How did you decide which film you'd use?

[ericdan]

B&W:
Tri-X


ColorNeg:
Porta400


Slide:
Provia400X

Occasional usage:
Delta3200
Velvia50

Wanna try:
Velvia100

 

[RattyMouse]

I seem unable to fall out of Love with ILFORD DELTA Professional 3200..... but I do 'like' grain, texture and a harder edge when I'm printing, which is my true love... and if a have a forte ( excuse the sad pun ) thats it....

Anything with a person in it...... ILFORD PAN F +

On occasions, and in my carry everywhere CONTAX compact, ILFORD HP5+

Way back when I did Photography for a living I had a brief affair with Tri-X cannot say anything other but than that its a fine, fine film......

Simon ILFORD Photo / HARMAN technology Limited :

I'm wondering.......are all you people at Ilford COLOR blind???

Ever load up a camera with Reala or Velvia?

:devil:

 

[markbarendt]

Anything with a person in it...... ILFORD PAN F +

Interesting.

 

[Black Dog]

Agfapain

Ilford HP5+= bulletproof all purpose film when I can choose only one.

Otherwise in no particular order:

Arista EDU Ultra aka. Fomapan100=cheap fun film with exquisite tonality and develops and fixes faster than most other types, would be my preferred film if QC were up to Ilford standards

Kodak TMax 100=in a class all its own, like Fomapan 100 with finer grain and sharpness but takes longer to fix and does not perform well in Rodinal

Ilford PanF+= old school film noir look, superfine grain, just too darn slow for most work but my all time favorite

Ilford FP4+=slower version of HP5+

Agfapan = R.I.P. Used to be the only film I'd use

Currently trying out ORWO cine film, Adox Silvermax and CHS II, Rollei RPX, and Kentmere

I avoid:
Kodak Tri-X= morbid tonal range and Kodak film always cups when drying. Long live Ilford HP.
Kodak Tmax400=takes forever to fix and does not perform in Rodinal, not worth the trouble for the slight improvement in image quality. Another vote for HP.

I share your Agfapain.... It was fantastic-I've just been looking at an old print of mine done on Record Rapid from an AP400 neg.....WOW ! Thankyou Ilford however. RattyMouse, I agree Velvia is great, if a little OTT sometimes.

 

[Ian Grant]

Kodak TMax 100=in a class all its own, like Fomapan 100 with finer grain and sharpness but takes longer to fix and does not perform well in Rodinal

I don't know what you're doing wrong because Tmax 100 is superb in Rodinal, it was a combination I used for around 20 years. The combination gives exceptionally fine grain, a great tonal scale and excellent sharpness albeit at 50 EI (for me). I used the combination in 35mm, 120 & 5x4.

Ian

 

[pgomena]

I used Tri-X for years, 400 for 120 and 35mm, 320 for 4x5 and up. I was introduced to Tri-X in high school classes and just decided to use it for everything. I did try Ilford films in college (the bookstore always had good deals on 5-roll packages), and liked them then.

Along came the T-grain films and I moved to T-Max in both speeds for several years. I found them more difficult to work with but the results were worth the effort. T-Max 400 is amazing, and so is its price anymore.

Now, I'm using almost all Ilford films. I use PanF+ when I want longer exposures or work in flat light, I use FP4+ as my "utility" film, and have recently stepped up to HP5+ for windy days. Why? Price and quality. Kodak films are excellent, but they've become priced beyond my means. I can get equivalent quality from Ilford films for significantly less. If I'm not sacrificing quality, why pay more? Also, I can get Delta 100, FP4+ and HP5+ in whole-plate size. That FP4+ or HP5+ don't look exactly the same as Tri-X or whatever, is immaterial. I have excellent choice of film for whatever my needs might be.

I also confess to liking Delta 3200 and have started a new affair with XP2 Super. I play with odd old cameras that have limited shutter speeds. The overexposure latitude of XP2 Super gives me a lot of room for error in pictures from these motly tools. It's sharp, nearly grainless, and I love the tonal renditions.

 

[markaudacity]

Tri-X, cos I can push it to the moon without the outrageous grain of D3200. And any camera store that sells film has it. Even CVS still stocks it ($10 for a 24 roll, ouch) in an emergency.

