I imported 120 Foma Ortho 400 from Germany last year because nobody in the UK was stocking it. Why was I so keen to get it? Well, as other reviews have noted, it’s a very nice film that provides lovely tones. However, the most important thing (for me) was that it was a fast ortho film in 120 format.

As well as the more common formats, I shoot 110, 126 and 127. Film choice is limited and expensive, if available at all. I routinely have to cut film down and Claudio at Camerhack does a great job to help with this. I then have to cut index holes at precise intervals for 110 and 126, otherwise my particular cameras will not work. Once the index holes are cut, the film has to be loaded into a cassette and then loaded into a camera. Once the film is shot, the process is reversed to get the film into a developing tank.

With panchromatic film, this all has to be done in complete darkness. I can do this, but it is fiddly and time-consuming.

Ortho film means that I can work under a safelight and it makes the process so much easier! I’d looked at ortho films before, but they were too slow to be generally useful. Foma Ortho 400 shoots well at EI 400 (you get a little more shadow detail at 200). In the absence of any ‘official’ timings I semi-stand dev it in 510-Pyro for 60 minutes at 20’C 1:500, 1 minute initial agitation and then 10 seconds every 10 minutes. Stop with water and use Plain Fixer for 10 minutes. I've given James a sample film, so we'll hopefully get some official times soon. I’ve attached some 110 shots as examples to show how well it works, even with very small negatives (Minolta 110 Zoom SLR Mk2).

If you need to cut down and reload to obscure (fiddly) formats, then this is the B&W film that you have been waiting for.

Shot this film through my ensign selfix 420 folding camera, developed in bellini rdl, this film gives a wonderful classic look to photos,

I tried Foma Ortho 400 on a changeable day weather wise, exposing it at box speed. Film was processed in my usual developer (510 Pyro) using the same processing time as for regular Foma 400 film and this seemed about right.
Being rated at ISO 400 certainly gives an advantage on overcast days.
Must say I was pleased with the results, film has great tonal range, being bright but with well controlled shadow and highlight detail, the grain is a little coarser than Tri-X but not obtrusive. However, care has to be taken with exposure - over exposure will cause the grain structure to become a lot more apparent. Another point worth mentioning is that once processed the film is very curly making it a little challenging when scanning the negatives.
Would I use Foma Ortho again? Probably.