Delta 100

panchromatic · Apr 11, 2005

I just got about 60 rolls of this (135-36) and wanted the opinion of people A) the film itself, the good/bad, what to rate it at etc etc and B) developer of choice. I've shot it before, but only a few times, and i shoot delta 400 more often.

thanks in advance

(PS. i know its crazy to pull the trigger on 60 rolls of film when you've never tried it, but i work at a camera store and it just went out of date, means i get it dirt ass cheep, even if i dont' like it i can always sell it to my friends/kids in my school)

Tom Hoskinson · Apr 11, 2005

Excellent film, enjoy it! Pyrocat-HD works very well with it as does Rodinal. I personally rate it at 80 - your mileage may differ.

panchromatic · Apr 11, 2005

Tom Hoskinson said:
Excellent film, enjoy it! Pyrocat-HD works very well with it as does Rodinal. I personally rate it at 80 - your mileage may differ.

I have a question about pyrocat-hd, who makes it? I want to try it.

Tom Hoskinson · Apr 11, 2005

Many of us mix our own. Sandy King has published the formula.

You can buy a pre-measured kit from Artcraft. Pre-mixed wet chemistry is available from Bostick and Sullivan and Photographers Formulary.

Tom Hoskinson · Apr 12, 2005

Here is the URL for Sandy King's Pyrocat-HD formula:

http://unblinkingeye.com/Articles/Pyrocat/pyrocat.html

david b · Apr 12, 2005

xtol baby....

Thomassauerwein · Apr 12, 2005

XTOL! I think they are made for each other. I rate at 100 asa process at 72 degrees for 11 minutes.

Daniel Lawton · Apr 12, 2005

Here's another vote for Xtol! Great sharpness, resolution and fine grain with this combo.

brent8927 · Apr 12, 2005

I love Delta 100. The only other B&W film I like is the Delta 3200, which of course gives a much different look. I develop both in TMax developer, which probably wouldn't be most people's first choice, but it is free because my school supplies it. I've tried other developers and I really never noticed a difference. However, I did notice a big difference when I developed the 3200 in Pyro developer... I forget which one, but it was the normal "introductory" one, and it had the nice effect of staining the negative, which turns it green and hides grain. Unfortunately the main reason I liked the 3200 was because of the grain. I never used the pyro with the Delta 100 but I'd imagine it would work nicely... (and it lasts forever too!)

modafoto · Apr 12, 2005

It's my main portrait film for B&W in the studio.

I rate it @ 100 and develop in Rodinal 1+50 for 12 minutes (11-14 depending on the contrast I want).

Morten

Max Power · Apr 12, 2005

Like the other respondents, I love Delta-100. The one thing that I've noticed, though is that when it's spectacular, it's spectacular...When you make slight errors, either in exposure or processing, though, it's not very tolerant. I've found it to be really sharp and contrasty.

For my part, in 35mm I have had great success with it, in part because the meter in my camera is reliable and predictable. I've only tried ID-11, DD-X and Rodinal because that is all that I have access to. FWIW I think that Rodinal is OK, but ID-11 and DD-X are incredible with Delta-100.

As always, though, YMMV.

Kent

Leon · Apr 12, 2005

i get gorgeous grain free smooth tones and sharp edges with delta 100 at ei 80 in perceptol 1:3 at 24 degrees.

tbm · Apr 12, 2005

Microdol-X diluted 1:3 at 74-75 degrees for 17 minutes: gorgeous tonality and sharpness!

CLAPhoto · Apr 12, 2005

I like it better then T-max although I prefer the older emulsions like Tri-x and FP4. I rate it at 80 and develop in Diafine.

mark · Apr 12, 2005

I have damn near grainless 11x14 enlargements from 35mm delta 100, processed in ilfosol and D-76. If it came in 5x7 I would shoot no other film. Love the stuff. I found it to be pretty much fool proof. This means that the fool using it is going to have a hard time screwing it up. I'm living proof

Ornello · Apr 12, 2005

panchromatic said:
I just got about 60 rolls of this (135-36) and wanted the opinion of people A) the film itself, the good/bad, what to rate it at etc etc and B) developer of choice. I've shot it before, but only a few times, and i shoot delta 400 more often.

thanks in advance

(PS. i know its crazy to pull the trigger on 60 rolls of film when you've never tried it, but i work at a camera store and it just went out of date, means i get it dirt ass cheep, even if i dont' like it i can always sell it to my friends/kids in my school)

The film is superb. The best developer for it is undoubtedly Paterson FX-39. Nothing else comes close. Try 1+ 16 dilution for 7 minutes to start with @ 20C/68F

The new Fuji Neopan 100 Across, however, does seem to have greater sensitivity to green. Comparison tests made last autumn showed lighter grass tones with the latter. Graininess is very similar.

