 Tanya Logan |
What Black and White Film to Use Hi I'm very interested in exploring B&W photography, but know nothing about film selection. I would like to photograph everything from macro work, architecture, nature, landscapes, seascapes, portraits. Comments and suggestions appreciated. Books that are helpful in film selection for both B&W and color would be most helpful. kindest regards,
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Jeff S. Kennedy |
Tanya, there are many "flavors" of b&w film available. Each with it's own characteristics. A lot depends on your subject. I don't believe there is one film that perfectly fits every subject. Are you planning on developing yourself? If not then I might suggest one of the C41 b&w films available (Kodak T400CN or 400BW or Ilford XP2 are good films). They are b&w films that are developed in color chemicals. If "true" b&w films are more your cup of tea then I can tell you what I use. I like Ilford PanF for most stuff. It is ISO50 and very fine grained. I like it for landscapes and portraits. For handheld work I like Ilford Delta 400 or Tri-x (if you like grain). For low light Ilford Delta 3200 or Kodak P3200 are both good. Though I rarely use them, the Kodak Tmax films are very popular.
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Tanya Logan |
Jeff, Wow! Thanks so much for your help! I don't know why I neglected the subject info., which includes land & seascapes & close up shots, mainly flora using a macro lens. However, having said this you've covered all the options, and yes I do like the "grain" effect.
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doug Nelson |
Jeff K, I'm considering jumpstarting my B&W after too long away from it. I'm looking for image quality that will use to advantage some Leica optics I've been lucky enough to acquire affordably. What developer works for you with your Pan F? Should I use a hardening type fixer? I've had someone else recommend Kodak TMax 100. Had any problems with it?
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Jeff S. Kennedy |
I actually haven't developed my own b&w for years (blush). I've been getting it done either through my portrait lab (for portraits) or through a dedicated professional b&w lab. I plan on doing my own developing very soon, however. The b&w lab I use is The Photo Factory in San Diego if you are interested.
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Lyle Pack |
I used to love Tri-X exposed at EI 200 and developed in Microdol-X for 7 1/2 minutes. It gave me speed and very smooth grained prints (almost grainless). My favorite papers were Kodak Medalist - gone!, and Agfa Portriga Rapid. I used to also get great results using Kodak Panatomic X developed in Diafine - very slow but allowed tremendous enlargement/cropping possibility. I haven't tried Diafine with Ilford's fine grain film - it might equal the Pan-X results. Recent attempts to recapture the quality with Tri-X have failed (I have been shooting mostly color for the last 10 years and may not "see" so well in B&W), but I shot a roll of TMax 100 and developed it in Rodinal and loved it. The contrast was perfect and detail better than I had hoped for. Previous attempts with TMax (developed in Microdol and D-76)had left me very unhappy. And, I haven't liked the results I have seen from other photographers using TMax developer so had pretty well sworn off on it. You never can tell. I am printing on Ilford VC fiber based papers today. Good luck, experiment til you find what works for you.
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John A. Lind |
I have used: Ilford XP-2 (chromogenic B/W) Kodak B&W Plus 400 (chromogenic B/W) Kodak Tri-X Kodak TMax 100 Kodak TMax 400 Agfa Scala 200X (transparency) After a couple rolls of the chromogenics I abandoned them. IMO they were OK, but lacked any "character" trying to be everything and as a result they were nothing special. I suggest trying several different traditional B/W films from Ilford and Kodak. Be certain to include TMax and Tri-X. They are decidedly different films. Film choices are very personal ones that should match *your* vision for what you want, not everyone else's. Most of my B/W is done with Scala 200X. It's an extremely fine grained transparency film; very nearly as sharp as the ISO 100 color chromes, and that's what I work with most. Be aware that it must be printed differently as it *is* a transparency and this requires finding a lab that can handle it if your primary objective is prints. -- John
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