XP2 400 and Delta 400 awfully grainy?

I shot some couple test rolls with both films. I dont know what is the reason

but both films came out awfully grainy.

 

I shot them daytime on a sunny day by using the lightmeter of my contax g2 and

minolta x 700 camera. so i dont think the reason is my cameras lightmeter cause

i shot a couple rolls of color film later on which came out ok.

 

So I guess my lab screwed me by not washing them enough time. or what could be

the reason?

 

Should i tell my lab to push half stop from now on to decrease the grain?

 

or what is the other options to decrease grain in these films on a sunny day?

 

i have to shoot something this week in a restaurant by using available light

whichis pretty low. I cannot imagine the grain if in a sunny day the films

cameout that grainy how would it be in a low light place?

 

I will appreciate the feedback.

My experience - my grain was due to my over exposing the film. I've been told that overdevelopment is also another reason for grain. I imagine there can be a few more. You might want to conduct a search of the archives to see what you can find. - Sean

XP2 and Delta 400 are two entirely different films. XP2 is a "chromogenic" b&w film that is basically color film without the color and developed in the same C41 process. Delta 400 is traditional B&w film with Ilford's equivalent of the T-grain structure used by Kodak in its T-Max film to make it have finer grain than Ilford HP5 or Kodak Tri-X. In short, neither XP2 or Delta 400 is a grainy film. If you got grainy results from both, it's most likely an exposure error -- both under and over can cause graininess in different ways. Washing it totally irrelevant to grain and would have no effect whatsoever.

I shoot XP2 at E.I. 200- not ISO 400- and process the film in a normal C-41 run. My results aren't at all grainy.<div></div>

Delta 400 @ 320 in Xtol Stock

 

EOS 1 with 70~200 2.8L USM & a B+W 090

 

For a 400 speed film, the Delta 400 is a pretty low grain film. It's not in the Delta 100, TMX

or Acros 100, class, but lower than Tri-X or HP5+

Let's try again to load my image.

Are you seeing this grain in scans, prints, or on the negative?

in imacon scans.

Hmmm. High-quality scans let us see a lot of things in negatives we could never see before. Insufficient washing would create another set of problems but it shouldn't affect grain.

 

If XP2 looks grainy I would guess it was underexposed -- that tends to make it look flat and rough. Many people like the results from XP2 when they use an exposure index of 250 or 320, in effect biasing their negs toward overexposure.

 

The Delta 400 is trickier because commercial b&w development varies from lab to lab. It isn't a standard process like C-41 for XP2. There are three labs where I live that run b&w -- each uses a different developer and each produces different results.

 

Ask the lab what developer they use and then use Google to read up on the characteristics.

 

My suggestion would be to load another Delta roll in one of the cameras, get a notepad or recorder, and make a series of exposures at the indicated auto exposure, then -1 compensation and +1 compensation. If you consistently do 0, -1 and +1, for three shots of each scene, you don't even needs notes. :- )

 

Then examine the negs and see which meet your needs. If ALL of them still look too grainy, you need to use a different-formula developer, but you shouldn't be getting objectionable grain from Delta 400.

 

Delta 400:

 

XP2:

ok thats what i will do. thanks very much.

and also what about asking to lab to push half stop, if i just shoot without exposure compensation. but you are saying grain can happen not just underexpose but also overexpose. so i guees i will do - + and then see whats the problem.

"and also what about asking to lab to push half stop"

 

You need to identify the problem first. Most labs will push one stop, or two (and usually for 50% more money) but not a half-stop. It's too small an increment. If you use a commercial lab, it's better in the long run to get in tune with their standard process.

 

If you can post an example frame, or an enlargement of part of a frame, that would help people see what you're dealing with.

how do you post an image without an attachment here?

Tony, read what it says:<P>

 

"Please crop or downsize to a width of 511 pixels for inline display"

Tony: Push processing will increase grain, not reduce it, and the length of washing a film gets has absolutely no effect on the grain size.

 

If you go to your lab with these sorts of instructions, they'll just laugh at you.

 

Why not learn to process your B&W film yourself? You'll get far better results eventually, and you'll learn a lot more about how film works in the process.

XP2 and Delta 400 are totally different films... I suggest tackling each one on its own in terms of nailing down your process. I also suggest not asking the lab to do anything different -- consistency is key. XP2 /will/ look grainy if it is underexposed. Delta 400 may look grainy if it is grossly overexposed or overdeveloped. You should try another few rolls of each film -- use a standard scene, meter it well, and make exposures with a bunch of different "effective film speeds". And take good notes :) See which come out best.