Which film do you prefer and why?

Stephen Frizza · Mar 11, 2008

pellicle said:
Stephen

have you heard that HIE is discontinued?

hahaha along with almost everything else i listed! I bought 800 odd rolls of HIE when it went out of production. I feel like the Indian prince in Charlie and the chocolate factory (Johnny Depp version).

Markok765 · Mar 11, 2008

I like Tri-x 35mm in Rodinal stand developed for a grainy look.

Snapshot · Mar 11, 2008

I've become a big fan of APX 100. It is sharp and has an excellent tonal range. I don't find it grainy even though it's not a T-grain film.

Eric Rose · Mar 11, 2008

I love ADOX 100 in 4x5. Why? Because I have tons of it and I have spent the time to figure out how to get what I want out of it. Oh ya and it was REALLY cheap too. My second choices are FP$ (not a typo) and Ilford Ortho.

pellicle · Mar 11, 2008

Stephen Frizza said:
hahaha along with almost everything else i listed! I bought 800 odd rolls of HIE when it went out of production. I feel like the Indian prince in Charlie and the chocolate factory (Johnny Depp version).

cruel ... very cruel

I've got a bunch in the freezer now from the last shipment at my local film stockist in Australia. Love being able to get images like this

what to do after that?

RobertP · Mar 11, 2008

Adox/Efke pl 100 and I really like the look of Adox/Efke pl50. Both in 8x20 and 12x20. I also shoot some t-max 400 in ULF when I really need that little extra speed. But it can get a little pricey. I really like the look of the older emulsion style Adox/Efke films especially for alt processes.

Lee Shively · Mar 11, 2008

Tri-X or HP5+ and Plus-X or FP4+. They're pretty interchangeable. I'm more driven by subject than image quality so any of these look fine to me. I still have more than 100 rolls of HP5+ in the freezer so I use it most. Pan F+ is also a favorite when I'm aiming for best technical image quality, especially in medium format. I develop them all in Rodinal or D76.

eddym · Mar 11, 2008

HP5+ is pretty much my standard film, though I've been trying some FP4+ lately, and I like it too. I used to shoot Delta 100 and 3200, but haven't done so in a while. Never liked Delta 400, nor TMax films. Used to shoot TriX but haven't done so in quite a few years. Been meaning to try some again...

Gary Holliday · Mar 11, 2008

People love answering this question, so I'm sure you will have plenty to read. I choose films for their tonality. Different films for different projects. I love experimenting with different films because that's the fun hobby part of black and white photography.

For portraiture, it's APX 100/ Rollei retro and experimenting with Delta 100.

For rock formation projects in bright sunlight and looking for a great tonal look and detail it's APX 25, PanF 50 will replace this film.

Tree pics and meadows are all done in Konica IR 750, this will either be replaced by Rollei IR 400 or Ilford SFX.

When I need some drama on dark wintery days I'll use Tri X or Neopan 400.

All fims are processed in Agfa Rodinal 1+50.

Do I need to use so many different films? Probably not, but they do have a habit of discontinuing my favourite films, so a close replacement is found by reading these forums.

ronlamarsh · Mar 12, 2008

Film

I have standardized my film developer combination: I use Arista Edu ultra(Foma) 200 for everything and develope it in varying dilutions of D-23 depending on what I want. I have used FP4, HP5,TRI-X and forte and really can't see a great deal of difference. I gave up on forte due to quality control problems, I gave up on the others due to cost without any measurable advantage imagewise. I can get a 100 sheet box of edu ultra 4X5 for $33 a little lesss than half the price of the others and Freestyle always has a good stock of it on hand.

jasonjoo · Mar 12, 2008

Gary Holliday said:
People love answering this question, so I'm sure you will have plenty to read. I choose films for their tonality. Different films for different projects. I love experimenting with different films because that's the fun hobby part of black and white photography.

For portraiture, it's APX 100/ Rollei retro and experimenting with Delta 100.

For rock formation projects in bright sunlight and looking for a great tonal look and detail it's APX 25, PanF 50 will replace this film.

Tree pics and meadows are all done in Konica IR 750, this will either be replaced by Rollei IR 400 or Ilford SFX.

When I need some drama on dark wintery days I'll use Tri X or Neopan 400.

All fims are processed in Agfa Rodinal 1+50.

Do I need to use so many different films? Probably not, but they do have a habit of discontinuing my favourite films, so a close replacement is found by reading these forums.

That is quite interesting Gary! I'm going to keep it simple for now, but that's a cool "line up" you got there. If it works for you... then well... it works

Jason

sanking · Mar 12, 2008

I like T-MAX 400 for large format and ULF.

For medium format, T-MAX 100 and Fuji Acros. If you shoot a lot in low light conditions the low reciprocity failure of T-100 and Acros give them more effective film speed than traditional ASA 400 films like HP5+ and TRI-X 320.

Sandy King

Nicole · Mar 12, 2008

So many factors come into play, starting with what are you photographing? I agree with Jason, learn one film thoroughly first before playing around with lots of film. I did that against lots of good advice and it did delay my learning curve.

For my natural light portraiture I shoot different film for different subjects depending on the final look I'm after and the type of light available. ie. I like TriX 400, but will use Delta for babies. Neopan 400 is a wonderful film but you have to be careful. The Australian sun, especially in summer, gives very harsh light apposed to the softer light at the other times of the year.

23mjm · Mar 12, 2008

Well my film--

35mm--Delta100(@100 or 200) and Delta 400
120--Efke 25, Delta100, Delta400, Delta 3200
4X5--Delta100, Atrsta/Foma100, HP5+

I develope the Ilfords in DDX and the Arista/Foma and Efke in ID-11/D76

Want to try Efke 25 on the 4X5 but haven't gotten arund to it yet.

And why because?????? I just want to and I know the films pretty good.

Efke 25 works well with a Orange filter too.

pellicle · Mar 13, 2008

Nicole said:
So many factors come into play ... The Australian sun, especially in summer, gives very harsh light apposed to the softer light at the other times of the year.

definitely a big factor! Compared to more northern latitudes you've got to go down to Tassie to get light anything like most of Nth America, Central Europe or Japan.

I'm in Finland and I gotta tell you I have had to rethink my exposures developing and film preferences. I'm liking ADOX here, but wonder if it will translate well back 'home'

Simplicius · Mar 17, 2008

Nugget

JBrunner said:
One piece of advice though... get to really know at least one emulsion before you start bipping around all over the place. That way you will know how the new thing performs, because you will have a baseline of experience to judge from.

That is the nugget of wisdom I am taking away as a beginner to all this. I have being using Fuji Neopan 400 since my first darkroom & developing course in January. I will now continue to do so, anyway in Ireland it's so fecking dull you need 400 with a tripod!

Curt · Mar 17, 2008

I prefer Panatomic-X, which makes the most outstanding negatives and prints. I like it in 4x5, 5x7, and 8x10. I use the roll films also, 35mm, 120. In Rodinal it's totally outstanding.

Which film do you prefer and why?

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