What is your favourite film?

[Bangles]

Have tried Ilford Delta, Kodak Tri-X and Kodak Tri-Max.... and my personal favourite is still the b&w 120mm Ilford Delta 100 for 120mm and b&w 35mm Ilford 3200. I love the range of tones captured on this film, and what wonderful 'glow' that my Leica captures on the grainy ISO 3200 film.

Still cant find the beauty of the Tri-Max depite all the hype. And besides, I find the film thick and hard to load on my Hassy.

What is your favourite film and why?

 

[photobum]

My favorite films are TMX and FP4. I have tested both films extensively with Zone System to match my equipment. Now, I just meter, shoot and develop according to the contrast range.

 

[szekiat]

tri-x is an acquired taste if u ask me. Its got really harsh grain and is not always the most suitable film. However, its really flexible, allowing me to expose it at anything from 100 to 12800 without too much detail loss. Personally, i think delta 100 and 400 are great for med format, very fine grain. For 35mm i try to shoot delta 100 as much as possible but if not, tri-x is the one for me.

 

[Bangles]

Errr..... its TMX instead of Tri-Max. :embrass: kekekke... i am very non-technical as you can tell.

Photobum: what is the FP4? Is it Kodak / Fuji / Ilford.. etc etc?

Szekiat: I have never been very successful with low ISO on the 35mm. I like to shoot indoor scenes with my M6 - like restaurant shots or inside my home. Would love to learn how you manage the camera shake for long exposures?

 

[Patryk]

for sheer flexibility, just like Tri-x.. i find myself using Ilford HP5 most of the time, especially indoors. Got too familiar with the Ilford chemistry, so kinda end up using hp5 instead of tri-x.

 

[Bangles]

Patryk: What is the diff between the HP5 and Delta series?

 

[szekiat]

hp5 is like tri-x in that its a remake of a very old styled iso400 film that was popular in the 60s and 70s. In term of performance, its a lot more grainy than delta and also the shape of the grain is different if i'm not mistaken.

Bangles, for seriously long exposures, i just use a pocket tripod, normally the slik minipod if i have room to spare, if not i just brace it on any flat surface. For exposures from 1/8 to 1s on leica, i don't have to use bulb mode so i just use breathing techniques to time my shutter release. Its been ok for me so far. I've gotten away a couple of times with using astia 100 in restaurants so its not too bad.

 

[clubgrit]

My favorite MF films are selected due to the differences in tone mostly, in the print (not the scan). Grain is a non-issue for me, it can be controlled to taste (i.e. if you develop yourself).

IMHO,

Ilford Delta 100 and 400 - like the way black is rendered, and the sharpness
Ilford HP5+ 400 - softer look than above, but a classic and slightly grainier look
Ilford FP4+ 125 - similar to HP5+, but sharper, and not as soft, I like the blacks on this too
Ilford 3200 - soft look, really big grains, good for achieving a certain look. Very useful in low light of course

Kodak Tri-X 400 - a classic look, and sometimes even a subtle midtone sepia to it. Not as sharp as Delta, with good highlights. As for Tri-X grain, I have yet to encounter it as significant, and I only print from 8S upwards for MF. I even had some developed by Rice Ball, grain is really a non-issue, the proprietor immediately knew it was MF.

Fuji Astia Neopan 100 - similar to a Tri-X, but sharper

Fuji Velvia 50, Velvia 100F, Provia 100, Provia 400 - color slides, I like the saturated look.
Fuji NPH 400 - for people, popular as a wedding film


I cannot really use my Hassy in low light without a tripod, lowest I can go is 1/30. That's where the RF comes in. Szekiat's recommendation of the tiny compact tabletop tripod is good, you can fit it into your bag. Without a tripod, it can still look fine to me, but only if the picture is small, like 4R or 5R - not my thing ...


.

 

[photobum]

Photobum: what is the FP4? Is it Kodak / Fuji / Ilford.. etc etc?

TMX is Kodak T-Max 100 and FP4 is Ilford FP4 Plus 125. Both of these are my current favorite B&W films.

My all-time favorite B&W film is Kodak Technical Pan 25. Love its super fine grain (virtually grainless if develop correctly). Too bad this film had been discontinued.

My favorite color films are Fuji Velvia 50, Fuji Provia, Fuji NPH 400 and Kodachrome 64.

My favorite IR film is Maco IR 820c.

 

[Bangles]

Thanks for sharing your experiences guys. I am sure many of us in this forum will benefit from your experience and tips! :thumbsup: