Second most used B&W film

Assuming Tri-X is the world's most used B&W film in 35 mm, what is second?

probably one of the ilford duo FP4 or HP5.

 

Frankly I was under the impression that the ilford's where the most used, but maybe that's just me

These are merely anecdotal observations based on sales in local camera shops, but for high school and college programs Tri-X, T-Max 400 and HP5+ seem to be in roughly equal demand. Some local shops will include those in packages along with paper, chemicals, etc., to meet these school requirements.

 

I don't know whether they still do so but Ilford also used to bundle 25 sheets of their 8x10 RC paper with a roll or two of HP5+ or FP4+ for students and beginners. When sold at the intended retail price (some stores either marked it up or split up the bundles), these were very good values and probably boosted the sales of those films.

I've used both Tri-X and HP5. I like Tri-X better.

I'm going to take a wild guess at either TMAX-100 or FP4+.

Plus-X for me is the second most used....First most About 50-50 on Tri-X and HP5+ depending on what I have on hand that day and what I got on sale.

As a guess, based on the number of people who discuss using film these days, I'd say that FP4+ would stand a good chance of hitting that mark.

 

- Randy

I would have guessed Kodak recording films, microfilms or Tech Pan, but you probably mean "still in production?"

If Tech Pan sold as well as Tri-X, Kodak would still be making it. Same with 2475 Recording, Panatomic-X, and High Speed Infrared. All probably sold 1/1000 of what Tri-X sold. (Well, other than the Military and Scientific sales that kept some of those films alive.)

 

My guess would be HP5+ is number two.

 

I doubt Plus-X is number two. I suspect that's probably Kodak's slowest-selling B&W film, generous of them to still make it. Note that Plus-X is no longer available in sheet film, where Tri-X, TMX, and TMY still are.

 

Harry Posner probably knows (his sales probably are excellent predictors for the overall US market of B&W film), but he probably won't say -- nor would Kodak or Ilford be happy if he did.

No doubt Tri-X is #1 in the US, but what about the rest of the world, where Kodak is not so dominant? My guess is that HP5+, available in all sizes you can think of, is the best selling film world wide.

For 400 films, I've used TriX since its intro in 1954, however since Kodak changed over to their new coating alleys I found it be terrible. On the other hand, at that time, TMY is amazingly improved. I have always like Neopan 400 as long as it is in a great fine grain developer such as Microphen or UFG.

 

My most reliable medium speed film (only since the new coating alleys) is Plus X Pan, a stunningly good product. Of course I still use D100, TMX, and Acros 100, always in high res developers such as Rodinal or D76 1:1.

 

Lynn

My guess would be one of the c-41 B/W films like bw400cn or XP2 super. I can get bw400cn at almost any drugstore, supermarket, or walmart. That kind of market exposure would make it the most popular.

Another purely anecdotal observation...

 

A few years ago (2005, I think), I visited Savannah, GA. It was amusing to note the downtown pharmacies, grocery stores and notions stores carried 24 exposure rolls of 35mm Tri-X. Presumably it had something to do with proximity to SCAD (the local arts college).

 

Just a bit of anachronism reminiscent of the 1960s when I could get rolls of 627 b&w film for my box camera from the corner drug store, which, incidentally, also had a fountain with real egg creams.