 

[ozphoto]

My B&W film of choice when I started out years ago was Agfapan; I was gutted when they went under, but managed to stock up on a truckload of it before it disappeared.

I've been shooting Fomapan (respooled 620) for a few years now, and I'm quite happy with the results. Would like to get my hands on some Adox, but that's impossible here in TH (and seems to be a similar situation in AU), just to see how it goes.

Main fallback position is Tri-X or HP5 - depends on what I can lay my hands on at the time.

 

[Simon R Galley]

Dear Rattymouse,

On the very, very rare occasions I am forced to bring a little colour into my life I only use FUJI.......
but do not get me wrong I love colour....but

My on-going pet hate is looking at the newspaper stand and seeing all these washed out, flat, characterless, colour 'photographs' with no soul, life, imagination, shade, impact, nuance...nothing...
with very few ( but some notable exceptions )....mostly just dumbed down pap...

The photographs and photographers in the newspapers in monochrome told their own story so many times... you did'nt need the words......in the UK the Times, Telegraph, Guardian even the mass circulation papers like the Mirror, The Sun.....just look at Don McCullin....

Someone once said to me 'photography goes straight to the brain, hits the emotions and misses out logic and reason' I did'nt understand what he meant....perhaps I now do.

So sad....

Simon ILFORD Photo / HARMAN technology Limited :

 

[Xmas]

I seem unable to fall out of Love with ILFORD DELTA Professional 3200..... but I do 'like' grain, texture and a harder edge when I'm printing, which is my true love... and if a have a forte ( excuse the sad pun ) thats it....

Anything with a person in it...... ILFORD PAN F +

On occasions, and in my carry everywhere CONTAX compact, ILFORD HP5+

Way back when I did Photography for a living I had a brief affair with Tri-X cannot say anything other but than that its a fine, fine film......

Simon ILFORD Photo / HARMAN technology Limited :

Well if I get a nostalgia attack I take the gbag with a Contax II and HP5+ and imagine i'm Lancelot Vining but it does not have the grain of HP3 (or I'd imagine HP2) in Promical.

I don't think Kentmere is going to be close either.

And I only used Trix when Ilford stopped 220...

 

[BirgerA]

When I started to get seriously interested in photography my mother worked for Bayer, and they shared offices with Agfa here in Norway. This made me able to buy Agfa film and chemicals with an employee discount.
Found that Agfa worked for me and stuck with it for both B&W and colour until they disappeared.

Now I have switched to Ilford for B&W, and on the rare occasions I use colour I make my choice based on what I'm trying to achieve.

 

[Pat Erson]

Like most photographers I don't think by myself but I take my cue from colleagues friends and famous role models. That's why I use TRI-X 135 bathed in D-76 1+1

 

[Colonel Blimp]

Today, I'm using Portra 160 because my kids don't like B&W pictures of them. Sometimes life can be very simple.

Enviado desde mi XT1032 mediante Tapatalk

 

[markbarendt]

Today, I'm using Portra 160 because my kids don't like B&W pictures of them. Sometimes life can be very simple.

Enviado desde mi XT1032 mediante Tapatalk

My daughter enjoys B&W, my wife though...

BTW welcome to APUG

 

[baachitraka]

I print 6x6 and 135 on 8"x10" paper to find any difference between the films.
Eventually settle down with Rollei RPX 400 in 120 and Orwo UN54+ in 135. Since, I may never find any difference between the films at that print size.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

 

[37th Exposure]

I don't know what you're doing wrong because Tmax 100 is superb in Rodinal, it was a combination I used for around 20 years. The combination gives exceptionally fine grain, a great tonal scale and excellent sharpness albeit at 50 EI (for me). I used the combination in 35mm, 120 & 5x4.

Ian

I just couldn't accept the speed loss and could get nice results with TMax developer at full speed so why not. That is my other tried and true developer because it is closer to all purpose than Rodinal. The T grain films have never performed well for me in older formulae like Rodinal or HC-110. The superfine grain and full speed promised seem to appear only with the T grain developers made for them. I hear Xtol is even better but I try not to bother with powders and it goes bad too quickly. Working six days a week, I can do without mixing powders and decanting into dozens of little bottles when I could be producing pictures instead.

