[LargeFormat] Arista Edu Film

[Richard Knoppow]

   I recently tried some of this film, sold by Freestyle. It 
appears to be Foma film. I bought it because it is available 
in 2-1/4 x 3-1/4 off the shelf and pretty cheap (about $8 US 
for 25 sheets). Its the ISO-200 stuff claimed to be like 
Kodak Super-XX.
   I shot a dozen sheets in my Miniature Speed Graphic. 
Processing was in a Nikor sheet film tank with D-76 1:1. I 
add a very small amount of Bromide to my D-76, about 0.25 
gram per liter of stock. I shot the film at ISO-100.
   This is preliminary. I found a lot of markings on the 
film, some are clear spots, possibly dust, some scratches 
and some pressure marks. I don't know yet whether this 
happened during my loading of the holders or loading of the 
tank of if its characteristic of the film. My guess is that 
the emulsion is a lot softer than Kodak, Agfa, Ilford film 
and needs more careful handling. I will shoot some more 
being  very careful of loading and process a single sheet at 
a time in a tray to eliminate tank problems. I also used a 
glass sandwich negative holder which, while carefully 
cleaned, probably contributed to the spots. However, some of 
this stuff is visible on the negative when using a 
magnifying glass.
   I am not sure yet of its tonal qualities. A couple of the 
subjects, including one portrait, look pretty good. This was 
also the first time I've used the mini SG, which I restored 
out of a junker a friend gave me.
   The film is grainier than most other films I've used 
recently. A couple of the frames were cropped, my guess is 
that grain would be just visible on an 11x14 from a full 
frame.
   If I can control this film it looks like a good choice 
for people with 2-1/4 x 3-1/4 and 5x7 cameras who want 
decent film at reasonable prices. Its also available in 4x5 
and 8x10.
   Stay tuned.

---
Richard Knoppow
Los Angeles, CA, USA
dickburk at ix.netcom.com