Gast Dear colleagues, I’ve just enlarged a few photos from the GDR era; the tonal quality of the ORWO film is simply different from that of the Ilford film I’m currently using. Is there actually any film left that has a slightly earthy, granular look like the ORWO, particularly with good shadow detail, bright green reproduction and that sense of depth? Thanks and happy holidays Henning
Gast Henning, perhaps Fortepan 100, or even better Svema FN 64 or Tasma FN 64 (from Retrophotographic Ltd.), but these films are all technically inferior to ORWO. Roland
Gast Hi Roland, Thank you very much for your quick reply. What exactly does ‘technically inferior’ mean, and where can I get hold of these films? I haven’t even heard of them before. Best regards, Henning
Gast Google > Search term "Retrophotographic Ltd" > click > Result retrophotographic The host's logo is displayed prominently there; perhaps there's something in Berlin too. Best regards, Ronald (not Roland)
MirkoBoeddecker Retro is also sold out at Tasma. The film doesn’t come anywhere near the CHS 100 from ADOX. The CHS 100 offers everything you’re looking for in the NP20 and was already superior to ORWO back in the GDR days as efke 100. At least, that’s the opinion of many photographers who always used to get hold of efke films from the former Yugoslavia. Give CHS 100 a try. Best regards, Mirko
Gast Henning, Efke (well, it’s called ADOX now, and you can get it here) is good, but there’s a reason I didn’t recommend it to you: the film has a rather saccharine, ‘economic miracle’-era feel to it, and that’s exactly what ORWO wasn’t. You can get Forte from 24 DIN upwards here as ‘Classic’, or if you want the 100 ISO version, from B… in the Upper Palatinate. The other Svema and Tasma films are more likely to be found at Retrophotographic, or just somewhere in the former USSR. Lower quality means scratches, dust, etc.