 

[37th Exposure]

On the very, very rare occasions I am forced to bring a little colour into my life I only use FUJI.......
but do not get me wrong I love colour....but

My on-going pet hate is looking at the newspaper stand and seeing all these washed out, flat, characterless, colour 'photographs' with no soul, life, imagination, shade, impact, nuance...nothing...
with very few ( but some notable exceptions )....mostly just dumbed down pap...

Even more so now that color has given over to digital. I did digital for two years and gave up because of the same reason. Now with all color slide film going the way of Kodachrome, I do only b&w. Just look at any quality magazine from the pre-digital era and you'll see the difference a film image makes.

 

[Jaf-Photo]

I just couldn't accept the speed loss and could get nice results with TMax developer at full speed so why not. That is my other tried and true developer because it is closer to all purpose than Rodinal. The T grain films have never performed well for me in older formulae like Rodinal or HC-110. The superfine grain and full speed promised seem to appear only with the T grain developers made for them. I hear Xtol is even better but I try not to bother with powders and it goes bad too quickly. Working six days a week, I can do without mixing powders and decanting into dozens of little bottles when I could be producing pictures instead.

Well, XTOL is possibly the easiest developer to use.

You don't have to heat the water, it takes five minutes to mix, you can use i directly and it stores quite nicely. It's never gone bad before I could use it up (D-76 has).

 

[BetterSense]

I chose Tmax400 for some things because it has unmatched combination of speed, grain, sharpness, and reciprocity failure among any film I've used. It's like the special videogame car you can unlock, where all the "performance bars" are maxed out.

I chose HP5 for other things because in bulk, it's half the price of Tmax400.

 

[Ian Grant]

I chose Tmax400 for some things because it has unmatched combination of speed, grain, sharpness, and reciprocity failure among any film I've used. It's like the special videogame car you can unlock, where all the "performance bars" are maxed out.

I chose HP5 for other things because in bulk, it's half the price of Tmax400.

It's not half the price here !!!!!! I had to give up on any Kodak Tmax films because when I'm outside the UK I had a very hard time finding them on the shelves Ilford & Foma are everywhere, and some Fuji,

However I went back to 5x4 HP5 after a very long gap (I switched to XP1 for my high speed film) and I'm amazed at the quality of the images and how easy they are to print. I prefer Delta 400 for 120 though.

Should have added I gave up using Kodak B&W films because I waant & need to use regularly y available products

Ian

 

[kiemchacsu]

By the way, could anybody show me where is the best source to buy FP4+
I'm talking about online stores.
Thanks!
Trung


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Ricardo Miranda]

By the way, could anybody show me where is the best source to buy FP4+
I'm talking about online stores.
Thanks!
Trung


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Here is one: http://www.silverprint.co.uk/Catalogue.asp?PrGrp=2

 

[markbarendt]

By the way, could anybody show me where is the best source to buy FP4+
I'm talking about online stores.
Thanks!
Trung


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Where are you?

 

[RalphLambrecht]

I'm just curious how everyone decides which brand or type of film they use. After shooting and printing with a lot of the well-known flims available today, I still have a hard time coming up with an overall preference. True, some films have slightly different characteristics, but they all seem to print the same and are largely indistinguishable on paper. I seem to have a cyclical buying pattern with film, never settling on just one even within the same ISO. So how does everyone here decide?

my preference was predictability of tonal rendition and after tons of trial and error,I found Tmax100 and 400 to be the best choice for my type of photography for medium and large format.

 

[RalphLambrecht]

Cost. As a college student, Arista EDU films are the most cost effective since I'm still learning the ins and outs of large format. Eventually I'll move up to Ilford since I love their 120 t-grain film. Kodak's film is twice as expensive as Ilford so I doubt I'll be shooting that any time soon (though trix 320 is pretty beautiful).

I would never choose a mediocre film for financial reasons. I don't use enough for that to matter,and I'm happy to pay for what I likeKodak could double their Tmax prices and I would still buy nothing but.frustration is the worst expense.