What speed do you rate Ilford?

[jim_gardner4]

<p>I have been using quite a bit of MF Delta 100 and Pan F (50) recently and was wondering what speed most people rate it at? To get good negs I have to rate Delta 100 at 50 iso and Pan F 50 at 25 iso using ID11 1+1. I would prefer not to change developer if possible.</p>

[trooper]

<p>Your experience with these combos mirror mine... You might want to invest a small amount in a Stouffer wedge. I use the RZ-9 attached to a Kodak gray card and include this in a frame. If I'm getting separation in zone I and II, I can usually tell that I'm at the correct exposure index. This is basically the old "expose for the shadows, develop for the highlights" approach but it will get you in the ballpark when trying out new film/developer combinations.</p>

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[leicaglow]

<p>For all my cameras, I use all Ilford films at rated speed. I use Rodinal, Xtol, and DD-X usually with Delta films.</p>

[iliafarniev]

<p>The DELTAS are very toleyrant and +or - 2/3ev exp gives me almost same neg tho may vary a bit in some developers. Pan F is more tight, i used to run it in Rodinal exp at 25 - 32 ISO judging after the lights.</p>

[johnmyers]

<p>It totally depends on what scene I am shooting and what kind of contrasts I am looking for. If I am shooting night scenes with Pan F and want detail in the deep shadows, I'll expose it at ISO 20 and develop in D-76 1:2 for 8.5 minutes @70F. If the scene is exceptionally contrasty without many midtones to muddy, I may develop at 1:3, adjust development time accordingly and do a semi-stand or dilute/static process. If the scene is an overcast day, I may shoot at ISO 50 and even introduce a yellow or orange filter...maybe even a red, if it's REALLY gray but Pan F is naturally fairly contrasty. It totally depends on the contrast you wish to achieve, so you must test your film and development to see what changes give you the look you want. Your metering technique must be accurate and consistant to get any sort of results to learn from.</p>

[andre_noble5]

<p>"For all my cameras, I use all Ilford films at rated speed. I use Rodinal, Xtol, and DD-X usually with Delta films."</p>

<p>Did you ever have anyone knowlegeable look at your negatives to make sure you are not underexposing?<br>

Most people in the know ignore box speeds for B&W film.</p>

 

 

[erie_patsellis]

<p>To do an EI determination properly, you need to use a densitometer to determine the proper exposure for a zone I exposure density of .1 over Film Base + Fog. So to properly determine EI you really need a transmission densitometer. Additionally, you determine your contrast index (CI) by varying development. Typical ideal CI is 1.2 for diffusion enlargers, and ~1.0 or so for condensor (From memory) Best bet would be to buy Ansel Adams series of 3 books and spend some time reading.<br>

My EI will be meaningless to anybody else, unless I expose and develop their film. The determination of EI accounts for metering differences, exposure and development variations.<br>

Depending on what film I'm using, I tend to place my shadows on Zone IV instead of III, as the newer films have a long, straight response curve (Tmax has an especially long straight line). Doing this lets you decide where your black point will be when printing, allowing you more flexibility to interpret the negative.</p>