Summer Film

My birthday is this upcoming Saturday and my sister has been asking me what I want and she's starting to get mad because I haven't given her any ideas. Then I realized I've been wanting some 35mm film to shoot during summer. I'm taking all digital classes next semester at school so shooting some 35mm during summer will allow me to get some darkroom time in

Now I just have to decide what film I want. People have told me on here that the look between films is minimal, it's the developing process that makes a film look like what you want. However, as I was reading reviews on some films I wanted to try out, the reviewers said the films have a certain characteristic to them that was only specific to that film. The one's I'm interested in are Ilford Delta Pro 100 and Fuji Neopan Acros 100. So what's everyone's opinion?

People have told me on here that the look between films is minimal, it's the developing process that makes a film look like what you want.

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Well the first part is correct. To a first approximation, black and white films all look alike. The most important thing that affects the look of the pictures (as opposed to the composition), is the lighting. Followed by that is the exposure, followed by that is the rest of the processing and printing which go together. People who stand around in darkrooms making lots of prints can immediately tell the difference between different black and white films because they are so used to working with one or another, and they notice that one film acts slightly differently than another, but in terms of actual look of the pictures and final product, nobody else can tell. It's kind of how a good chef can immediately tell the difference in garlic from two different parts of the country, but once he gets done making his dish, the differences are gone, and they were only important to the chef in the first place.

I would say start with FP4+. Ilford Delta and Kadak TMax are tabular grained films. This lets them be manufactured with less silver, but are more senitive to procesing variations. Ilford FP4+, HP5+, Kodak Plus X, TriX are cubic grained films. More silver, but less sensitive to processing variations in develioper time/temperature/agitation styles.

I'm not sure if Acros is tabular, but I think I read that it is.

Ultrafine Online is close to you, and also has a good selection of house brand films on offer, as well as short dated name brand film. You may want to check out their site; I buy from them and even with extra shippig chages to Canada the cost is still worthwhile for me.

FP4+ is a good general purpose film to learn B&W on. The slower films than this nominal ISO125 film are finer grained, but tend to be too easily overwhelmed by wide contrast ranges of light as you find in the summer. Faster films have more pronounced grain, the trade off you get for being more sensitive to light.

Since you say 35mm and a California summer, I suspect and EI of 125 and a developer like D-76/ID-11 would be a good place to start. Google 'Barry Thornton' He is now dead, but though the web, still has has two great articles 'personal film speed' and 'personal development times' on his site that will be a great start to guide your early use of b&w film to the best of it and your abilities.

Happy shooting and processing. I will find out if my advice about the California summer light is right soon.
In less than two weeks I will be holidaying with my family for two weeks in your part of the world.

Freestyle is right here in Hollywood. Get some Legacy-Pro (which is Fujifilm Acros 100) from Freestyle. You can order it today and have it by Friday or Saturday at the latest.

More fun just to drive up there on Saturday. You and your sister could have a great afternoon together.

It's your birthday, ask for both!
Why not try a few rolls of each and decide which you prefer, especially since it's not on your dime?

Freestyle has a deal on short dated Arista Premium 100 and 400(Kodak PX and TX)film, 36 exposure x 20 roll mixed (10+10)for $35, or 20 of either for same. They also have 24 exposure for $30, best deal is 36 exp. That ought to keep you busy for a week or three.

BetterSense - Thanks for the interesting response. I've never thought about it that way before.

Mike - thanks for the recommendations. I've taken two classes so far that have dealt with black and white film so I think I'm a little past the learning stage but DEFINITELY nowhere close to the level of processing that some people on here are. I've used Ilford, Kodak, Legacy Pro, and Arista Premium before. I forgot what Ilford film I used but I didn't like it because the contrast was too low (despite frequent agitation and a little overexposure). I liked the Legacy Pro but I heard rumors that they stopped selling it, I'll have to check. Hope you enjoy California! Are you coming to northern or southern?

wblynch - There's one in Santa Fe Springs and that one is actually closer to where I'm at. It's only about a 15 minute drive.

zesbaugh - What a great idea

Rick A - Thanks for the tip. I'll call them and check out their website.

