Looking for a sharp film.

samuelingram · Apr 19, 2011

I'm looking for a sharp, fine grain film, with good detail in the blacks. One that will get good results with basic processing methods.

I'm looking at Ilford HP5 Plus 125, but have no experience with Ilford films so I'm reluctant to buy some.

Any recommendations?

Jeff Kubach · Apr 19, 2011

You might try Ilford Pan F (50asa/ifo).

Jeff

c6h6o3 · Apr 19, 2011

samuelingram said:
I'm looking for a sharp, fine grain film, with good detail in the blacks. One that will get good results with basic processing methods.

I'm looking at Ilford HP5 Plus 125, but have no experience with Ilford films so I'm reluctant to buy some.

Any recommendations?

What format? Pan F is not made in sheet film.

Ian C · Apr 19, 2011

T-Max 100

Kodak T-Max 100 is one of the sharpest films around. Ive experimented with new films as they come into the market. This has the best combination of speed, sharpness, smooth tonal scale and great enlargability. It has become the only B&W film I use in 35mm, 120, 4" x 5", and 8" x 10".

It can be processed in any B&W developer, but is particularly suitable for development in Kodak T-Max developer. Thats a good combination because T-Max Developer is a liquid concentrate making it particularly easy to use. You can easily mix just enough to develop a small number of films. Theres not need to mix the entire bottle of concentrate.

Keith Tapscott. · Apr 19, 2011

samuelingram said:
I'm looking for a sharp, fine grain film, with good detail in the blacks. One that will get good results with basic processing methods.

I'm looking at Ilford HP5 Plus 125, but have no experience with Ilford films so I'm reluctant to buy some.

Any recommendations?

HP5 Plus is an ISO 400 film. FP4 Plus is Ilford's ISO 125 film and it is very good as are most films in the ISO 100-125 speed group.

c6h6o3 · Apr 19, 2011

For 35mm or 120 I would have to vote for Pan F+.

tkamiya · Apr 19, 2011

Another vote for Tmax-100. It's a film with fine grain, sharp, and good contrast.

David William White · Apr 19, 2011

Irresponsible Suggestion: If you really need to go to the wall, look for some B/W duplicating film. Really slow, most varieties not panchromatic, but astounding. Last year I was shooting often with some Eastman Intermediate film (it was pan), and I enlarged 35mm to 16x20 with no visible grain. I developed it in both D-76 and Technidol, but any differences were lost on me, so I'm sure just about any developer would work.

pgomena · Apr 19, 2011

Fuji 100 Acros, T-Max 100, Pan-F+, Ilford Delta 100. All sharp and fine-grained. HP5+, Tri-X, faster, not so fine-grained. T-Max 400, Ilford Delta 400, both fast, sharp, finer grain than the older-technology HP5+ and Tri-X. All are influenced by developer choice, development method and exposure. Take your pick!

Peter Gomena

totalamateur · Apr 19, 2011

Try a broken dry plate.

Sorry, couldn't resist.

Vaughn · Apr 19, 2011

It will also depend on the sharpness of one's technique and equipment...

Vaughn

Ektagraphic · Apr 19, 2011

You can't really go wrong with most of Kodak's flavors. I would give Plus-X 125 a try. Great, great film

semeuse · Apr 19, 2011

I like the Adox CHS25 and ORT25 for sharpness and detail. I also like the Ilford PanF.

Роберт · Apr 19, 2011

Any Ortho 25 film in a high acutance developer like Rodinal, Efke 25 in Beutler A+B or FX-1 or a Copex (Agfa Gevaert) micro film (like Rollei ATP-1.1) in a suitable micro film developer like ATP-DC or SPUR Modular UR.

You will have the finest grain and when having a suitable exposure with these developers extreme high sharpness and acutance. All above films are available in 35mm and 120 roll film.

Not one iso 100 film will give you these features.

JCJackson · Apr 19, 2011

Although it is a special animal, nothing touches ADOX CMS 20 for grainless sharpness. To achieve best tonal scale, acutance and full emulsion speed, you should use their proprietary developer. It is still stupendously slow. But I have enlarged these negatives to 16 x 20 and have had a hard time seeing any grain in the grain magnifier. It is simply astonishing in what you can get in a 35mm negative, but you will need a tripod and a very sharp lens to realize the full potential of this stuff.

