Is Tri-X appropriate for shooting on a sunny Floridian summer day?

Forget all these 400 ISO films - you DON'T need them!
THE film you want to go with is Ilford FP4 - THE BEST all-around B&W there is!
It's work GREAT on Florida beaches - why? Because the "Sunny F16 rule" rules with this film in paticular.
If it's bright & sunny out - set the aperature for f16, and the shutter speed to the film's corresponding ISO - 125.
Then bracket - f11.5@ 125th, then f11@125th. See what you prefer when the results come out.

No, for the conditions the O.P. describes Ilford Pan F which is I.S.O. 50 is far more suitable. and will give far better quality images.

DF said:

Forget all these 400 ISO films - you DON'T need them!
THE film you want to go with is Ilford FP4 - THE BEST all-around B&W there is!
It's work GREAT on Florida beaches - why? Because the "Sunny F16 rule" rules with this film in paticular.
If it's bright & sunny out - set the aperature for f16, and the shutter speed to the film's corresponding ISO - 125.
Then bracket - f11.5@ 125th, then f11@125th. See what you prefer when the results come out.

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That is nice for you, but it is not what the OP and others want.

If you want grain, Foma 400 (which is barely iso 200) is your key

Pan F 50 in Perceptol is probably so fine grained that you can’t focus it under the enlarger unless you print really big. I’m 120 even more so.

I shot 18 rolls of Tri-X in Egypt in May of 1984. It worked absolutely fine. Why Tri-X? Because it was the film I had been working with exclusively at the time and I just felt more comfortable sticking with the old and familiar.

The Egyptian sun is quite intense. The shadows can be very dark as well, so the extra speed wasn't totally a waste.



This young lad was eager to pose for a photo (for baksheesh consideration, of course). I tipped him well, I thought; but then, I got the better end of the deal. His family's booth in the Khan al Khalili was in pronounced shadow, but his right leg fell directly in the wrath of Ra. I remember cringing when I first saw the negative. But the bright areas still printed down nicely, I thought.
The fortuitous aspect of that bright sun was the wonderful fill light that helped to isolate his face and left hand.

FWIW, my metering technique was somewhat by guess. While I had a good spot meter. (I'd just received a brand new Zone VI-modified-Pentax digital spot meter and brought it with me on the trip), I had learned to meter the bright scenes at the beginning of my outing, then meter the shade scenes and then note the difference in stops. Generally, I found, if I wanted to shoot a predominantly shade scene, I could open up by about two stops and be within a reasonable distance of the correct f/stop. It didn't work all the time, but it did most of the time as the light was generally very consistent. And it sure made for much faster shooting. YMMV!!

Leica M-4, 50mm DR Summicron, Tri-X at e.i. 200

The OP's question isn't about what might be ideal. The question is about "appropriate". Can anyone name a film that offers more flexibility than Tri-X, if one likes grain?

ericdan said:

. I’m 120 even more so.

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Does that make you the oldest person on Photrio, Dan?

NB23 said:

I don’t understand why people use 400 iso 135film in broad daylight. Iso 100 film is so much better on all accounts.

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Because 10 frames later I'm in a bar where 100 is useless.

pentaxuser said:

Does that make you the oldest person on Photrio, Dan?

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Yeah. I gave it away by accident.

Saganich said:

Because 10 frames later I'm in a bar where 100 is useless.

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I know exactly what you mean.

what does appropriate even mean in the context of photography?
i think its not possible to expecte 'the right choice'.
if you want a flexible film tri-x is certainly a very good choice. pull or push it as you like.
there is only choices, no mistakes to be made.
overexpose it 5 stops and cut development time to find pleasure in extreme shadow separation.

if you have a clear vision of how you want the print to look like you can be helped.
otherwise: break free from convention and welcome to the adventure

Saganich said:

Because 10 frames later I'm in a bar where 100 is useless.

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Yeah so? This thread is about shooting iso400 on a sunny floridian day.

And besides, when you go into a bar why would you start taking pictures? I don’t get it.

NB23 said:

Yeah so? This thread is about shooting iso400 on a sunny floridian day.

And besides, when you go into a bar why would you start taking pictures? I don’t get it.

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iso 250 in pyrocat hd. beauuuuutifull

NB23 said:

Yeah so? This thread is about shooting iso400 on a sunny floridian day.

And besides, when you go into a bar why would you start taking pictures? I don’t get it.

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Two photographers walking along a street and they pass a beggar sitting with his hat up-ended on the pavement, begging for money. One guy keeps walking. The other stops. Later when they catch up with each other the first guy says to the other. "Hey I saw you stop for that beggar. What did you give him?"

"Oh" says the first guy, "1/125th at f/ 5.6".

--------------------------------

A photographer walks into a bar

The bartender says
"Why the long lens?"

Sirius Glass said:

Two photographers walking along a street and they pass a beggar sitting with his hat up-ended on the pavement, begging for money. One guy keeps walking. The other stops. Later when they catch up with each other the first guy says to the other. "Hey I saw you stop for that beggar. What did you give him?"

"Oh" says the first guy, "1/125th at f/ 5.6".

--------------------------------

A photographer walks into a bar

The bartender says
"Why the long lens?"

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no more gin for this man!

I’ve been taking photos in bars for the past 7 years. What’s wrong with that?

NB23,

I get where you’re coming from. Actually from my point of view 400 speed film in 4x5 is about perfect for any scenario.

In 35mm I switch between slow and fast film as the situation merits.

It’s wrong to me when I have 400 speed film in the camera during the day and 100 speed film at night. But for the daytime it’s only a problem if I am shooting nature. If the subject is people I don’t mind the grain.

In the night time with the wrong film, then it’s time to get out the flash or put the camera away.

I’m not afraid to shoot flash in a bar. I don’t know how I get away with it.

NB23 said:

Yeah so? This thread is about shooting iso400 on a sunny floridian day.

And besides, when you go into a bar why would you start taking pictures? I don’t get it.

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Why not?

There are myriad reasons why one might want to take photos in a pub, bar or club. It's nice to take a photo of friends and family enjoying a drink or a meal. Some bars are particularly attractive or historic and it's fun to photograph them. Or just to document one's travels. Or document an event such as people getting exited at a sports bar. I don't use a flash, but then I very rarely use one in any circumstances. Not that I imagine it would be a problem. Other people are using flashes on their phones much of the time.

But back to the original question....it is perhaps not the "best" film to use on the beach on a very sunny day but it is not inappropriate and it will work. And since OP has sated he's not really looking for artsy photos or the finest grain for huge enlargements, Tri-X will work fine. Not my personal choice if I was sure that I'd finish the roll in the daytime but it's not inappropriate.

imfrommiami said:

I have heard that Tri-X will give that old school grainy look that I want, but I'm afraid that the ISO is too high and on a sunny day my photos will be overexposed.

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I've used Ilford ISO 3200 bw film with a red filter on the lens, at the height of our British summer and the pics came out great. This is one of them taken that day. It was at the end of the day but others taken a lot earlier in brighter light came out fine as well.:

http://www.film-and-darkroom-user.org.uk/forum/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/2349

Terry S