J&C 8x10 asa 200/400

[William Levitt]

I've used the 200 speed film and find it to be good. it is a single layer emnulsion with a regular grain, not a thinner, modern T-crystal like Ilford Delta and Kodak T-max. I developed in ABC pyro and it's fine. Better than HP5+? No, not worse either. In this case I would let price and availability be my guide.

 

[William Levitt]

What I do like very much is the Efke PL100 film. It too is an old formula, "thick emulsion" film with excellent sharpness and tonality. It processes beautifully in ABC pyro and, best part of all, is about 30% cheaper than Ilford, even after the recent price hike by Efke.

Another film that falls into this category is the NP27 and NP22 from Webphota. These are said to be from the same production as Fortepan and Bergger. The film is also offered in a variety of ULF sizes, "off the shelf". I can order 12X15" inch film for $85.00 for 25 sheets. But again, the Webphota film is easier for me to get, living in Germany.

 

[c6h6o3]

I find JandC Classic 200 indistinguishable from Bergger BPF 200. I can't get any better prints out of either one of them than I can out of HP5+. Maybe if there were about 15 zones of contrast in a scene I could cram more scale into one of these films than HP5+, but I have yet to run into a need for that much latitude. I find that I'm much better off with the film I've used for so many years and know like the back of my hand. I'm sticking with HP5+. Tri-X is good, too, but doesn't have quite as long a straight line section to its S curve.

BTW, I can't stand Efke PL100. Just about the worst film I've ever tried. I've got about half a box of it in 4 x 5. It's yours if you want it.

 

[edbuffaloe]

I just got a box of the J&C 400, but with the bad weather season at hand it may be a while before I can give it a try.

 

[LFGuy]

I think it's a good film (I've only tried the 200), though I've managed to badly scratch quite a few sheets during development. Never had that problem with other films I use.