump it off seem like the best bet. Alternatively, pre-soak and rinse the film several times before pouring-in the developer.
- Fomapan 100 Classic
HC-110 Dilution B, 6:00 minutes at 20°C.
HC-110 Dilution H, 9:00 minutes at 20°C. - Fomapan 200 Creative
(I do not use HC-110 Dilution B with this film.)
HC-110 Dilution H, 7:00 minutes at 20°C. - Fomapan 400 Action
HC-110 Dilution B, 7:00 minutes at 20°C.
HC-110 Dilution H, 13:00 minutes at 20°C.
Unless I pre-soak and rinse the film before the developer, I do so thoroughly after dumping-off the developer to ensure that none of the vivid green anti-halation dye remains to avoid polluting my stop both with it; with that level of rinse, the stop is probably redundant, but I do it anyway.
Fix, rinse, hypo clear, wash and surfactant as normal / desired.
Update: December 30, 2020
While keeping the original pricing at the time of writing in-place, added prices as of December 2020. Corrected a couple of typos in the original piece.
Update: May 26, 2021
Added a notation that the Fomapan data sheets indicate that the anti-halation dye clears during development, but that it has not been my experience that it does.
Update: November 28, 2021
Updated pricing references and made a few minor edits. Added additional sample images.
Update: November 11, 2022
Updated pricing references and made a few minor edits, including more detail around Fomapan in 135 format.