Thomas Bertilsson · Apr 19, 2011

Sharpness: Kodak TMax 100 / Fuji Neopan Acros / Ilford Delta 100

They are capable of about 100 - 120 line pairs per millimeter of resolution at an exposure index of 100.

400 speed film: Ilford Delta 400 and Kodak TMax 400 are in a league of their own with about 70-80 lp/mm. That's actually better than Plus-X and FP4+.

When you start to make larger prints from these films, at about 16x or more, you will discover that all of the fabricated grain films have more detail. I actually get more sharp detail with 35mm Ilford Delta 3200 developed in Rodinal, at 16x20" print size, than I get from Ilford FP4+. Believe it or not, I am seeing just that.

- Thomas

Jim Noel · Apr 19, 2011

No film will give you good detail in the shadows if it is under-exposed. You will not have the finest detail w/o grain if your development is not correct.
Don't rely on the manufacturer, or asking people on this or any other forum. Whichever film you choose, and you have received some very good suggestions, do your own testing for exposure index and development time in your chosen developer.

Ronald Moravec · Apr 19, 2011

Kodak T Max100 for the same reasons stated above. I use D76 1:1 that I mix from raw chemicals a liter at a time. Xtol is also good. T Max is a push developer that gave me grainny but sharp results with really high midtone contrast. Works well in Rodinal like all low speed films. I just find D76 is a nice balanced developer, speed, grain, sharpness. Most developers give up two in favor of one.

My second choice would be Ilford Delta 100. Never used Across, but Fuji may be exiting film and I will not hitch my wagon to them.

semeuse · Apr 20, 2011

JCJackson said:
Although it is a special animal, nothing touches ADOX CMS 20 for grainless sharpness.

I love this stuff, but since the OP requested no special chemistry I left it off my recommendation. I find it also works very well in Formulary TD3.

Alan Johnson · Apr 20, 2011

I prefer Ilford Delta 100 to 100 T-Max for 35mm as it appears to me to have less tendency to curl across the width after drying.Here is a technical comparison of the two, likely the relation would be similar if developed in D-76 or Xtol:
www.imx.nl/photo/Film/page123/page123.html

Nicholas Lindan · Apr 20, 2011

T-Max 100.

Develop it in Microdol-X for Tech-Pan like grain. M-X is no longer made, but Ilford has an equivelant, name escapes me.

Tech-Pan / Technidol will do better, but you can only get it on ebay.

But if you really want no grain then you need to go to MF or LF. Even an inexpensive Zeiss Nettar folder loaded with T-Max will have finer grain and better resolution when resolving low-contrast detail.

Nothing beats square inches.

Bruce Watson · Apr 20, 2011

samuelingram said:
I'm looking for a sharp, fine grain film, with good detail in the blacks. One that will get good results with basic processing methods.

For the first two requirements, just about any modern B&W film qualifies. Good shadow detail is on you -- you have to get the right exposure for that. But certainly any film from Kodak, Fuji, or Harmon will work for you.

A Sabai · Apr 20, 2011

I love Pan F+ in 120 or 35mm, but now I am shooting Delta 100 because I can shoot both 120 and 4x5 with the same emulsion and it makes my processing easier.

2F/2F · Apr 20, 2011

T-Max 100 is my suggestion. It is sharp, fine grained, and holds a bit more detail and bite in the low tones than many films. It is highly controllable with processing variations, and has excellent exposure latitude. It looks great in any developer.

You can get finer grain and more resolution from a few other specialty films, but you will have to really work to get low-enough contrast out of them, and they will be much slower. They definitely do not meet your "basic processing" criterion.

If not T-Max, then try Ilford Delta 100 or Fuji Neopan Acros (which is ISO 100 speed).

HP5 is a 400 film. FP4 is a 125 film. HP = high-speed panchromatic, and FP = fine-grained panchromatic, I believe. Neither are flat-grained/t-grained/tabular-grained films like T-Max, Delta, or Acros. They are Ilford's competitors to Kodak Tri-X 400 and Plus-X 125.

Lee L · Apr 20, 2011

Nicholas Lindan said:
Develop it in Microdol-X for Tech-Pan like grain. M-X is no longer made, but Ilford has an equivelant, name escapes me.

I captured it out in my back yard.

Perceptol.

Lee

Looking for a sharp film.

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