FomaFomapan 400 Action

Fomapan 400 Action is an ISO 400 panchromatic black-and-white negative film made by Foma Bohemia in the Czech Republic and developed in common black-and-white developers [1]. It is a traditional cubic-grain film [4] [5] that reviewers describe as contrasty and grainy, with an older look. It is reportedly also sold as Arista EDU Ultra 400 [4] [8].

Look and color

Fomapan 400 turns colors into grays according to its own spectral sensitivity, not the eye’s, and its chart is close to that of Fomapan 100 (see below). Reviews describe the result rather than the color response:

• Punchy and gritty. Analogue Wonderland finds a “slightly gritty, contrasty look” that is “punchy but not in your face”, with “beautiful highlights, with a dark sombre mood” [7].
• High contrast, even in flat light. 35mmc reports a “high contrast result in most situations, including even/overcast light”, with pure blacks and whites when the exposure is right [5]. Parallax simply found “a nice contrast” [6].
• Developer matters. Emulsive notes that Rodinal accentuates the grain and Perceptol gives smoother tones [4].
• Near-infrared. Emulsive also reports some near-infrared sensitivity and shot it at EI 6 behind an R72 filter [4]. Foma’s chart stops near 696 nm.

Tonality

• Curves. In Microphen, the characteristic curves for 7, 9 and 11 minutes show a progressive toe and a long straight section, with no marked shoulder in the plotted range (our reading of the graph) [1].
• Development. Foma’s times aim at “medium-contrast negatives”: for example 7 to 8 minutes in D-76 or ID-11 stock at 20 °C [1].
• Reviews find high contrast, with limited detail at the ends. 35mmc reports a more severe cut-off than Kentmere 400, and also a “foggy grey tone in the blacks” and even mid-gray tones [5]. Parallax saw a “slight loss of shadow and highlight detail” [6]. These observations fit together: the blacks look a little gray, yet there is little shadow detail when you expose for the highlights.
• Latitude: the maker and the reviews differ in emphasis. Foma promises good results at ISO 200 (1 stop over) or ISO 1600 (2 stops under) without lengthening development or raising the temperature [1]. Emulsive says “correct metering is critical” [4], and 35mmc found the film looked underexposed at box speed and shot it at EI 200 [5]. Analogue Wonderland says it can be pushed to ISO 3200, with more grain [7].
• Long exposures: no correction from 1/1000 to ½ s, then ×1.5 at 1 s, ×6 at 10 s and ×8 at 100 s [1].

Grain and sharpness

• Foma measures its RMS in Microphen, developed to a gamma of 0.6, and gives a resolving power of 90 lines/mm [1]. RMS values from different developers are only roughly comparable.
• Reviews disagree on the grain. Emulsive finds it “quite fine for an ISO 400 traditional-grained emulsion”, with grain that “doesn’t distract even at 30×40 size” from 35 mm [4]. 35mmc calls it “fairly low grain, but large grained – very visible” [5]. Parallax sees a visible amount that “is not excessive” [6].
• Halation. The datasheet lists an anti-halation backing for 120 and sheet film, not for the 35 mm film, which is coated on a gray or gray-blue base [1]. Emulsive calls the anti-halation weaker than Kodak’s or Ilford’s and likes the “glow” for portraits [4]; 35mmc saw “more highlight bleed and halation than Kentmere” [5]; Analogue Wonderland mentions “nice halations on highlights” [7].

Spectral sensitivity

Foma’s chart has no scale on the sensitivity axis and, unlike the Fomapan 100 sheet, names no light source [1]. The curve rises from 400 nm with small dips near 480 and 550 nm, then climbs steadily to a maximum near 675 nm before dropping sharply, reaching zero at about 696 nm. Our conversion assumes the same 2850 K tungsten source as Fomapan 100, which Foma has not confirmed; with that assumption the color response is almost the same as Fomapan 100, and the difference between the two styles comes from the tone curve and grain [12].

Names, status and history

• Maker. Foma Bohemia is based in Hradec Králové, in the Czech Republic [1].
• Introduction date. Wikipedia’s list of films gives 1994 for Fomapan 400 [8]; we found no date from Foma.
• Also sold as (reported, not confirmed by Foma). Arista EDU Ultra 400, sold by Freestyle Photographic in the United States: Emulsive reviews it together with Fomapan 400 [4], and Wikipedia says the Arista EDU films “are currently the same” as the equivalent-speed Foma films [8]. The datasheet says the 135 and 120 edge markings read “ULTRA 400” [1].
• Status. On September 30, 2026, Foma’s catalogue listed Fomapan 400 Action [2]. In June 2025, Foma announced its perforated 35 mm Fomapan 100, 200 and 400 in retro packaging [3].
• Formats. The 04/23 datasheet lists 120, 135-36 and 135-24, bulk lengths of 17, 30.5 and 50 m, and sheets of 10×15, 13×18 and 18×24 cm in boxes of 50 [1].
• Datasheet. The current datasheet is marked FOMA 04/23 [1].

Also sold as

• Arista EDU Ultra 400 (reported) [8]