There has been much talk here about T-Max. How do you feel about XP2? Frankly, I am not sure if I love it or hate it. It has super fine grain and good skin tone (when it works), but it sure doesn't seem to like being underexposed. Any thoughts?

-- Anonymous, April 12, 1997

Answers

XP2

Hi Terry,

I've only seen a few prints from both professional and amateur photographers and I have to say I didn't really like them. All had the 'sepia' tint but were quite muddy in tone. Perhaps the commercial printing was at fault or they were slightly underexposed. I've avoided trying it because of this but it does seem to be gaining popularity.

-- Anonymous, April 15, 1997

This is the second query re XP2, the sepia tone is normally a result of incorrect C41 process or chemical at the end of their normal life. Ask for an early run on fresh chemicals. When using the film try an orange or red filter, XP2 reacts well I've used xp2 in both 35 and 120 format and get great results, portraits with a red filter (3) have to be seen to be believed, when printing go for deep blacks.... excellent.....good shooting.

-- Anonymous, April 19, 1997

XP2 is a fine film to work with. I have used it for some landscape work and have been very impressed with it. One nice feature you can shoot it at different ISO speeds, ex. ISO 800 for a few frames, then ISO 400, etc. and get great results all on the same roll of film. I suggest using a yellow filter for best results. Red & orange filters do the film justice too. Experiment with it. Also have the final prints printed on b&w papers. The quick prints from C41 processing are ok for proofs but not for the final print. Have fun with it and enjoy the experiments. I too hope to try the new Kodak film whenever it hits the market. Happy shooting! GQR

-- Anonymous, May 04, 1997

In my opinion, XP-2 is the best 35mm B&W film going. The grain is ultra-fine, especially considering the ISO, its tonality is *superb*, and best of all, you can get it processed anywhere in an hour for $2. I enlarge it to 12"x18" (on Ilford FB) with no problem. People think the prints are from medium format negs. The only disadvantage I can see is its lack of archival stability.

-- Anonymous, May 24, 1997

I've compared two rolls of XP2 film that were identically exposed. One roll was processed at home with Ilford's kit and the other was processed at the local camera store. The roll processed at home had much better acutance and better contrast. The better acutance is probably attributable to the intermittant agitation I used, and the higher contrast to agitation and length of development time.

-- Anonymous, July 03, 1997