A Top 5 Films List for a Beginner

<p>Alright, this is my first post to photo.net forums, so I hope you'll be forgiving. I am just switching to film photography from digital, and I'm thinking of shooting black & white film for a change rather than my usual color. (I know, it sounds like my photography career is in reverse.) I've looked over this site, but I can't seem to find a good checklist of films I should start out with. I'm looking for something high-contrast with maybe some extra-edgy grain for some applications. I was wondering if people could point me in the right direction. Should I look at Fuji's Neopan? Some Ilford film like HP5+ or Pan F? What about Efke or Foma?<br>

Which would you say are the top 5 rolls of film I should buy and try to start getting a good feel for black and white?</p>

<p>I'd say and Ilford Delta or T-Max at 3200. But well, it also depends on when and you're going to shoot. Or Tri-X, but pushed to 1600 or 3200. I like tri-x. Very forgiving...</p>

<p>The HP5+ has a very fine grain. The Pan F has almost no grain.<br>

The grain of Fuji neopan is fine as well. But you can push your rolls a bit. The iso 400 can be pushed to 1600 and the 1600 can be pushed to 3200. That'll surely put a bit of an edge on your grain. I haven't used the other two film brands.</p>

<p>Tri-X Plus-X HP4+ HP5+ and Panf+ Process them yourself in D-76 or HC-110. Don't allow anyone else to do it... You are your own boss from the moment you pick the film put it in the camera and look at the final product. After that experiment. with different developers and pushing and pulling.</p>

<p>Tri-X in D-76 is about as classic of a combination you can get, and gives just gorgeous tones. It tends to be a bit grainier than newer films, and in my experience reacts very nicely to higher contrast filters when printing. Fantastic stuff. Good luck.</p>

<p>Newer films? TMY-2 is the newest there so I think the ground is even... LOL</p>

<p>Tri-X or HP5 would be great general purpose films that as has already been mentioned, will give you high contrast and big grain at 1600 or 3200. The good thing with using these films is you can turn around and shoot them at box speed for normal looking results without having to buy a different film</p>

<p>Or pull them with a middle tone range you could never imagine.</p>

<p>Another vote for tri-x as the best all around B&W. If you want it grainy & contrasty. either push it, or use tmax 400.</p>

<p>Fomapan 100 is an excellent film, fine grain, and easy to work with. Fomapan 400 has quite coarse grains, gives a look compared to old press photos (IMO).<br>

Also, take a look at Rolle Retro 100 (rebanded APX100). It is very cheap, and very easy to get right if you develop it in Rodinal.</p>

<p>"I'm looking for something high-contrast with maybe some extra-edgy grain for some applications. I was wondering if people could point me in the right direction."</p>

<p>What you are seeking is more a matter of how you meter and how you develop your film. So just choose one or two films and one developer for now. I'd suggest HP5+ and Neopan 1600 (or Delta 3200 if you want an even faster film). Plain old D76 is good, but I prefer XTOL because it gets me closer to box speed for general shooting.</p>

<p>Run some film tests to determine how the film responds to expanded or contracted development. Or just start off rating the films at 1/2 box speed if you use D76 so that you pick up decent shadow detail. Rate higher if you want inky blacks without detail.</p>

<p>Are you going to be devloping your own B&W film?<br>

I guess with the colour film you have been using a lab?</p>

<p>Ilford FP4, Ilford HP5, Ilford Delta 100, Fuji Acros 100, Agfa APX 100.</p>

<p>To clarify: yes, I think I'll end up doing my own developing. The lab has been processing my color rolls, and I'm disappointed in their turnaround time. Thanks for all the suggestions. It sounds like push/pull processing is a lot more common than I thought and not just some fringe experimental technique. That's something else I'll have to research...</p>

