Response to Need least grainy 400 ISO film

Hi,

It is been just over a week since my post. I have been amazed with the amount of response for which I am very grateful. I have had vastly different views and ideas from y’all.

Here are the suggestions I have received and my opinions for each of them:-

PUSH AN 100ISO FILM. That is a good suggestion except for the loss of shadow detail and so not useful to me.

GO FOR A LARGER FORMAT. This is bad suggestion in my opinion, even if you ignore the extra weight of the equipment. I need a 400ISO film because the light is low not because I like 400ISO film! Medium format lenses are 2 stops slower than 35mm lenses. So then I would need a 1600ISO film to compensate for the slower lenses. So I might as well shoot 100ISO in 35mm!

C-41 FILMS. This is an excellent suggestion. I shot a couple of rolls of the Kodak variety a few years ago and checked the grain and it was almost non existent. Sadly however I cannot process them myself and so to use these films would imply to be at the mercy of a lab and so thereby ruling out these films too! I have since heard that you can use regular B&W chemistry but the grain is horrendous. So there.

VARIOUS FILM DEVELOPERS LIKE PMK. This is a good suggestion. However the amount of grain reduction, if any would be minimal. So it is not worth my time to experiment.

TRY THE NEW DELTA 400. I feel that this is the best suggestion so far for my needs. And so I have order a roll of this film!

One final note. Some have argued that sharpness is more important than grain. That why is grain so bad? Well that is a personal preference. I like silky smooth tonality and fine grain.

Here’s hoping that the NEW Delta 400 will be the one for me!

Thanks y’all!!!

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