what are good B&W films for portraits?

when it comes to 35mm capture what are the best films for portrait work?

 

I need a fine-grained with good tonal qulaities that will scan nicely and

enlarge with minimal to no grain.

 

i'm mostly concerned with the scanning aspect of my post.

 

any suggestions?

Fomapan 100, developed in Kodak d-76 1+1 for 7.15min. Exposed at 80Iso this film has a

very nice tonality and very minimal grain. Beautiful film for medium format too...

Cheers

Andreas

Agfa APX 100.

Ilford Delta 100, Fuji Acros 100 or Tmax 100.

As much as I hate to say it, you might consider a relatively slow color negative film and then do a B&W conversion. While I still shoot b&w, I think that it's easier (not necessarily better, but certainly easier) to scan color negative film. You can use ICE processing to remove any scratches or dust spots and not have to to it all by hand. So if I know I'm going to be rushed for the results, I'll use color film.

 

Rob

yes! fomapan excellent? I'm starting to get into fomapan, I'll be shooting some within the next week so i'm gonna be able to test it out for myself.

 

has anyone ever used rolleipan 25 for portraits, does anyone know how this would fair for an important portrait job?

For scanning it's hard to do better than Ilford XP2 Super. And being a C41 process monochrome film you won't need to worry about the wet darkroom at all. Excellent skin tones with little effort.

 

Kodak's "Portra" labeled C41 process monochrome film was excellent too, but has been discontinued. I'm not sure if any currently available Kodak C41 monochrome film compares.

 

Otherwise, TMX was the finest grain film I've scanned, tho' other films in the ISO 100 range were all good. But TMX may not be to your taste for portraits.

I would have to agree with whats been said. T-Max 100 has a great curve & very fine grain. Illford XP-2* is really hard to match with a silver halide emulsion. Nikon 9000, glass carrier, SilverScan

 

*Depends heavily on the lab.

 

Michael

yeah! grain isn't the biggest thing that i'm worried about. I'm just looking for a film with long tonal range and grain fine enough to scan the film without it showing too much.

 

I've heard/read alot of negative things about the tmax emulsions concerning highlight rendering and tonal range. super-fine grain is great, but if you get mushy midtones and blocked highlights it doesn't matter for much.

 

these are just things i've heard.

anybody have experience in doing portraits with rolleipan 25? any examples?

Justin, I've done some portraits with Rollei Pan 25. I'll post a few examples.<div></div>

another<div></div>

Rollei Ortho 25 is also pretty nice and very sharp, but watch out because it can be very

unforgiving if a person has bad skin. It is renders grays a little different and isn't red

sensitive, so reds become black.<div></div>

Ekfe 25 is also worth mentioning, altho some people dislike it for it's spotty quality control.

I've never had bad results with it tho.<div></div>

I also have some examples of these films shot under studio lighting, let me know if you'd like

to see those. Good luck!

Justin: Yes the T Max and Delta films are too contrasty for portraits. You can use T Max 100 if you know the tricks and are in controlled studio light. My preference for medium format is Tri-X 320 shot at 125 and pulled. Remarkable. For 35 mm I have not seen anything great since Agfapan 25. The Rollei 25 is supposed to be the same but it is not. That film is OK, but I want more than OK for a film of that speed and price. I would stick with medium and large format for portraits, but if you must use 35mm you might try Ilford FP4, Pan F or Kodak Plus X.

FP4+, HP5+, Tri-X

I am surprised nobody except the above poster hasn't mentioned any Ilford films that much. Try Ilford PanF+50, I use it A LOT and love it. You have to know what your doing, as far as lighting and such, but it is a GREAT film. I have actually enlarged up to 16x20 in a wet print from PsnF+50 and had absoulutly no sign of grain at all. It was super sharp and very nice! I would second Lex with Xp2, it is great also! You said it best, that you need a really fine grain film and something that is going to make your photos sharp for portraits, so stick with the low ISO films, 50, 25, and 100 for the most part. I am not saying these are the best and only film to get good portraits, but they help you already cause they are fine grain films being very low ISO's. Lighting will be your only issue with these films, cause they are very NON sensitive to the light, so low light conditions are tough!

Anyway, just my 2cents.

 

Luke

an example of Rollei PAN 25

 

On the border of the river Waal.

Summicron 2,0/50mm

Rollei Pan 25 @ E.I.25 in AM50 1+29 5:00Min.

Ilford Pan F+ is another good choice. A lot of people think it be too contrasty... I don't necessarily think so, but shoot some and see what happens. Also, are you shooting in a studio under strobes or outdoors in natural light... indoors in natural light? I've found that when working in a studio with strobes, film is often too 'harsh' a look compared to digital.

Q: "what are the best films for portrait work?"

 

A: The one you know how to use best. Doesn't make any difference what it is. The key is you knowing how to expose and develop it.

Kodak BW400CN is still alive and available as a C-41 chromogenic option. It scans easily; has a broad tonal range compared to many of the above choices and is designed for serious portrait work!<p>

<p>

http://www.kodak.com/global/en/professional/products/films/bw400cn/main2.jhtml?id=0.2.26.14.17.20&lc=en

<p>

BW400CN is also an excellent B&W wedding film!

Otherwise, if you are looking for "gritty or edgy" journalistic portraiture, my favorite is Kodak Tri-X! <p>

FWIW: I also use Tmax100, Agfa & Ilford Delta 100 options. My best advice is to try 1 or 2 selections and practice with them lots! Many good choices, master 1 or maybe 2!

for the person who asked, I'm shooting in natural light 100% outdoors, I prefer to shoot in low-contrast lighting,lets say around 6:30 to 7:30pm

 

low sunlight and no shadows under the eyes,nose, lips or chin.

 

so i suppose i'm looking for a good portrait film to shoot in natural light. I'm gonna use medium format and 35mm. for medium format(6x6) i'll use tri-x or fomapan 100.

 

I'm leaning towards panF+ but i'm still alittle unsure

Definitely use a tripod, esp since you'll be working in the last bit of light currently out there.

Fast lenses could help, as could a model who could hold still if you need to do a longer

exposure, esp if you use Fomapan 100 or Pan F+

Pan F+ developed in Rodinal 1:50.

Delta 100 developed in DD-X or Perceptol 1:3