Hi, I will be going to Europe in a few weeks, and wanted to shot some B&W (just snapshots, its actually a business trip). But, I was thinking I should develop the film there to not worry about xrays. I thought my best bet would be to use the c-41 process B&W films, since I can develop them anywhere. Anyone have recomendations for (or against) c41 b&w film? Should I just go with tri-x or something, and find a good B&W developer in Europe? Thanks! Phillip (ps- also, i can use filters with c-41 B&W film, right? yellow and red filter?)

-- Phillip Silitschanu (speedin_saab@hotmail.com), May 05, 2002

Answers

If you are going to complete your travel in one of the many large European cities that processes Scala film (see: http://www.agfa.com/ photo/products/film/professional/bwrevfilm/scalalabs) you might consider shooting B&W slides.

-- Jim Lennon (jim@jmlennon.com), May 05, 2002.

Some people love Tri-X (I do) others hate it. some people love Fuji Acros (I don't... much) others... You get my point. All this is very personal. I happen to like Kodak T400CN a lot for two reasons: very smooth and it scans beautifully with my Nikon Coolscan 4000 scanner. Better than any other B&W film. Now, if it could be as contrasted as Tri-X, that'd be great. I've had mixed results with Portra B&W and I have yet to try Ilford's XP2. They are medium speed films, so are they as good as slower ones, ie TMX 100 or APX 100? Probably not. But then again... BTW, I guessyou can have traditional B&W developed anywhere in Europe. The advantage with C-41 is that you can have it developped much faster, like in one hour, same as color negs. Filters? I never noticed any difference between traditional and C-41. B ut I'm not a pro. Ask a pro. Have a good time.

Olivier

-- Olivier Reichenbach (olreiche@videotron.ca), May 05, 2002.

You'll be better off with C-41, since quick processing of standard B&W is not always easily available. Of course you can use filters with C-41 B&W film, just as you would any Black & White. Having said that, I really wouldn't worry about x-rays. Just carry the film in your hand baggage and it should be OK after 3 or 4 passes through the machine. (I do take the precaution of making sure any unexposed film that I bring home does not go go with me on another flight. The exposure is cumulative, but I have never had a problem with damage as the result of one round trip, which usually means 4 or 5 times through a machine.

-- Jack Matlock (jfmatlo@attglobal.net), May 05, 2002.

Filters on chromogenic (C41) B&W - sure - no special difference from 'silver' films.

Ilford XP2 will give you negs that work a little better for traditional 'silver' prints later on - they are grey instead of orange, for instance. They look like 'silver' negs only less grain and softer tones.

Kodak films seem to give slightly better results at the one-hour lab since they have the color-neg compensation dyes built in (the orange cast).

I don't think you will be grossly disappointed with either Kodak or Ilford - and if you are it's more likely the lab than the film's fault.

Like you, I suspect it will be faster/easier to find corner color labs than a dedicated silver film/print lab - but could be wrong.

-- Andy Piper (apidens@denver.infi.net), May 05, 2002.

Filters can be used with the C-41 B&W films, but they are affected much less by filters than conventional films, and in fact, don't seem to need them. With no filter, you will get pretty much the same tone in the sky that you would get with a yellow filter on conventional film.

-- Dave Jenkins (djphoto@vol.com), May 05, 2002.

Phillip;

On I travel extensively and have not hada problem with film up to 400 even with cumulative X Ray exposure of up to 10 times, sometimes on a single trip.

Make certain to NOT carry film in checked luggage, as the X Rays they may use are much stronger.

Kodak's Website has an EXTENSIVE report dated 18 Feb 2002 about X Rays. Go to www.kodak.com and follow teh links to Baggage X Ray Scanning Effects on Film.

There is little difference in the 4 C-41 B&W emulsions. Most of teh time these differences are overshadowed by variations in printing, but my preference is for Kodak T400 CN.

When I print the negs myself, I squawk about the times as the orange mask in the negative effectively doubles or triples the exposure times with my enlarger, but....

Cheers

-- richard ilomaki (richard.ilomaki@hotmail.com), May 05, 2002.

Phillip,

Stick to what you normally shoot and bring it back for processing, and don't worry about x-rays unless you shoot film at EI 1600+. I've had 400 speed film survive numerous passes through carry-on scanners, but on my last trip some Delta 3200 wound up with shadows on it from a scan. If your business trips are anything like mine, you won't have a lot of time to deal with film processing.

-- Chuck Albertson (chucko@siteconnect.com), May 06, 2002.