Shopping around for a new b/w film stock, what are you using and why?

BrandonJ · Jun 22, 2011

I am an all around shooter and right now I am shooting the last of my Neopan 400 (now out of production) and need to stock up on new film. I have been trying the Ilford 3200 because it has an awesome push/pull range that I love but I am looking to see if anyone else has another favorites.

What I look for:
Currently available
Something that I can push/pull (+/-2 stops or more)
120 format
great tonal range
Can be developed in R09 (Rodinal formula)

I would love to hear your reviews (pros / cons) of any of the b/w on the market.

Thanks,
BrandonJ

Bob-D659 · Jun 23, 2011

Try some Delta 400, works for me in Xtol, don't know about pushing it, as I have only used it at box speed. I'm considering it as a replacement for when my stash of neopan 400 is all gone.

tomalophicon · Jun 23, 2011

Tri-x. I shoot 80% of my Tri-x at 1600. I reckon it looks great.
I don't see why it can't be developed in Rodinal, but I use good old ID-11.

PLUS: It's cheap as chips when you buy it as 'Arista Premium 400' at Freestyle (only in 35mm casettes).

Tim Gray · Jun 23, 2011

T-Max 400 is some good stuff too. Don't know about what it looks like in Rodinal though...

Jeff Kubach · Jun 23, 2011

I would go for Tri-x or T-Max 400 also.

Jeff

polyglot · Jun 23, 2011

TMY2 in Rodinal 1+50 is great, with really sparkly highlights. Switch to XTOL if you want speed though as Rodinal is a bit speed-reducing with normal agitation schemes.

Laurent · Jun 23, 2011

Nobody suggested it so ... I'd vote for HP5.

It's not too expensive, works fine with XTol 1+1, is made by Ilford who clearly supports us... What else ?

dnjl · Jun 23, 2011

Laurent said:
Nobody suggested it so ... I'd vote for HP5.

It's not too expensive, works fine with XTol 1+1, is made by Ilford who clearly supports us... What else ?

Yes, HP5+ is a very decent (and cheap) choice. Can be pushed to 1600 with no pain and looks lovely at box speed. It is a bit grainy though.

Dr.Pain-MD · Jun 23, 2011

I strongly dislike HP5, it always has such ugly dull tones when I use it and I've tried several things with it. Tri-X is great and can be pushed no problem, but I absolutely loved Delta 400 when I pushed it to 1600. Those two would be my recommendations.

thegman · Jun 23, 2011

I like Retro 400, it's got a "look" which may not be your taste, but I like it's strong contrast and slightly infrared look.

Ian Grant · Jun 23, 2011

Another heads up for Delta 400 and also HP5. I'm getting great images on HP5, it has a great tonal range, I only returned to using it about 3 or 4 years ago after a break of about 25 years.

Ian

SFC · Jun 23, 2011

TMY II is a beautiful film, and is very sharp and grainless in D-76.
I wouldn't necessarily chose a film based on what developer I have around.

mouren · Jun 24, 2011

For 120, I would suggest Tri-X. I hardly ever shoot it box speed. i usually push it +3 stops to 3200 using Xtol. You can try Rodinal 2hr stand dev for pushing. I have tried that and it works pretty well.

Here is an example:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/funwithcameras/3377661470/

andrewluke · Jun 24, 2011

One more for Tri-X. Rodinal is my developer of choice but I'm looking to start using Xtol as well. There's just that certain something with that combination and I love the look when it's pushed.

NJS · Jun 24, 2011

waltereegho said:
Yes, HP5+ is a very decent (and cheap) choice. Can be pushed to 1600 with no pain and looks lovely at box speed. It is a bit grainy though.

In my experience HP5+ is anything but grainy until 3200EI, either in D76 or Microphen. At least I got less grainy results than I had with Tri-X developed in same soups.

xya · Jun 24, 2011

hp5 works great for me with rodinal 1:50. it's not grainy imho if it's not pushed too far. superb tonal range. for even less grain try to push fp4 to iso 400 (rodinal as well) and compare wich suits you best.

kind regards

reinhard

Mark Fisher · Jun 25, 2011

TMY in Rodinal works well. If you also want a slower speed film, Acros also works well in Rodinal

Роберт · Jun 25, 2011

I had the same "problem". Neopan 400 in 120 roll film was my favorite. It had a nice price too.

Here a test of simmilar type (cubical ) B&W films:
http://www.digitaltruth.com/products/product_tests/400ISO_filmtest_001.php

Concerning price quality I have settled down for the Rollei Retro 400S.
It pushes a bit less then Neopan but it has fine grain, is very sharp and with the right type developer a nice tonal scale too. The price in Europe is more then OK.
BTW it's a product of Agfa Gevaert in Belgium so the Q.C. is also good.

Richard S. (rich815) · Jun 25, 2011

Personally one of the few combinations I've not been satisfied with is HP5+ in Rodinal. TMY400, Neopan 400, Delta 400, Tri-X; it's all good in Rodinal, D-76 or HC-110.

2F/2F · Jun 25, 2011

I'd use any film from Kodak or Ilford. Kodak Tri-X can be bought for about half price from Freestyle; it is relabeled at Arista Premium 400.

Richard S. (rich815) · Jun 26, 2011

2F/2F said:
I'd use any film from Kodak or Ilford. Kodak Tri-X can be bought for about half price from Freestyle; it is relabeled at Arista Premium 400.

Which is not offered in 120. :-(

TimmyMac · Jun 26, 2011

I use TMY2 when I need fast film and push it upward to 1600 or 3200 when necessary, and Neopan Acros when I want slow film.

TareqPhoto · Jul 8, 2011

Until now, my most amazing film i had so far as B&W are 6: Acros 100, TMAX 100/400, FP4+, HP5+, Pan F+, i tested Tri-x and Deltas but didn't like the results much as the first 6, the results i liked were mostly from TMAX and Ilfosol 3 devs, D76 gave me great results with Acros and TMAX films but not as TMAX dev, also Ilfosol 3 gave me better results with slow Ilford films over D-76, but i don't mean that i have bad results with D-76 or that it didn't work fine, i know many said that D-76 is so damn great to use, yes, but for me, it is not the ultimate one, same goes with Tri-X film, it is very versatile and great film, but it is not my favorite yet.

jp498 · Jul 8, 2011

I'm digging TMY2 with PMK (iso 320) for sunny weather / high contrast, and TMY2 with pyrocat-hd (iso 400) for lower contrast work.

PaulMD · Jul 9, 2011

Acros works great in Rodinal. Good tonal range, excellent resolution, no reciprocity failure out to 1000 seconds. Tri-X gets a bit grainy, but HC-110 works fine.

Shopping around for a new b/w film stock, what are you using and why?

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