EI for Ilford XP2

[david_craig1]

I understand theat Ilford XP2 can be rated at a wide range of speeds

but what EI would you recommend for a beginner? Thanks.

[sparkie]

safe bet: use what it says on the box: 400

 

but if its like Kodak T400CN then rating at 320 or 250 yields the best results.

process normal

[manh_le]

Try 200 ASA.

<p>

For mor info see

<p>

http://ilford.com/html/us_english/bw.html

[saotome_genma]

I get printable negs rating it anywhere between 50 and 800 iso, the better ones being arround 200.

[monsoonphoto.net]

I usually expose for 320, but others have reported it looks better at 200. I find that the negs look slightly muddy at 400.

[andreas_t]

ASA 200.

As mentionened before, it's muddyish at 400.

If you rate it lower, I think there are better films for that purpose.

 

Andreas

[eric friedemann]

E.I. 200.<div></div>

[Eddie1664878514]

Sorry. Can you clarify it is 200 and process as 400; or treat it as 200 all the way, in order to get the best result?

 

Thanks!

[eric friedemann]

Shoot at E.I. 200 and do not pull. Just use standard C-41 film processing.

[h.d._shin]

I don't recall who uploaded these test pix (they're not mine), but here's XP2 @ ISO800, standard processing:

[h.d._shin]

...at 400:

[h.d._shin]

... at 100:

[h.d._shin]

...at 50:

[h.d._shin]

Aw, heck. Sorry the files aren't in line. They're 500 pixels wide and <100Kb, so I'm not quite sure what the problem is.

 

To my eyes, anyway, the quality improves significantly from 400 to 100, then marginally from 100 to 50. Since seeing this, I've always shot XP2 at 100 -- it's very nice there.

[tommy_baker]

Rate at 250

 

Process Normal ie. 400

 

End-of-storey

[kbreak]

I've shot somewhere in the area of 10,000 photos with XP-1 and -2 rated at 250 tungsten and 320/400 daylight.

 

I never liked CN though it worked.

 

every single b/w photo in these links is rated that way.

 

www.kevinbreak.com

 

www.kevinbrake.com

 

all were C41 normal.<div></div>

[vrankin]

Kevin:

 

Is it just my old eyes, or did you do some dodging on the model in the photo above? It looks like it on the bridge immediately behind her. Not to nit-pick, but it would make a difference to know that in evaluating the film at that rating.

Howard

[james_fardon]

If you take spot meter readings of shadows where you want detail you can use the ISO speed of 400 (and benefit from slightly increased sharpness). If you are using incident or some kind of averaging meter then try EI 200 as a starting point as others have suggested. Metering technique is likely to vary considerably from individual to individual so adjust the EI to give the shadow detail you desire.