fine grain film

[morphone]

I'm looking for a high quality b&w film that yields incredibly small

grain... I'm thinking +/- ISO 50/60. do you have any recommendations?

 

any processing tips to ensure fine grains? my old photo teacher said

it was all in the agitation/film temp, but I'm sure there's more I

don't know.

[greg_deprow1]

kodak t-max 100. Although it is more difficult to process if you do it yourself.

[trooper]

For traditional style films, PanF+ would be a good

controllable emulsion and gives fine grain with easy to use

developers like D76. If finer grain is needed, a fine grain

developer can work (Microdol, etc).

 

I haven't tried it yet, but the new Agfa 100 is said to be

almost as fine grained as the old 25. You didn't say why

the grain aspect was important for you, but it's easy to get

mushy looking results when trying to smooth out grain and

end up with things that just don't look sharp. TechPan is

tricky to keep shadows open with, but is quite incredible

for holding sharpness and having virtually grainless

structure. In the right light and with careful technique

along with optics up to the task, you can get some amazing

images with it.

[scott_eaton]

Kodak Technical Pan is easily the finest grained, conventional B/W film available. Kodak Tmax 100 is next on the list.

 

Techpan can be tricky to develop, but TMX 100 is easy to process in a variety of different conventional developers. If you can't get decent results from hand processed TMX 100, you should take up a different hobby.

[lex_jenkins]

TMX - T-Max 100 - is the least finicky fine grain b&w film. Rumors of its persnickety nature are greatly exaggerated. Sure, it'll deliver finer grain with some developers than others. But I've been unable to produce nasty grain with the stuff.

 

It may be a bit picky in terms of getting a full tonal range, but it really only requires ordinary attention to temperature, time and agitation to produce excellent results. FWIW, I use Ilfosol-S, Ilford ID-11 (basically the same thing as Kodak D76, only a bit easier to mix up from powder IMHO) and even Rodinal.

 

I love the stuff. It's become my standard 100 speed b&w film for 35mm and medium format. While I also like Agfa APX 100 and, to a lesser extent, Delta 100, they're distant runners behind TMX. However in some of my "busier" fine art images - for example, landscapes rather than portraits - the tiny difference in grain is irrelevant. While I might be able to spot the grain difference against smooth skin tones, I can't in photos of trees, leaves, etc.

 

My only gripe about TMX: sometimes the negatives have virtually no grain to focus on when enlarging. I often have to focus on the edges of objects in the negatives, or use the sprocket holes or film data printed on the margins as focusing aids. That's damned fine grain.

 

Don't overlook other films that are more responsive to exposure and development variations, tho'. Fine grain isn't everything. You can get images from films ranging from Pan F to Tri-X that are superior in their own right for certain purposes simply due to their unique characteristics. Tri-X, especially versions available for medium and large format, can be incredibly fine grained.

[conrad_hoffman]

You say you're looking for fine grain. Is that because you want very smooth tones, or are you looking for extremely visually sharp pictures? Though you might think one follows the other, it doesn't always work that way. How big a print are we talking? TMX excels in the fine grain department, but may not deliver the sharpness and impact. FP4+ won't have as fine grain, but can deliver stunning edge quality and contrast in the details. Tech Pan can be tough to tame and most people don't stick with it over the long haul. Whatever you're using, don't overexpose, don't overagitate, match the solution temperatures, including the wash, as closely as possible, process at 68F, maybe stay all alkaline (TF-4 fixer or similar), and don't print on too high a grade of paper. Investigate non-solvent developers and be sure to use a tripod. When the film quality is very high, slight defects in focusing or camera motion that would go unnoticed with faster films, really stand out.

[jschweigl]

Have a look at that page, interesting text on grain and sharpness: <a href="http://www.8x11film.com/spur/engmikrofilm.html">Agfa Copex & Spur Nanospeed developer</a>

[pete_andrews]

<i>"my old photo teacher said it was all in the agitation/film temp"</i> - If they really said that, then they shouldn't be teaching photography!<p>Try Ilford PanF+. It's really easy to develop, and almost impossible to get anything but fine grain with it. Tmax-100 is a bit more sensitive to what developer you use.<p>As for Tech pan, well, how much time and film do you want to waste?

[scott_walton2]

Pan F+ and Divided D76 is awesome.

[chris_waller]

Ilford Pan F or 100 TMax . My current favourite is 100 Tmax rated

at 50 ASA and devved in Rodinal 1:50 for 6.5 minutes (for a

condenser head). Fine grain is primarily dependent upon the

film speed, but the developer will have a significant effect. Ilford

Perceptol is an excellent ultra fine-grain developer.

[peza]

See 4000DPI scan of T-MAX-100 in T-MAX, very simillar result in ID-11.<div></div>

[MTC Photography]

The finest BW film is Technical Pan film. It can be enlarged to about 25x-30x with no visible grains. <p>

Agfa Copex is sligthly grainier than TP, about the same as Agfa APX 25. PanF+ is grainier than Apx 25.<p>

Another fine grain film is Tura Pan film,(sold as Bluefire police

film developed with Bluefire developer.

[alessandro_gallai]

It may sound strange, but my personal suggestion is AgfaOrtho 25 in Rodinal 1+25 (about 6 minutes, anyway the same time reported for 1+10) or @50 ASA, in 2 baths, Rodinal 1+150 13~15 minutes, plus Rodinal 1+25 2 minutes.

 

Of course, it's orthochromatic, therefore not sensible to red, but the grain is absolutely zero (I think RMS 5 or 6).

The second bath gives a wider grey range, whereas the first one offers some more contrast.

[dave_ender]

Try Efke 25 and 50 or Gigabitfilm ISO 40 (Agfa Copex with developer included)