Rendering profile
- Sharpness
- Good contour sharpness; no anti-halation layer creates a soft halation halo around bright sources
Film stock wiki
Foma ortho400
Foma Ortho 400 is a high-speed orthochromatic black-and-white negative film from Foma Bohemia, rated at ISO 400. Unusually fast for an ortho film, it renders skies with dramatic contrast, darkens red tones, and suits landscape, architectural, and stylized portrait photography.
Key specs
- Brand
- Foma
- Model
- ortho400
- ISO
- 400
- Process
- BW
- Formats
- 135, 120
- Production status
- In production
- Introduced
- 2023
Grain
Unknown
Contrast
High; dramatically separates skies, foliage, and skin from backgrounds
Saturation
Unknown
Latitude
Unknown
Technical details
Handling notes
- Storage
- Keep refrigerated at 4–10 °C; allow to warm before opening
Profile notes
Foma Ortho 400 (ISO 400/27°) is a special orthochromatically sensitized black-and-white negative film manufactured by Foma Bohemia. First released in medium format (120) in May 2023, then in 35mm (135) in May 2024, it stands out as one of the fastest orthochromatic films on the market. Unlike panchromatic films, Foma Ortho 400 lacks red sensitivity — its spectral response drops off sharply before 600 nm — which means reds photograph as deep, dark tones while greens and blues render lighter. This produces dramatic sky tones, bold foliage separation, and an aesthetically distinctive portrait rendering with darkened lips and high-contrast freckle emphasis. The film features fine grain for an ISO 400 emulsion, good resolving power and contour sharpness, and high maximum silver density. Its polyester base is bluish and contains no anti-halation layer, contributing to a characteristic halation glow around bright highlights. Exposure latitude spans EI 160 to EI 1600. Compatible with all standard black-and-white developers; Foma recommends development in FO76, D-76, or similar fine-grain formulas.
Aliases
Foma Ortho 400Fomapan Ortho 400FOMA ORTHO 400
Related stocks
BW
Foma 400
Fomapan 400 Action is Foma Bohemia's fastest standard panchromatic black-and-white film, rated at ISO 400. It offers a classic, gritty grain character, good shadow detail in low light, and wide exposure latitude, making it a go-to choice for reportage, street, and action photography.
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Foma 100
Fomapan 100 Classic is a fine-grain, panchromatic black-and-white negative film from Foma Bohemia rated at ISO 100. Known for its classic cubic-grain rendering, wide tonal range, and versatile exposure latitude, it is one of the most affordable traditional-look 135/120 films available.
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Foma 200
Fomapan 200 Creative is a medium-speed panchromatic black-and-white film from Foma Bohemia rated at ISO 200. It uses hexagonal core/shell tabular silver halide grains for fine grain and high resolving power, making it a flexible choice between the classic Fomapan 100 and the faster Fomapan 400.