I think this look really good!
Can I ask a quick question, how does the base colour/density compare to Delta 100?
But I did find that tonal separation in the mid-to-high end was lacking compared to FP4 or Delta 400, so perhaps this mediocre tonal separation is what people are perceiving as a lackluster of contrast
I would say it's very slightly denser and exactly the same color. I don't have a side by side photo with Delta 100 at hand, but here is the Kentmere next to Delta 400 -- please ignore the wild exposures, but you can see the film base at least. Both developed in DD-X 1+4, but not together.
View attachment 398273
I find no tonal issues whatsoever with Kentmere 400.
When you don't titillate its highlights to expose its mild halation, it's basically indistinguishable from HP5+ in most situations based on what I can see.
Do consult the D/E curves made available by the Naked Photographer and linked above. They're a good starting point. The curve is impressively linear in D76 1+1.
Perhaps the issue lies with your workflow.
How do you expose it, develop it and scan it?
I didn't compare Kentmere 400 to HP5 because I dislike HP5s flatter tonal separation in the higher values. IME Kentmere 400 and HP5 both suffer from the same dull values in the high end. My expose & develop techniques are not the issue here. (I have 55 years darkroom experience: I know what I am doing)
Ok interesting. Well if you get the chance of testing the new 200 I'd be interested to know if you think these dull values you observe in 400 and HP5 are still there.
I bought four rolls of Kentmere 200 120 film from B&H. I just put one roll in my second Hasselblad back. It will likely take me a week to finish the roll. When I do I will develop it with Rodinal 1:50 for 12 minutes at 68ºF. That's just a guess for a starting point.
I am not using Rodinal because I think it might be the best developer for Kentmere 200 but because I use Rodinal for all my film stocks. While many here work at finding the best developer for a particular film I concentrate on finding good films for a particular developer - Rodinal in my case.
While many here work at finding the best developer for a particular film I concentrate on finding good films for a particular developer - Rodinal in my case.
Whatever floats your boat, as they used to say.
Keep us informed how it works out. I have 5 120 rolls on the way.
I think the people who are using labs may simply want the option of shooting at 200 in addition to 100 and 400.
Though I do see a lot of chatter about K400 being "flat". And I've seen scanned negatives which illustrate this. It wasn't "flat" when I used some a few years ago, and I've just bought 100 feet of K400 to use in the second half of this year.....but I develop myself and scan myself so I probably do tweak everything to my personal tastes. Labs will largely automate the process, unless the user pays for a "pro" or "premium" service.
I've had the opportunity to shoot a roll of Kentmere 200 (120) yesterday. I shot it at box speed and developed according to the published instructions in DD-X. I have not done any densitometry; I just wanted to see how it responded when used "normally." I'll probably play with it further. For what it's worth it doesn't seem like a 100 or 400 speed film "re-labeled" as 200 at all, not that I expected it to. Negatives quite dense with good shadow detail at 200 in DD-X, though of course everyone's meters, shutters, and workflow are different. Of course this says nothing about inherent properties of the film's contrast since the end result depends on my exposure, development, scanning, and the curve applied in lightroom.
I don't normally flit around from one film to another because I've standardized on Delta 100 for the most part, but I can see it being an alternative for variety.
kentmere 200 experiments by eric volpe, on Flickr
You can of course simply shoot the 400 film at 200... there is no reason not to shoot the 400 film at 200 whether you develop yourself or not
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