B&W Film Recommendations for 120?

[snegron]

Thanks for all the suggestions and feedback! I will be placing an order for a few rolls this weekend. I think it is really great that many of you have taken the time to share your experiences with one particular film or another, both positive and negative experiences. This actually helps narrow down the choices. I know there is not one "magic film" that will suite all my needs, but the insight provided by many of you will steer me in the right direction in order to get closer to the results I am looking for.

As for the grain visible in the print, IMO I think it looks ok for certain mood effects. For years P.D. (Pre-Dig%#*), I wanted to produce an image with as little visible grain as possible. I always admired (more like drooled over)images shot with large format cameras (4x5, 8x10, etc) not just for their tonal ranges, but for their seemingly lack of grain. Since large format is out of my price range (but will always be the Holy Grail of photography to me), the next best thing is 120 film. At least I can hope to get a decent 11"x14" print from a 120 negative.

Other than curling issues, are some B&W films more scratch resistent than others? I know that there is no such thing as scratch resistant film, but some do scratch easier than others. Many of the images I shoot will be placed in one of those rectangular light emitting image copying devices that convert the negative film image into non-analog data, and a more scratch resistent film would be very helpful.

 

[PepMiro]

HP5+ souped in a staining developer is superb even at a high level of enlargement. FP4+ is also an excellent choice. I like them for their rich tonality although there are not the only ones with similar performances.

 

[fhovie]

There really is something about FP4+ - Maybe it is because I have a condenser enlarger without a uv filter - I am not sure of the uv sensitivity of Forte Elegance grade 2 but interestingly, at a density of .8 for ortho - the uv reading at the same point is 1.25 when using pyrocat p. The negatives look thinner than I would like but they print great. That staining effect ... FP4 stains better than most I think - better mid tones than many other films I have used.

 

[nworth]

If you already use black and white sheet film and are happy, try the same thing in 120. If you use black and white in 35 mm, the roll film of the same name may be a bit different, but it will be close enough for you to try. If you don't now use black and white, start with something common (Tri-X, TMAX-100, FP4+, and HP5+ come to mind rapidly; XP2 is another excellent possibility, although different in nature from the others). I think I would lean toward Tri-X, but that's just me.

 

[mono]

My film of choice at the moment is Acros souped in Rodinal!

 

[rusty71]

There really is something about FP4+ - Maybe it is because I have a condenser enlarger without a uv filter -.

I have to agree with the above poster. FP-4+ looks much better in 120 than any other film. Delta 100 is a very close second. I use Ilford's DD-X per the bottle instructions, and the mid-tones really sing. No need to use anything exotic to get good FP-4+ negs in medium format.

I also enjoy using Efke 50 for the same reason-fantastic mid-tones that just glow. Have fun!