CN 400 B&W

[braxus]

I have shot a roll of Kodaks current C-41 B&W 400 speed film. I like the film for shooting in high contrast lighting such as sunlight, and such. And it scans very well with very small grain. Anyways can someone mention what they think the closest traditional B&W film might be (whether current or discontinued) in terms of its lower contrast. I heard Verichrome Pan may be the closest thing, but want to hear from others what they think. Thing is I need a good B&W thats traditional, but can also be shot in sunlight with people. Reason is I still prefer using 120 at times and I want it on true B&W papers. CN 400 will do in situations where I need a scan more then prints. I still have a couple rolls of Verichrome Pan Im saving, but want to hear others comments first. I like traditional B&W films for their archival quality, something the CN B&W films with dyes lack. Its just I've shot some other B&W films in sunlight with models and found contrast was too high in that kind of light. I want to use the available light as well and not have to carry a flash or reflector board.

 

[TheFlyingCamera]

I have shot the 400 CN film and printed it on traditional fiber-based VC paper with no difficulty. I shoot it at ISO 100, which yields a dense negative, and the associated long print exposure times, but it works, and does quite well for human subjects in sunlight. If you want a more traditional film to use, shoot FP4+ or the Fomapan 200, rate them at 64(FP4+) or 100(Fomapan), and then adjust the development time to control highlight contrast.