<p>If you're new to thi, here's what I did.</p>

<p>Pick a film, any film as long as you can get it without too much trouble, In my case that was Agfa APX 100, because I bought a box with 100 roll's in the bankruptcy of AGFA. <br /> Get a developer and stick to it. I got Rodinal by coincidence and so that 's what I was and am using. Almost everything in 1+25. <br /> Rate the film at box speed and develop it according to the standard instructions inside the box.<br /> After You've done enough roll's you'll get to know the look of your film and developer combo. Only then it is time to start changing the development, the iso rating or the developer ( Only one at a time; same Iso & same film different developer or same film, same developer, same iso , different dilution, you get the picture ...)<br /> After a few months you can really say that you 'll like this or that for the llok it has or that you've taken some other film so that you have more contrast. Or less.<br /> What ever you do, start with every thing standard, box speed, rcomended time and dilution for your film + developer. <br /> Do Not start with taking some film and rate it 1/2 box speed.<br>

And get a general purpose 400 iso film like HP5+, Fuji Neopan 400, Tri-X. Why? Because 400 iso you can use in and out doors on most day's where as 100 iso is too slow for indoor use and anything faster than iso 400 has too much grain.<br>

I know this is a plea for middle of the road photography, but you need to know the general, average lokk so that you can classify the more extreme push, or pull techniques. <br>

You need to know the baseline.</p>

 

<p>If grain and high contrast are what you want, develop a fast film, such as Delta 3200, in a grainy developer, such as Rodinal, and develop for longer than the recommended time.</p>

<p>Another vote for HP5</p>

<p>As a long time film user, I would recommend the following films for being the most forgiving whilst being <strong>"tasty"</strong>. Therefore before much ado, I present:</p>

<ol>

<li>Ekfe/Adox 100</li>

<li>Fuji NeoPan 400</li>

<li>FOMA 100</li>

<li>ILFORD Delta 3200</li>

<li>Kodak T-Max 400</li>

</ol>

<p>Furthermore, I suggest buying BW film in bulk (read 100 feet or more rolls) to maintain consistency and temperament. </p>

<p>Hope you have fun with emulsion. <br>

Abhijeet Shah</p>

<p>Tri-X, Ilford FP4, Agfa APX 100.</p>

<p>You could try R09 one shot with this film for your first steps.<br>

Agfa APX 100 or Rollei 100<br>

Agfa APX 400 or Rollei 400s<br>

Trix 400<br>

Foma 100 or 200<br>

Neopan 100 or Legacy 100<br>

Across 100<br>

Ilford hp5+ ( a little grainy)<br>

Ilford Pan F<br>

I am a beginner too and I use a lot of asa 400 films: rolleo 400s, ilford hp5+, trix 400, kodak 400 cn (this one is a C41 film), neopan 400, legacy 400 (is like neopan, but not a tgrain film).<br>

...and asa 100 sometimes, like rollei 100, across 100, tmax 100.<br>

Good luck! ;-)</p>

<p>Delta 400 is my favorite film, and it didn't take long for that to be the case. I'm getting to know TMax 400 as well and liking it a lot. </p>

<p>Tri-X<br>

Tri-X<br>

Tri-X<br>

Tri-X<br>

Tri-X</p>

<p>Michael J Hoffman</p>

<p>Here are the three I will use most often.<br /> Kodak Tri-x: 320/400 Classic film, nice grain, very forgiving(as other have said).<br>

Ilford Pan F: Smoothest, richest tones, slow, for best results try to expose properly or to the right.<br>

Ilford XP2 C41: Process, great film very nice rendition of B&W.<br>

This is a shot on XP2, just to give a sense of a what standard C-41 process B&W film can do. <br>

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4019/4350032121_1e97eb01f1_o.jpg</p>

<p>Top 5 films? That's not the best approach when you're just starting out with B&W.</p>

<p>Here's my recommendation:</p>

<ol>

<li>Go <a href="http://www.ilfordphoto.com/aboutus/download.asp?n=386">download and read this tutorial from Ilford </a> on how to process B&W film</li>

<li>Buy the equipment, buy the chemicals, buy a few rolls of HP-5</li>

<li>Shoot, develop, scan/print. Evaluate the results critically to really understand what the material and workflow is doing.</li>

</ol>

<p>Oh, and eventually you'll discover that Kodak TMY in Xtol is the most kick-ass B&W combination on the planet :-)</p>

<p>Please allow a simple question from a non native speaker:</p>

<p>Is a "kick-ass B&W combination" good or bad?</p>