Flexibility of Delta 400

Howdy,

I have been playing mainly with HP5+ over the last 6 months, mainly shooting at box speeds, etc. Now its time to probably start experimenting a bit more.

Just recently I have shot a few different rolls, mainly to see what they are like. I have tried Pan F (not for me yet), FP4+ and Delta 400. From my first prints with the Delta, I have to admit I was suitably impressed. Not sure what others impressions are, but I found there was quite a bit of latitude when printing, especially in the mid tones.

SO, in reality, how flexible is Delta 400? How does it push/pull? Should someone with my limited experience use this as the film that I learn and learn to love, or should I stick with Hp5+? Looking at the bulk price of the 2, there is less then $10 difference, so Delta doesn't seem that expensive when I look at it like that.

Any advise or comments appreciated.

I've intentionally pulled it a stop, using Ilford's instructions for Delta 400 at 200 in Ilford DD-X, and had very good results. Very smooth balanced tones, decent sharpness, nicely controlled contrast, and low grain. I've never pushed it, though, so can't testify to the results.

Delta 400 is excellent, it's now my main 120 film, and I'd use it for LF if it was available. It pushes & pulls well but I have to admit I rarely push a film these days. It copes well with quite contrasty situations.

Ian

I have mixed feelings about the Delta emulsions. Essentially there's nothing at all wrong with them but for my taste they sometimes seem a little flat. I think it's just that the grain is minimal and the image so smooth that I miss the 'grittiness' of HP5+. Just personal taste - it's a good film!

I find that Delta 400 at 800 works well (grain is not bad, contrast is reasonable) with Ilford DD-X. That's mostly 35 mm - if it's 120 then I'm using a tripod and don't push it. On the other hand I tend to prefer Delta 3200 at 1000 for the situations where that kind of speed is necessary (low light, hand-held) so Delta 400 only gets pushed when I'm out of Delta 3200.

Pete

Thanks.

I should mention, I am shooting 35mm and typically process in ID-11

Leigh Youdale said:

I have mixed feelings about the Delta emulsions. Essentially there's nothing at all wrong with them but for my taste they sometimes seem a little flat. I think it's just that the grain is minimal and the image so smooth that I miss the 'grittiness' of HP5+. Just personal taste - it's a good film!

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I think your comments go for Tmax films as well, you either like the extra tonality of T-grain & similar films or you like the Grittiness of traditional films, that's why the companies have to make both types.

Ian

If you decide that D400 is going to be your main 400 film of choice, you might want to see if you can buy it for bulk loading. Initially there's the additional cost of the loader and the need for a dark space or changing bag to consider but over time the saving can be significant and it allows you to load the number of frames you want and not what Ilford want to give you.

pentaxuser

Sorry to go against "pentaxuser" but my experiences with bulk loaders proved very costly and I would never use one again. They can scratch the neg when loading or the cassette can damage the film as it is loaded.

Cheers
TEX