If you could shoot only one Black & White film, what would it be?

Paul Howell

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My understanding is that Foma 200 is hybrid, mixed of tubular and traditional grains, looking at the Foma datasheet for 200 it appears very close to 200 with most developers while 100 and 400 are only close to box speed when developed in a high energy developer, Foma used Microphen.
 

Bazza D

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I really like slow film so choosing one film would be a compromise. While FP4 is one of my favorites, right now I would lean towards Kentmere 100. It is cheaper than most other films and I accidentally shot it at 400 and liked it better at 400. It is fine at 100 but I like a bit more contrast so Kentmere always seems flat to me. I like the look of Foma better at the lower price point but Kentmere is more robust film than Foma being a newer formula. But it is the one film I know I could use in most situations. It wouldn't make me perfectly happy but that would be about normal. I think Double X might be a good choice as well. At ISO 250 it should be versatile. I like the film but have not shot enough to know its range. But for choosing one film I would probably consider range over preference. If it is just one film based on the best results for me, it would be Delta 100 or Acros II. I find them similar films and when you get a shot right with either, they look amazing. But even better would be cinema lab stock. But when you got down to the ISO 6 the usability becomes problematic.
 

Adrian Bacon

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Yeah... Foma 200. It's not perfect by any means, but considering it's cost, it's quite good. It's best for full daylight stuff as it has a very short toe so you won't get good results if trying to push process it, and depending on the developer you use, EI 160 or 125 gives better detail down in the shadows, and it doesn't have first class anti-halation so you can't really go super crazy with the over exposure, but... It has a very long and very straight straight-line portion of the H+D and just the right mix of classic look and feel and newer emulsion look and feel. For general purpose stuff, it's good value for money.
 

DREW WILEY

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Adrian described it well. Foma 200 is nowhere near true 200 box speed. It's long exposure characteristics are abominable, and it doesn't plus or push develop well at all. Etc. Nowhere near the quality or versatility league of TMax films, but a lot cheaper. It will dig way down into the shadows if you give those enough exposure due to its very long straight line, and otherwise handle high contrast scenes quite well. Develops awfully fast, so be aware of that too.

Bazza's mention of Delta 100 and Acros as "similar" doesn't make sense. Delta is a T-grain panchromatic film capable of high contrast development, designed to partially compete with Kodak's T-Max products. Acros is Orthopan, having a quite different spectral sensitivity, and doesn't respond well to over-development.
 

Adrian Bacon

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I've been running it in replenished Ilfotec DD at 24C with continuous agitation and 8:30 is about right.
 

DREW WILEY

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Glad you found something practical. I was down to around 6 min with the common developers I tried, and even pyro. It would have been hell trying it rotary.
 

Dusty Negative

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Just stick with 135. It's still a hot mess in 120, though there are rumors of improvements...

Adrian Bacon said:
My Man.... Fomapan 200 generally isn't given much love, but in many respects it is an unsung hero.
Click to expand...

My favorite shots are all, inevitably, from Foma 200. It has that .... Je ne sais quois (whatever that is in Czech).
 

Lachlan Young

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The differences between Delta's epitaxial technology and Fuji's Epitaxial-Sigma-Crystals are likely considerably less than to Kodak's T-grain and antenna dye sensitising. Sensitising dyes, metal dopants and other finishing addenda differences can potentially make radically different 'looks' from the same basic emulsion set. Acros isn't any less capable of hitting high CI's than Delta 100.

Delta 100, 400, TMY-II and Acros are all relatively short-red sensitised - which has been half-muddled by various marketers into 'ortho-panchromatic' nonsense - there are good aesthetic reasons for shorter red sensitising in both B&W and colour than the relatively longer red sensitivity of some older emulsions.
 

John Wiegerink

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DREW WILEY said:
Glad you found something practical. I was down to around 6 min with the common developers I tried, and even pyro. It would have been hell trying it rotary.
Click to expand...

Drew,
I used Adox FX39II at 1+14 dilution and thought 7 minutes would be short for a starting time for Foma 200, but by the looks of it I'd say it was a bit much. I have a second short roll to develop tomorrow and will try 6 minutes and see what happens. Otherwise, I like the looks of the negatives. I tried Foma 200 in 120 shortly after it appeared on the market, but it had defects that has kept me from buying Foma 200 in 120. I think it would be a nice film in medium format, but not until they get the bugs out of the film and backing paper combination.
 
OP
OP

Paul Verizzo

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Just curiosity.
 

DREW WILEY

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Lachlan - Acros is officially Orthopan, not Panchromatic per se. Its distinctly reduced red sensitivity in effect makes it more green sensitive, whereas Delta 100 is even less green sensitive than, say, Tax films (half a stop in fact with medium green), almost as if you had a light green 11 or XO filter when using TMX - so you're talking about a whopping full stop of difference in green filter factor between Delta and Acros if a med green like a Hoya X1 is used, or even more in a 58 or 61 deep green. On the red end, any red filter stronger than a 25, like a 29, simply truncates the image beyond that point with Acros. But a deep red 29 actually has potential uses with TMax films, if one wishes to go that dramatic. Early TMax 100 was actually a bit extended red sensitive; but that hasn't been around for a long time.
 

Raghu Kuvempunagar

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Sirius Glass

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Andrew O'Neill

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Raghu Kuvempunagar

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It is nice to see Ilford XP2 Super in the top-10 for medium format films. Interestingly, none of @ADOX Fotoimpex's films figure in any of the categories, but KEH doesn't seem to be selling Adox films any way. I was expecting to see Cinestill Double X in the fastest selling lists, but looks like there's not much love for it perhaps due to the relatively high price.
 

faberryman

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I guess Tri-X or HP5, not that I shoot much Tri-X or HP5, but if there were only one black and white film available, I would want it to be versatile and have grain, because nothing says film like grain, particularly classic grain, and you don't need a fine grain film to lith print, at least the way I like my lith prints to look.
 

Sirius Glass

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Grain is something that the tabular grain films lack and that is why I prefer the traditional grain films. When I need a higher speed film, then I look to the ISO 3200 tabular grains. I have not needed the linearity of the tabular grain films so far, but that is always something to consider using.
 

Maris

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Just one film? I'd pick Agfa Aviphot Pan 200 spooled up in the 120 format and packaged as Rollei Infrared.
Without a filter it delivers a pleasant fine grain panchromatic rendition.
With a #25 red filter it delivers dark skies and white clouds to put a bit of drama into the top of a landscape.
With a IR720 filter it delivers a full-on Wood Effect with the best infrared rendition since the discontinued Kodak HIE and Efke IR-820.
All from one film!
 

DREW WILEY

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Sirius - I sometimes like conspicuous grain in 35mm shots, which I always print small anyway. But I rarely like it in larger formats, even in 120 roll film, which I print considerably larger. I mainly shoot 35mm for a spontaneous poetic feel rather than high detail. But once I move up to 6X7 or 6X9 format, those prints might need to compete with prints enlarged from 4x5 and 8x10 film in the same portfolio, so in fact demand fussier attention to detail than even the sheet film versions, which need less overall enlargement. It's kinda nice to have a small 35mm "alter-ego" option, where I can shoot and print with a different mood once in awhile.
 
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