do LF shooters use 400 speed film often?

[removed account4]

i do all the time barry
i over expose it and over develop it
and LOVE the results
i also like to use it because 400 ( i rate it at 300 or 200 )
offers me 1 more stop if i am photographing an interior..

( and there is NO uv blocking layer ! )

john

 

[Adrian Twiss]

I use a lot if 400 (HP5 rated at 320) as I need a fairly fast shutter speed on the gray days that we tend to have in the UK. However recently I have been experimenting with Fomapan 100 (rated at 50) and actually like the contrast I am getting with it. On a still day I now use as slow a film as I can get away with. I have a very old meniscus lens mounted in a modern press shutter that really needs to be used wide open to get the full effect. When its very bright these slow films come in very handy.

 

[pgomena]

I have used Tri-X 320 for decades. For my process, it gets rated at EI 160, so it's not substantially faster than FP4+, which I rate at 80-125 depending on the scene. I have used T-Max 400 in 4x5, and I like it, but I haven't used it lately. I don't find myself needing the faster film these days. My exposures tend to be long.

Peter Gomena

 

[ath]

The new Adox version of APX400 should be available in sheet film fairly soon and it's supposed to be an improvement of Agfa/Retro 400

Ian

You are right but Retro400s is not Retro400.

 

[John Kasaian]

400film? Of course! Especially in 8x10 and also in smaller formats shot handheld. I need all the help I can get!

 

[Usagi]

I use 400 with 4x5 but for 8x10 i am waiting adox 400 or some other cheaper alternative as hp5+ is too costy.

 

[thisismyname09]

I have seen some fantastic shots taken with Tri-X in 4x5 shot at ASA 3200 with a speed graphic. Despite the 3-stop push, the pictures remained virtually grainless.

 

[hirokun]

I used and still have some Kodak 320 TXP left over. I hardly ever use it.
The only 400 film I use is the Rollei IR 400 - for the following two purposes:
1) the obvious: take infrared pictures
2) for reversal processing (expose @200~250 and process as a b&w slide)

 

[wootsk]

Generally, it boils down to the subject the photographer is planning to shoot. While using my sinar, I don't think I would like to use a faster film as I always shoot it mounted. Wonder how you shoot with a sinar f1 unmount on a tripod. But if you are using a press camera like speed graphic and hand holding it for some moving around shots, having a faster film would be more prefered.

 

[Jim Chinn]

I have read a few articles about folks who do development by inspection (not with the night vsion goggles but the green safelight) and IIRC they thought 400 tmax was ideal for this. Since grain is not an issue unless you are making massive prints it really comes down to the look of specific films.

 

[foliageface]

For an example of work done in 400 speed film in 8x10 format check out Linda Butler's book titled "Inner Light: The Shaker Legacy". Notes in the book explain that the prints were all made using Ilford HP5 8x10 film. Most are of interior compositions, but some are taken outside. There are many examples of other artists work done in 8x10 with faster film, but this came to mind because of the notes explaining that all of the exposures were made using a 400 speed film. The usual disclaimers apply - no connection.

 

[2F/2F]

Probably not "as much," as you stated, but they definitely use it. Tri-X 320 was one of my main b/w films (the other being Plus-X, and then FP4 when Plus-X was discontinued) when I shot primarily large format. I makes beautiful, sharp, grain-free 16x20's, even in D-76, and it's tonality is gorgeous to me. And if Tri-X is grain free and sharp in a 16x20, you can be sure that T-Max is even more so.

Faster films also have shutter speed and/or depth of field advantages, which can be especially useful when shooting people without flash.

And, of course, for hand holding, it is very helpful.

 

[David A. Goldfarb]

TXP 320 all the time for the look more than the speed.

 

[bobwysiwyg]

I typically shoot TMax 100 90%+ of the time. I do keep a couple of holders loaded with TMax 400 in the backpack though. You know, just in case.

 

[Roger Cole]

This one does. TMY-2 is my preferred film in 4x5. The grain is finer than I could ever want. Even cropped significantly it is still pretty much invisible at 16x20, and it's a wonderful film. I do, or did, keep a few holders loaded with a medium speed film for those times I may want to open up more and/or use a longer shutter speed to add some blur to moving parts of a subject, flowing water, trees in the wind, whatever. Back when I was active before in the late 90s this was usually APX 100. Now, well, I'm going to be exploring what to use going forward. It COULD be TMX or Delta 100 but at the sizes I print grain just isn't a concern for me in 4x5 so I've no reason to limit myself to modern emulsion types.

 

[munz6869]

I shoot TXP-320 in 4x5" all the time, although I rate it at ISO200, and then lose a stop for the obligatory orange filter - which pretty much means it's like I'm shooting ISO100 film, for exposure purposes anyway....

Marc!

 

[Leigh B]

The fastest I shoot in 4x5 or 8x10 is FP4+ @ ASA 125.

I also shoot Acros in 4x5 @ ASA 100.

Have never used anything faster in sheet film, and seldom in smaller formats.

- Leigh