Fomapan 400 Action

Fomapan 400 Action is the roughest-textured general-purpose 400-speed film on the market right now, and the shooters who reach for it are the ones who want that roughness. The grain is noticeably coarser than HP5+ or Tri-X at the same EI; it clusters differently, with a chunkier structure that reads almost lithographic in the highlights when you push it. If that bothers you, this is the wrong film. If it doesn't, you're getting a genuinely capable emulsion at a price that lets you shoot more.

Foma is a Czech manufacturer running continuously since 1921, and the 400 Action formula reflects an older emulsion philosophy: saturated silver, conventional gelatin, contrast that rises quickly once you leave the midtones. It responds well to compensating developers like Rodinal at high dilutions (1:50 or 1:100) where the highlight compression brings down that aggressive shoulder. In D-76 or ID-11 at stock or 1:1 it can go a little contrasty for portraiture, so use it where contrast works for you: architecture, documentary, street.

The film can be pushed to 1600 and remain printable. The results aren't as clean as HP5+ at the same push, but the grain character gets interesting rather than just noisier. Some shooters deliberately overexpose by a stop and pull develop to get a finer structure with that Foma midtone signature intact.

Available in 35mm, 120, and sheet sizes. The 120 is underrated; the larger frame shows off the tonal range better than the 35mm strips, where grain dominates the perception.

Reciprocity exponent is 1.31. At a nominal 30-second exposure the actual required time climbs to around 90 seconds; Zone Light Meter applies that correction automatically once you're past the one-second threshold. For long night exposures this matters: the uncorrected error is not small.