Magnolia stellata

Yup, that Ikonta's gonna deliver the goods just fine. This and the daffodils show me the most subtle tone separation. My unit is much older (532/16 from 1936). I just love it.

Thank you. I was actually very pleasantly surprised. I hadn't developed a film (until recently) since about 1994 but I still had the equipment stored in boxes. I actually used to avoid Ilford HP5 because when I used it all those years ago it seemed rather grainy and seemed too harsh. Perhaps it was my darkroom technique or the chemicals I used. I seem to remember rather a lot of drinking (not sensible) went on the darkroom and I tended to use cheap chemicals as well (I was a student after all). These pictures have exceeded my expectations especially as it was dull, overcast day and fairly late in the afternoon. Perhaps that has been to my advantage as well. Like most people I tend to want to go out in sunny weather but maybe that can lead to a loss of subtlety in the tonal range?

Those with way more skill than I would say every kind of light is useable - but suits different subjects & perspectives. I want the soft light of a gray day when I will be shooting a high contrast subject or one with lots of subtle tones. I don't know if your film in '94 was 120 or not. If it was 35, the grain would be understandable. 'Makes me glad that you're enjoying the old glass. I don't have a full complement of filters for mine, so there are conditions its not well suited for, but when I want resolution without maximum edge sharpness, No lens I own will outdo that old zeiss lens. Congrats on picking a winner.