Are there RC papers with contrast close to Ilford's current MGV ?

[Juan Valdenebro]

For students...
Thanks!

 

[Pat Erson]

"Kentmere is very close to MGV for contrast range and spacing"
I concur.

I'd venture to say Ilford modeled its MGV on the Kentmere RC papers... which imho was a very bad idea.
I surely miss the old MGIV and its remarkable scale of gray tones. With the MGV paper you have blacks, whites, and very little in between.

 

[Don_ih]

Foma makes rc paper that has great contrast. Fomaspeed. There aren't really a lot of choices. Ilford and Foma seem to make everyone else's paper (except for Adox). Who else makes paper?

 

[RalphLambrecht]

Foma makes rc paper that has great contrast. Fomaspeed. There aren't really a lot of choices. Ilford and Foma seem to make everyone else's paper (except for Adox). Who else makes paper?

There is a long list but Ilford's quality is Hart to beat.

 

[pentaxuser]

"Kentmere is very close to MGV for contrast range and spacing"
I concur.

I'd venture to say Ilford modeled its MGV on the Kentmere RC papers... which imho was a very bad idea.
I surely miss the old MGIV and its remarkable scale of gray tones. With the MGV paper you have blacks, whites, and very little in between.

I wonder what prints of each kind of paper i.e. the MGIV and MGV in half grades would show? Is blacks. whites and very little in between a true reflection of what sounds to be a very stark and serious flaw in a new paper that purports to have real advantages of the old MGIV

pentaxuser

 

[pentaxuser]

Thanks, michael_r What you have written is my understanding as well which led me to wonder why the OP to whom I replied felt that his summary was a real reflection of what he saw in his comparison of the two versions of Ilford's MG paper, hence my question

It might be that his experience and results from the new stuff was as he states in which case could there be any helpful advice we can give or is this based on an accurate description of what he sees no matter what he did when using it?

If it is the latter then so be it and that's the end of the matter but we won't know until someone asks the question.

If I see a statement on anything about photographic material that seems to be at odds with what I have read and seen from other comparisons between the 2 papers then my curiosity usually forces me to ask for more details.

pentaxuser

 

[MattKing]

If someone has gone to the effort of fine-tuning their negatives to the response of a particular paper, a change in the paper will result in both changes to how you print and changes on how you expose and develop your negatives.

 

[Juan Valdenebro]

Thanks, michael_r What you have written is my understanding as well which led me to wonder why the OP to whom I replied felt that his summary was a real reflection of what he saw in his comparison of the two versions of Ilford's MG paper, hence my question

It might be that his experience and results from the new stuff was as he states in which case could there be any helpful advice we can give or is this based on an accurate description of what he sees no matter what he did when using it?

If it is the latter then so be it and that's the end of the matter but we won't know until someone asks the question.

If I see a statement on anything about photographic material that seems to be at odds with what I have read and seen from other comparisons between the 2 papers then my curiosity usually forces me to ask for more details.

pentaxuser

Hi pentax, OP here... I think there was some kind of confusion: I have not compared MGIV and V but I've used both, and they are not wildly different to my eye (wonderful details, Michael!).
I asked because as I use Fomatone (fiber) I have foma RC too, for lots of strips and tests while using fiber foma, and it behaves far from Ilford papers...
I want to know which papers are close to Ilford in range and filters use (ilford MG filters always), to know what I can buy from local sellers when they're out of ilford rc, so students can keep doing only the final prints on Ilford fiber...
It seems kentmere ones are close in behaviour as some members said.

 

[pentaxuser]

Sorry Juan for the confusion which was my fault. I should have named the poster in question, Pat Erson whom I quoted and not used the letters OP which means Original Poster which was yourself

pentaxuser

 

[Juan Valdenebro]

Never mind, it's always great to have your knowledge and opinions around. I think I've read most of your posts here, and we've often asked the same things through the years...
Have a good day!

 

[grainyvision]

"Kentmere is very close to MGV for contrast range and spacing"
I concur.

I'd venture to say Ilford modeled its MGV on the Kentmere RC papers... which imho was a very bad idea.
I surely miss the old MGIV and its remarkable scale of gray tones. With the MGV paper you have blacks, whites, and very little in between.

Not sure what paper you're using, but that is not at all my experience with MGV. It is much more responsive to different developers than MGIV, maybe you're using a poorly matching developer for it? This is in custom developer GVL1, a PQ warmtone developer

I personally like Arista EDU Ultra (brand name Foma) as a cheap RC paper, it behaves quite different than MGV though, with increased contrast grade shifting the midpoint more than it does with MGV