Rick,

Specials on Freestyle are Legacy Pro stuff, not Premiums.
http://www.freestylephoto.biz/clearance.php?man=

Arista Premium 100 24exp is 1.89 each but it has been like this for months.

I find FP4+ is a bit more forgiving of overexposure than Delta 100 and T-Max 100 though I shoot with all three. In summer's harsh lighting you may find it works better but really you can't go wrong with a film from Ilford, Kodak or Fuji. 100 is good unless you want a faster shutter speed when 400 can be good, even on a sunny day if you want to shoot at 1/400th at a smaller aperture.

Really though, we should be asking what you'll be shooting, with what camera, printing optically to what size?

If you haven't used them already, I would recommend Tri-X and Tmax400 even if only to gain some experience/exposure. They are quite unique in character. Tri-X is of course, the classic. Tmax is quite interesting, too.

I used to obsess over getting exactly the right temperature, agitation, and time to get Tmax under control. Since then, I've learned to over-expose by 1 stop and under develop by 20%, and I quite like the result. Doing so takes the harshness out of this film. It's a contrasty film anyway so doing N-1 fits my sensibility just fine. Doing it this way, processing is not so exacting and critical.

I'm not so sure about all films are about the same thing. Using textbook exposure followed by per-tech-sheet development, then print identically, those two films I mentioned gives me quite a different result. I can make one look like the other by making adjustments here and there but the mood and the feel they create isn't the same. I've been amazed how little technical difference creates large overall difference when viewed from few feet away.

Anyway, my recommendation to you is to try'em all... Asking others which film is like asking others what fruit to eat. There are no right answers and what's good for me may not be good for you.

Three nights San Diego, Five nights LA Downtown somewhere around Kodak Theatre (my wife booked all the sites) Two nights a bit north of San Francisco, and a couple of nights on the road on the way up to and back from SF. One night to get back to LAX airport area hotel before the 405 closes for the weekend.

tkamiya said:

Rick,

Specials on Freestyle are Legacy Pro stuff, not Premiums.
http://www.freestylephoto.biz/clearance.php?man=

Arista Premium 100 24exp is 1.89 each but it has been like this for months.

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You are absolutly correct, brain fart!

aaronmichael said:

... People have told me on here that the look between films is minimal, it's the developing process that makes a film look like what you want. ...

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Really. I find all B&W films to be unique. And great

I just bought a bulk roll of Ilford Pan F+ 50 and have already shot a few rolls. It's a great film if you want to open your lens up even on a sunny day. And Ilford films have great tonality

Sunlight during the summer leads to contrasty lighting. You need to be aware of this and tske it into account.

To avoid very small apertures and/or fast shutter speeds you need a film with a rating of 125 or less. Ilford Pan-F+ has a speed of 50 but tends to be contrasty at this speed. It would be a good choice rated at 32 with reduced development to lower contrast. Kodak Plus-x would also be useful. Use it now before Kodak stops making it completely.

tkamiya said:

Rick,
Specials on Freestyle are Legacy Pro stuff, not Premiums.
http://www.freestylephoto.biz/clearance.php?man=
Arista Premium 100 24exp is 1.89 each but it has been like this for months.

Click to expand...

The Premium 100 is the last of that stock.

If they still have any another Great buy is the Two packs of HP5+36 at the single roll price! Hp5 is a great film at half price! BUT if you are only shooting in the sun you might perfer to the 100 Speed. Hard to beat the clear out price on Legacy Pro.

Thanks everyone for the responses! I'll probably pick up a few different kinds and just experiment. No reason to stick to one film. The Ilford Pan F+ 50 sounds like a pretty sweet film. Also, thanks everyone for the tips about the summer lighting being harsh but I always try to follow one of the main rules of photography and that is never shoot when the sun is high in the sky. I usually shoot towards sunset.

I have been using 400Tmax and find it to be a great film - minimal grain, reasonable contrast and not as finicky as others have said. I found TriX (at least in its Freestyle garb) to be rather grainy and really no better than the 400Tmax. For me, the slower films have been overly contrasty - especially PanF. Tmax100 looked nice with Rodinal, but the grain was similar to the 400Tmax, so it didn't seem to be worth the loss of the 2 stops.

Therefore I would agree with the advice of buying a bit of each and see what you like before you standardize on one film.