B&W Portrait film

Until recently I have used XP2 @ EI250 for studio portaits mainly

because of its smooth gradation in skin tones. My regular C41

processor has now quit (I do my own printing) and since I don't want

the hassle of C41 processing in-house I intend to move over to a

conventional film. Any suggestions for a good XP2 substitute with a

similar "look and feel"?

Verichrome Pan, but that's been discontinued and is getting tough to find. Too bad really, because that's almost a text book solution to your problem.

 

Ilford HP5 or Delta (similiar films) pulled a stop in any standard developer like D-76 will give you roughly similiar midtone tonality to XP-2, silky skin tones, and generous exposure lattitude. Just shoot them at EI 200, cut the standard processing time about 25-33%, and you should be all set. XP-2 will still have the edge in grain though.

 

Same trick will work with the slower Ilford films, but you'll take a beating in terms of film speed. I'm assuming you want to stay around EI 200 or so.

I'm not aware of anything that comes close to XP-2 in the non-C-41 world in this respect. If film processing is really the only problem you have, I would be surprised if you couldn't find a place that runs a decent C-41 line. It's standard C-41, every 1-hour place in the world should be able to process this film correctly.

I wouldn't be afraid to tackle XP2 in self-processed C-41. As I remember, Ilford used to sell a kit for home developing its XP films and temperature wasn't all that critical. Searching around on photo.net might help:

 

http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=001f5a

 

http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=000g0S

 

I'd just try and process with the dev temp at least 75F, work out a development time, and use the C41 bleach and fix steps. I doubt it would be much more of a hassle than doing your own traditional film processing.

 

If you are definitely not going to attempt C-41 at home, then you're SOL on films. Nothing else really looks like a dye cloud film. Delta 100, TMX or Pan F+ are probably the films you should try out. (Of these 3, I prefer TMX in Rodinal for skin tones.)

Keep using it and just have a trustworthy mini-lab do the C41 work.... I've got a couple of places in my small, rural town and I've had great results with the film portion of the processing. I can't share the enthusiasm for their printing capabilities with it, though!

I agree with others: nothing is quite like XP-2, developed C-41, then printed in the wet darkroom, especially for portraiture. Find a good C-41 lab.

I have to take exception to those suggesting "mini-labs" for processing!These all use roller transport machines to develope film.These devices scratch film horribly even on a good day.Not to mention most mini-lab's have pimple faced kids that chose this over Burger King running their quality control!Find a pro lab that uses dip & dunk processing for C41.

Kodak 100 TMax rated at 50 ASA and devved in Rodinal, 1:50, 20 C for 7 minutes. And try Ilford Delta 100 or Fuji Acros, similarly rated and devved.

Can I get an amen for Tech Pan? I've just started toying with it for portraits in

120 format. The tonality is beautiful, especially skin tones. Sure it's slow and

somewhat finicky to work with, but if you are in control of the lighting - in a

studio situation for example - the results are great.<div></div>

I was hoping someone else was going to recommend TP also! The tones are

superb and the grain is ultra fine... almost to a fault. It will show EVERY detail

that you may or maynot want to bring out! The stuff is so tack sharp you might

want to diffuse...

Tech pan is so expensive though. I really like Tmax in 35mm if I'm going for a fine grain. HP5 in 35mm if I want some grain.

Remember that TechPan is not really panchromatic, but rather

acts like there is a medium yellow-orange filter in place. Not

really bad for portraiture, but you should be aware of this

characteristic.

Thanks for the replies. I tend to distrust mini labs, I've has too many scratched/dirty negs in the past. Finding a pro C41 lab is sensible of course but since I print the negs myself I wanted to keep control of the whole process. To be honest the Tech Pan seems a little too "non standard" (for want of a better term) and is too slow. I was considering Ilford Delta 100 but so far there seems to be no votes for it. I suppose I'll have to experiment.

While of a completely different "look and feel", the EFKE films can be nice at times. They have slightly lower sensitivity to red than "Normal" panchromatic films - the opposite of Tech.Pan - and give a hint of the "look and feel" of orthochromatic films while not quite so extreme.

I would suggest Delta 100 (in ID-11 or the suprisingly good Econotol 2 perhaps) @ EI64, or perhaps FP4 Plus in the same dev.

 

Since you are happy with XP2, it may be better if you find a C-41 processor who can take good care of your negs. Even some minilabs do a good job, the answer is to find an owner/manager who listens and gives the right answers to your questions.