Which film do you use?

[Aoresteen]

<p>All you need is Ilford HP-5. End of story.</p>

[mjferron]

<p>Big question. I shoot B&W film only and It's either Delta 100 or Arista Premium 400. (Tri-x) For what I do they cover all the bases. Delta is a superb slow film. Low grain and very sharp. The Arista covers all my faster needs and has a near unbeatable tonality. I'm experimenting shooting Delta 100 @ 200. Tmax developer seems to be able to pull enough detail out of the shadows to make this worth while as a hand holding option. Early results show that film/ISO/developer combo is much finer grained than Arista 400 which I usually rate at 200 anyway.</p>

[c.carty]

<p>Kodak TMAX 400 (the newest version, released a couple of years ago) - scans really well. Have used a few developers with it - ID-11 and Rodinal - both work well. It is heavy on the fixer though - needs to be up to temp and a few more minutes than traditional films.</p>

[ralph_jensen]

<p>Over the past couple of years more than 1,000 photographers have responded to a <a href="http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=50837">poll</a> at rangefinderforum.com asking "Which b&w 400 film?" Tri-X came in first, followed by HP5+, then Fuji Neopan 400, then TMax 400, then Delta 400.</p>

<p>Not particularly scientific, but some of the comments/recipes in that thread may be helpful.</p>

<p> </p>

[fld]

<p>OK, I wll provide yet another suggestion. I have been shooting theChina made "Great Moments" 35mm film for several yearsnow, and it works very well in my cams. shoot theASA/ISO 200 variety. </p>

[john_kwok]

<p>I switched over to the new TMAX 400 a few years ago and have never looked back, though I may use occasionally, Fuji Neopan 400, Ilfod HP5 Plus, and Ilford Delta 400. Here's some examples of recent work I did last month with TMAX400:<br>

<a href="http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=55680&id=1045985586&l=7286cd7865">http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=55680&id=1045985586&l=7286cd7865</a><br>

(Pictures taken at New York City's Easter Parade over a span of an hour last month on Fifth Avenue in New York, NY. Counted only five photographers working with film, and all of us were using rangefinders; in my case, a Contax G2 for color work and a Leica M6 for black and white. Am not kidding that the first photographer I met was none other than Mary Ellen Mark and she was absolutely thrilled to see me working in film, noting that digital doesn't cut it. She, herself, was shooting with a Mamiya 7II.)<br>

If I want to go slower in black and white, then I'll use Fuji ACROS 100, which, has such wonderful tonality to it; if I want to go faster, then it's Fuji Neopan 400. I don't photograph much in color, but have shifted between various Kodak Ektachrome 100 and Fuji Provia and Velvia 100. Haven't tried Kodak Ektar 100, only because I haven't found a suitable opportunity yet.<br>

</p>

 

[john_kwok]

<p>I actually meant to say Neopan 1600 for lowlight work in black and white. As for 400 speed films, I enjoyed using Agafan 400 when it was still available, and even found that preferable to Ilford HP5 Plus, which I regarded as my old standby (in lieu of Tri-X).</p>

[anthony_brookes5]

<p>I notice no one else seems to have mentioned Ilford XP2 400. Am I missing something, because I have used all the others with no better results but XP2 can be rated at anything from 100 to 400 ASA with no degradation ?</p>

[john_kwok]

<p>Anthony,<br>

<br />Your Ilford Black and White film (and its Kodak equivalent), is a C-41 color negative monochromatic film that can be processed only in a commercial photo lab. Strictly speaking, it isn't a "true" black and white film like the others mentioned here.<br>

<br />Sincerely,<br>

<br />John</p>

<p> </p>

[dimitris_georgopoulos1]

<p>Cody,<br>

For B&W Kodak Tri-X forever, pushed up to 800 ASA (ISO), for night shots Fuji Neopan 1600 pushed up to 3200.<br>

Additinally for B&W for very well control of contrast and smooth tones for portraits, dreamy landscapes you can try AGFA PAN 100 and 400; are very fine at their nominal ISO only. <br>

For color transparencies Kodak Ektachrome 100 and Fuji Provia 400x and if you shoot macro Velvia 50.<br>

For color negatives Portra 160/ 400 and of course 800 pushed to 1600.<br>

Ilford HP5-Plus is still a very good alternative to Tri-X having a special character of its own. For very fine grain Ilford Pan-F, 50 ASA and Kodak Plus-X 125ASA, if it is still around.<br>

Of course the good old developers like the May & Baker Promicrol are not around any more but the existing ones are just fine. Rodinal is doing an excellent job especially with the Neopan 1600.<br>

If you wish your films to be developed in a lab in C41 process then Kodak BC400 and Ilford XP2 chromogenic films, are fine and easily pushed. You should watch them in the scanning process though.<br>

No digital conversion can compete with a B&W film scanned at 4000dpi and printed carefully on a good inkjet printer. Leica lenses both M and R simply "shine".<br>

Happy shooting.<br>

Dimitris V. Georgopoulos<br>

Athens, Greec</p>

[cody_moore1]

<p>Thanks again everyone. I just tried the Kodak Ektar 100 in the Leica IIIA 5 cm Summar and I am very impressed with the quality. I will have to try out the HP5 as well, some more experience with different black white films would be good for me. Thanks again for helping out a newbie</p><div></div>

[steve_bellayr]

<p>You should have a range of film stored in your refrigerator. Choose the film based upon the condition and the subject that you are photographing. For me if the light is mixed or indoor I choose a B&W film with higher ISO. For outdoors depending upon lighting condition I choose the appropriate film for the subject. If traveling to an area or if you live in an area with a lot of light choose ISO 100. </p>

[richard_francisco]

I use fuji velvia 50 when I shoot outdoors. I also use kodak BW400CN a lot. Last time I was in Asia, I came across lucky B&W film and was pleasantly surprised. I also came across kodak ultima 100 which I later discovered was made for the Asian market. I use it to shoot people.

[lezec]

<p>B&W (80% of my works) ... Tri-X Only.<br>

Color ... D200 mostly, Kodak Pro Foto 100 once in a blue moon.</p>

 

[clive1]

<p>Acros for 100 and Tri-X for everything else; develop in D-76.</p>

[anthony_brookes5]

<p>John Kwok - XP2 is simple to procees at home at normal temperatures. I have done it for years. It is just a bonus that it is also processed by chemists if you are not so inclined.</p>