hp5 plus or forte 200 +abc +azo

I am at a point where i have to make a bulk order of 8x10 film for

my projects for the next 6 months or so. I will primarily be doing

portrait based work and am torn between using forte 200 or hp5

plus processed in abc pyro and contacted on azo. I am awaiting

an order of azo which i will not have time to properly test with

these films before i make my order. ( the difficulty is that living in

Australia most 8x10" film is on indent order & takes 3 months for

a shipment to arrive.

So my question is ...... for the few that may have tried both of

these films in abc pyro & printed on azo were there any huge

differences between the results? I am tempted by the extra

speed of hp5+ for my available light portraits but if Forte 200 or

its apparent twin Bergger 200 produce a noticably richer image

or nicer skin tones etc i would possibly do without the extra

speed.

I will not be photographing in overly high contrast light so I would

assume the extra latitude of the forte film may not be that much

of an advantage.

Any opinions?

thanks.

Matthew

hi there from Kiwiland.......we can get Forte 200 8x10 off the shelf here, one box at a time. You may want to contact the importer, here's their website <a href="http://www.euroconz.com"> Euroco </a>

<p>

With airmail you could have it in a few days.

Hi Matthew,

I recently tested Hp5 and Bergger 200 in abc. Both films do very well.

I rated hp5 at 200 and Bergger 200 at 50.I made nearly identical prints on grade 2 Azo of a sceen that had a 10 stop range. I will be sticking with hp5 for my own needs. I like the extra 2 stops of speed. If you need to punch your film much past n+1 the Bergger may be better. I don't know if Forte 200 if the same emulsion as Bfp200 or not.

Bill Bartels

Hi Mathew,

I shoot 8x10 portraits on HP5+/ABC with great results, and would really miss the extra speed over a 200 speed film. As it is, with correction for effective aperture at near 1:1 focus distances, I rate HP5+ @ EI 100, which is as slow as I'm willing to go for available light portraits. The midtone separation is beautiful, the shadows are rich and the highlights are delicately differentiated. I'm sorry I can't offer a comparison, but I'm very happy with HP5+.-jdf