Neopan 400 Black and White "thin" negatives?

[bill_carriger2]

I realize this is very much a subjective situation, but has anyone

else felt that Fuji Neopan 400 B/W negatives look a little thin? It's

not anything dramatic, they just seem a little, well, "thin" to me

when viewed on my light box. Sorry I can't be more precise. I

develop in Sprint developer for the recommended time. It may be a

while before I get to print some of them. Just looking back through

my negative files it seems that other films appear a little heavier.

Anyway, I'm probably just being paranoid, but thought i'd ask.

[ann_clancy3]

are you talking about "thin" as in exposure, or thin as in film base?

 

If you mean thin as in exposure, what are you using as your EI, if 400, try 200 . This will add more exposure, if the "thinness " still exist you will need to increase your development time as well as that influences the contrast of the negative.

[john_stockdale2]

I think they tend to look "normal" and HP5+ negatives look rather dark to me. The proof is in the printing, of course. Do you have shadow detail, or are the shadows just empty?

[lol1]

I know what you mean -- looks different to Tri-X and HP5. I think it's because the film is single coated rather than double coated and consequently there is less tonal latitude (forgive this term but it's the best way of expressing it). If you dev Neopan 400 for too long the highlights easily block -- too short and it looks anemic. IMHO it just doesn't have the richness of Tri-X or HP5 but it does have finer grain and it's very sharp.

[christopher_colley]

I just developed some neopan 400 in Ilfosol-S for the 'normal' time and it seems completely normal to me. As expected.

[lex_jenkins]

Christopher, you may just have stumbled upon one of those occasional happy marriages of film and developer. Usually, in my experience, Ilfosol-S is good for ISO 100 and slower films but poops out rapidly and delivers grainy negs without full speed on ISO 400 films.

 

However, I once took some of my favorite portraits of friends using HP5+ at 800 in Ilfosol-S. The grain and lack of full tonal range somehow complemented these photos - to me, at least. Never know 'til ya try.