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Finest grain film on HC 110

MFstooges

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Feb 10, 2010
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Format
35mm
Sorry if this had been asked before. Which film will give finest grain with HC-110/L110?

Other developer is not an option.
 
Other than ortho and microfiche film Tmax 100 has the finest grain and highest resolution.
 
koraks said:
That's an interesting, seemingly backwards way of approaching it! Sorry to sound critical, but it seems kind of odd to me. What's the application @MFstooges ?
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Outdoor in 35mm. I got OK grain with Ilford FP on my 24mm X 24mm frame printed to 8" X 8" so now I am trying to see what film allows me to print on 10" X 10" or even 12" X 12" with less grain on the same developer.
I was thinking about Tmax or Delta but from replies above maybe I will get finer grain with Rollei Ortho 25 or Ilford Pan 50?
 
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Not sure you'll see much of a difference in grain between T-Max 100 and Ilford Pan F, but you'll certain have one in terms of contrast.
 
The differences in contrast can be controlled by changing the ISO and the development time.
 
I'd try Delta 100 first. More affordable than T-max 100 and easier to handle and faster than the alternatives like microfilms or Pan-F. If it gives you what you want, no need to look further.
 
I've found both Delta 100 and TMax 100 to be pretty equally low-grain with HC-110. The lowest (bar super-low ISO stuff), though, would be Copex Rapid. Not as nice to work with, and HC-110 isn't the best developer for it, but it works really well and resolves a ton of detail.
 

TMax 100 and Fuji Acros will be the finest grained general purpose films. Delta 100 is slightly grainier - about the same as Pan F+.
 
Thank you everyone. I'll try TMax & Delta first.
 
Chuck1 said:
What's the ideal developer for copex rapid (or pan f)?
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As with normal film, there's isn't a perfect developer for low ISO film -- which are typically high contrast. Micro-films are very high contract, but like "normal" films, the contrast can be controlled by adjusting the ISO and the developer time. You can do that with HC-110. There are other methods too, such as wash-method developer.

When mixing your own developer (most developers) you can explore other methods of contrast reduction, such as split-development,

The point is that microfilm can produce acceptable C.I.s with a little testing -- usually very low ISO and very long development.
 
If you're willing to experiment, here's a less conventional suggestion: Ilford XP2 Super, cross-processed. Check out @drmoss_ca's results on this thread:

Ilford XP2 Super in B&W chemicals

I don't think it will be any surprise to anyone here that Ilford XP2 Super, a chromogenic film normally processed in C-41 chemicals, can be developed in ordinary black and white chemicals too. If you don't do your own processing, this wouldn't make a lot of sense, but if you do, it saves money...
www.photrio.com

I have limited personal experience with this combination (and I used 6x7 in 120 format so definitely not an apples to apples comparison with 35mm), but I got some impressively grain-free results using LegacyPro L110. YMMV, so take the suggestion with an appropriately sized grain of salt.


2021.03.06 Roll #272-05989-Pano-positive.jpg by dourbalistar, on Flickr
 
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