Jim Chinn · Apr 12, 2005

XTOL at 1-2. EI 80.
Pyrocat HD EI 100

It is by far the film I use the most in 35mm. I agree with Thomas that XTOL and Delta 100 is a pretty unbeatable combo. When talk of the Ilford problems first arose, I was about ready to pull the trigger on ordering a couple hundred rolls.

Pyrocat is also a good choice especially for high contrast situations.

bobmatthews · Apr 12, 2005

I like the film and I have been pleased with TMax developer. I seems that there is less grain with TMax, which I prefer.

m_liddell · Apr 13, 2005

It seems to be a popular film and many people like it. I tried delta 100 in ilfosol (perhaps not the best dev) and also had a lab do a roll by hand (don't know the dev) and got pretty visible grain on 9x6 prints and horrible tonality from both rolls. I didn't bother to persevere with it any further and ditched it.

I've now decided on acros at 80 in pyrocat.

aligndont · Apr 13, 2005

another very satisfying combination is edwal fg7 1:15 ( sodium sulfite ) with Delta 100. Beautiful tonality, great sharpness, and super fine grain. Also home brew microdol x ( D23 with 7.5 grams of sodium bisulfite per liter )diluted 1:3 at ie 100 for 22 min. @ 68 F 30 sec initial agitation and 10 sec/minute thereafter works very well. All the other developers mentioned above work very well.

panchromatic · Apr 14, 2005

Thank you EVERYONE for your comments, i'm sure i'll have LOTS of film to experiment with different developers such.

Thanks!

Maine-iac · Apr 14, 2005

panchromatic said:
Thank you EVERYONE for your comments, i'm sure i'll have LOTS of film to experiment with different developers such.

Thanks!

I use a home-brewed Phenidone/Ascorbic acid developer: ISO 50, 6:30 at 72 degrees. Excellent film, though I'm beginning to favor Fuji ACROS because of its smoother and creamier tonal look.

Larry

titrisol · Apr 14, 2005

D100 is a very good film, even though I never cared for that "technical" look.

It can be processed succesfully in almost any developer, and each folk will give you a dev/temp/time/agitation combo that THEY like. So let's narrow the field down:
- Which developers do you normally use?
- Which developers do you have access to?
- Would you mix your own or use store-bought?

IMHO DD-X is the developer for Delta films, but ID-11/D76 should work as well.

One word of caution about Delta films, they tend to exhaust fixer really fast!

panchromatic said:
I just got about 60 rolls of this (135-36) and wanted the opinion of people A) the film itself, the good/bad, what to rate it at etc etc and B) developer of choice. I've shot it before, but only a few times, and i shoot delta 400 more often.

thanks in advance

(PS. i know its crazy to pull the trigger on 60 rolls of film when you've never tried it, but i work at a camera store and it just went out of date, means i get it dirt ass cheep, even if i dont' like it i can always sell it to my friends/kids in my school)

panchromatic · Apr 14, 2005

titrisol said:
D100 is a very good film, even though I never cared for that "technical" look.

It can be processed succesfully in almost any developer, and each folk will give you a dev/temp/time/agitation combo that THEY like. So let's narrow the field down:
- Which developers do you normally use?
- Which developers do you have access to?
- Would you mix your own or use store-bought?

IMHO DD-X is the developer for Delta films, but ID-11/D76 should work as well.

One word of caution about Delta films, they tend to exhaust fixer really fast!

Mostly i've used D76, but lately have experimented with Rodinal and like it. As far as access, I could potentially get anything (i work at a camera store, what i couldn't get there i could order from B&H, Adorama, and such) Ususally I buy the developer in powder or liquid form and mix as indicated.

I won't be just bringing delta 100, i'll bring some slower and fast films, but mostly delta 100.

avpman · Apr 15, 2005

Great film!!!

Great film...if not somewhat touchy every once in a while. Killer sharpness, nice grain. I also like Acros 100 alot, perhaps if I had to choose just one film (that would suck) I'd pick Acros 100.

Delta 100

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