I agree with the people who say it isn't the film.
It's a case of learning how different films respond and making necessary adjustments to achieve the resul;ts you#re after. only the Foma films in my experience need significantly different development times.
(In regards to the curve of Kodak 125 Plus X... But with strong lighting you'd have to resort to compensating dev to dig deep,
and that would likely spoil the delicacy of the uppers. Not a very good film for direct sunlight conditions with deep shadows.
The general consesnsus here in the UK was always that FP4 was a much better film than Plus X, that was my own experience as well.
Ian
The general consesnsus here in the UK was always that FP4 was a much better film than Plus X, that was my own experience as well.
Ian
How does FP4 do when the sun is out?
And for the light and weather conditions experienced in the UK, I expect that could be the case.
How does FP4 do when the sun is out?:munch:
(Do we have a "tongue-in-cheek" emoticon?)
I completely disagree with Michael's assessment. Those films each have different personalities and
significantly different curve, recip, and even spectral sensitivity characteristics. Tomorrow I'll lug
my 8x10 up a hill out in the redwoods. For the first two hours I'll be in soft fog, where the several
films might indeed respond similarly, except for speed. Then the mist will either start breaking or I'll
be above it, and all hell will break loose if you don't understand the distinctions. All of a sudden a
steep toe film will render a completely different shadow response than a medium or long toe one,
and in direct sun, the redwood forest itself can easily exceed twelve stops of range. I want a film
which will differentiate between zone 0 and 1, not between 2 and 3, and still retain detail way way
up, even in pyro. Don't tell me simply to minus develop either - that just produces mush in the
midtones! You need the right tools for the job. Plus-X would be worthless in that situation, but
perhaps very elegant indeed in the early mistly hours.
Yes and no, Tom. Depends on the subject. Toe characteristic can be very important. Since the curve is basically logarithmic, minor distinctions at the bottom can have a significant impact of how
crisply deep shadow values can be separated. Push things up the curve and you might affect the
opposite extreme. An old school straight line film like Super-XX or Bergger 200 would resolve a scene
very differently than something with a more gradual toe like HP5, Plus X, or Delta 100. That's why
contact printers and alt printers coveted these kinds of films. They have great usable range. Get up in the high mtns or desert with a deep red filter and see what happens to the shadows. Then try to hold specular glare in the same shot. Believe me, I've paid my dues to learn this. There are plenty of
wonderful films to choose from, but they differ in what they specifically better at - and you can't
just turn one into another - otherwise, the kind of selection we currently have wouldn't even be
necessary. Everyone screams when their favorite film is discontinued. Why? There's a reason.
Yes and no, Tom. Depends on the subject. Toe characteristic can be very important. Since the curve is basically logarithmic, minor distinctions at the bottom can have a significant impact of how
crisply deep shadow values can be separated. Push things up the curve and you might affect the
opposite extreme. An old school straight line film like Super-XX or Bergger 200 would resolve a scene
very differently than something with a more gradual toe like HP5, Plus X, or Delta 100. That's why
contact printers and alt printers coveted these kinds of films. They have great usable range. Get up in the high mtns or desert with a deep red filter and see what happens to the shadows. Then try to hold specular glare in the same shot. Believe me, I've paid my dues to learn this. There are plenty of
wonderful films to choose from, but they differ in what they specifically better at - and you can't
just turn one into another - otherwise, the kind of selection we currently have wouldn't even be
necessary. Everyone screams when their favorite film is discontinued. Why? There's a reason.
Cliveh - don't know whether to take you seriously or not. Film curve defines what a film does. You
can be "creative" in any way you wish. Certain people get paid to play a tuba; but would you want
them to play at your wedding? Creativity needs to be matched to the instument appropriate for the occasion, or in this instance, how you want the subject ultimately rendered in the print. Understanding the sensitometry is integral to the outcome, whether one learns this by studying
graphs and adopting the official lingo, simply by gaining experience in the field intuitively, or both.
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