400iso Pan F +

I have been shooting ilford film for the last 2 years now, and having shot at least 2000 photos I have realized that most of the ones I like in terms of tonality and depth where shot on ilfords pan F +. I have tried delta 100 and 400 but for some reason the grays look flatter. Does ilford make a higher speed version of Pan F + ? Like a 400iso version for example ? I would like to get a faster film (for the times 50iso is to slow) with the same tonal characteristics of Pan F +.

I develop in Ilford DDX and i'm wondering if maybe this developer causes other films to have a flatter grayscale but leaves pan F+ alone. Does the use of distilled water cause problems with modern films ?

I have not really tried the HP series of films enough, how are they compared to delta 100 or 400 ?

Am I maybe using the wrong developer (ddx) on the modern films that causes grayscale this flatness ? Any recommendations here ? Any tips would be great.

Thank you in advance.

Please correct me if I'm wrong. Pan F should belong to the same family as FP4 and HP5.

HP5 is a good medium speed film, will have a wider tonal range and will be easier to push/pull than the Deltas.
Give it a spin using DD-X, good combo. Try bracketing +/- 1/2, 1 stop for you to determine the speed of your film/developer/developing method combo.

IMHO HP5 tends to be a bit flat too, I like to overdelop it a 5-10% to give it more snap.. or simply print using grade 3-1/2 paper

Pan F is my favourite as well. From what you have said I'd go with the HP5+. I pull it to 200 and push it up to 1600 but it still behaves beautifully. I also like FP4+ but it hasn't the punch of HP5+.

I did use DD-X for all my films but now reserve it for anything over 400, as you say it does give a grey less contrasty look and the grain is quite fluffy. I recently switched to Rodinal (as many here already know) and have fallen in love with it for everything from ISO 25 to ISO 400, but it's a matter of taste.

Tony

You're not going to get a fast film with tonal qualities similar to Pan F+, which these days is pretty unique. Pan F+ and HP5+ have distinct personalities which make them quite different from everything else (and each other -- they don't resemble each other at all). You might try Delta 100 in Rodinal, dilute XTOL, or Ilfosol S, all of which I think look better than DD-X, but that still won't get you the Pan F+ look. If it's the fine grain and contrast you like you might try TMX -- but that has its own unique look which you may or may not like. Just don't use TMax developer.