right footed cha cha

fortepan trials



I have just started getting used to the use of the 120 film format. I could not find Ilford HP4 in the 120 format so I used the very reliable Kodak Tri-X. The problem is that the cost of the film is quite expensive. Last weekend, I visited my favorite supply shop in Chinatown. I saw that they do not carry Tri-x. They had a lot of supply of Fortepan in ISO 100. So last weekend I tested the film using a hasselbad 500c. This time I did not make the mistake of using the self timer. Instead I used a shutter release and held it till after the lens shutter shuts down. So this time I had a properly tested film. My usual way of testing is to face the camera to a solid colored wall during an overcast day when lighting is more even. Using a hand held meter, I would place the exposure first on zone V then move from zone II till zone IX. Today, I did a contact print of the negatives and found that this film shows good latitude with zone III till VIII showing correct tones on the contact print. Zone II hs a slight difference from film+fog. I had 2 frames left. So yesterday morning I took the picture of a potted ivy we had at home. The morning light was not very strong but it was enough to give the plant a soft backlight. I think the film scans shows that this film is quite good contrast and handling of both shadow and highlight detail. This was developed by the lab using HC110 at 20 degrees centigrade for 5 minutes. Best of all, Fortepan 100 costs almost 60% less than Tri-X and being an ISO 100 film has a finer grain. Now at this price, I would't mind using this film on my Holga as well! All photographs © 2005 daddywasabi.