favourite b&w film

[santino]

Ok folks, I know this one is a bit stupid cause it always depends on situation what film you're going to use but anyways

is it Kodak stuff, Ilford?

I stick with Ilford, dunno, Hp5 and Delta is the real deal for me

 

[Rob A]

i use Ilford HP5. love it! SOMETIMES i use FP4 (ithink its that) ilford all the way!!

 

[Artemis]

Ive used HP5...and its ok...I really like a film with contrast...so im gonna try Delta

 

[Hertz van Rental]

Never got on with Ilford or Agfa. Have used Kodak Plus-X and Tri-X almost exclusively for nearly 25 years now, with Microdol-X developer. Can't say I'm that keen on T-max either. I know lots of people who prefer different films to me. But it's like everything else in Photography - personal preference.

 

[santino]

agreed on t-max, don't like the results.

 

[Jeff Canes]

Ditto on the T-Max
Right now I am mostly using Efke KB25 I like it a lot. But in the pass usually when with Ilford XP2 and got very good results.

 

[craig]

Tri X!!!! I would always shoot it at 200 ASA/ISO and get amazing results with the ol' Nikon F. I shot Plus X a couple of times, but I never had the patience to expose it correctly.

 

[Soulreaver]

I use Tri X.We decided to test Iso speed for a film and most of us had Tri X so thats how it went.
I think its better to use one brand exclusively until you know its properties inside and out so you can compare with other brands, so I will use it for a while.

 

[Rob]

If you dev and enlarge yourself, I'd say FP4, but I'm a very bad B&W photographer especially with landscapes and buildings!!! For people, T-Max 400 or 3200 is flattering, I would say that the grain appears far bigger than the 100 or even 400 ASA/ISO Ilford.

All of the C-41 process B&W dev prints seem to come out either green or brown, I usually end up scanning and reprinting myself or B&W darkroom enlarging. I like most of them for quality, but the store prints will be a funny colour (especially Ilford film).

If it's worth anything, Black and White Photographer magazine in the UK tends to favour Tri-X and Ilford.

 

[ksmattfish]

All of my BW 120 and 4x5 has been Arista Pro 125 and 400 for the last 18 months. It's supposed to be blank label Ilford FP4 and HP5. It's cheap, and I like it.

If I need speeds higher than 400 I prefer pushing Tri-X over HP5, particularly with 35mm. The Tri-X / Diafine combo is a new favorite. I've only been using it in 35mm, but I'd like to try it out in something bigger.

For certain projects, and night photography, I used to love Tmax-100. But I'm still going through the bricks I bought a couple of years ago, and I've been told that it's emulsion has changed recently as Kodak moved it's production to a new, all computerized factory, and it's not quite the same beast it used to be.

For color work for clients I stick with Fuji NPS and NPH. I think Fuji just changed those names though.

 

[KevinR]

I suprised with the dislike for T-Max. What are you developing it with? I had bad results using D76, but great results using the dedicated T-Max developer. I have not tried the Ilford, so who knows, maybe I should.

 

[ksmattfish]

I think that tabular grain films (Tmax, Delta) tend to be more finicky than more traditional emulsions when it comes to exposure and development. A little goof up, and the contrast went over the top; at least for me and Tmax 400. For a while Tmax 100 was fairly predictable, but like I said, I've been told it's different now.

We should also discuss the flipside of this topic (some have been). What's your least favorite BW film?

I tried a dozen rolls of Arista.EDU label film (ISO 200, 120 size). It's supposed to be Forte. Not only did it curl like crazy, but it's stinky! It was a little grainier than I might expect from ISO 200, but I liked the look. Unfortunately the excessive curling makes it such a pain in the butt in the darkroom or scanner, that I won;t use it again.

I prefer pushing almost any BW film rather than use Tmax3200p. I used to push Tmax 100 to 400, rather than use Tmax 400. I had better results that way than shooting Tmax 400 at 400.

 

[WetNeck]

I almost always use Agfa APX.....never had a problem with it and if it aint broke...

 

[santino]

APX 25 was great!

 

[PreludeX]

I suprised with the dislike for T-Max. What are you developing it with? I had bad results using D76, but great results using the dedicated T-Max developer. I have not tried the Ilford, so who knows, maybe I should.

i shoot this stuff on an almost daily basis for school... we use tmax developer and d76 1:1 the film itself IMO is crappy, ive never liked most of my results with that film... Ilford Delta 3200 and Pan F plus 50 are great.... i also like kodaks 125px and tri-x films...