I am taking the leap into doing my own developing and printing B & W. I just purchased a Valoy II enlarger. Now for the films to use withan M3 and/or a Leicaflex SL.

My photography centres upon people shots particularly my famly. I was therefore wanting some B & W film recommendations. I've heard that Plus X is great for portraiture. How does it compare to FP4 ?

Or would you go for Tri X or HP5. Are these latter two too grainy for people shots ?

I appreciate your views.

Regards,

Tony Salce

-- Tony Salce (NadinaTony@bigpond.com), May 08, 2002

Answers

The classic films that you discuss are all fine indeed. But, I would give a strong recommendation for Ilford Delta 400. Beautiful film, fast, fine grained, and easy to process. I like XTOL 1:1.

Good luck.

-- Dan Brown (brpatent@swbell.net), May 08, 2002.

Since you now have a lab at your disposal, why don't you test the films you mentioned. Stick to one developer ( I would say D-76/ID-11) and try every film you're curious about. Once you've found a film that's best for what YOU shoot and the way YOU shoot it, try some different developers. Just change one variable at a time.

-- Steve Wiley (wiley@accesshub.net), May 08, 2002.

Tony I agree with the last writer. It is a bit like asking the people on here what their favorite ice cream is when walking in the park. Would you eat something you don't like just because someone else recommended it. Set up a constant situation and shoot several films. Then print them and see what YOU like. I personally don't care for D-76, as the last writer does, because its "fine grain" feature uses sodium sulfite to "smooth" off the edges of the grain. Photos appear finer grained, but also have less acutance. Plus I hate long developing times. So I go with Tri-X or FP4 in HC-110 B, but again, that is what I have arrived at and has no bearing on what others like in their own work. You gotta walk the mile, man!

-- Charles (c.mason@uaf.edu), May 08, 2002.

I always liked the smoothness, contrast and shadow detail of tri-x as a general purpose 35mm film when I shot black and white. I can't see plus-x as a portrait film because it never worked well for me. If I was going to do B&W again I would probably use tri-x in d-76 1 to 1 or HC-110 1-15 or 1-31. I'd be very tempted to try the t-max 400 as a much newer emulsion with less grain and much more modern technology. Try to standardize your B&W as much as possible for consistency. Good luck.

-- Gil Pruitt (wgpinc@yahoo.com), May 08, 2002.

Only you can decide what a "portrait" you shoot should look like. Pick what you like, or what you find comfortable to work with.

I like the fairly grainy look I get with Tri-X in Rodinal, but others despise it. All these "what film" questions end up in the same place.

The Singer, Tri-X in Rodinal, Copyright 2002 Jeff Spirer

-- Jeff Spirer (jeff@spirer.com), May 08, 2002.

The other posters are right on -- there is no accounting for taste, so you simply have to try some combos and see what you like. The film/developer combos I use are not, according to the ads and some of the "conventional wisdom," supposed to provide the ultimate image quality. But they give me what I want.

-- Douglas Kinnear (douglas.kinnear@colostate.edu), May 08, 2002.

First Tony, congratulations for taking the plunge. Second, try rec.photo.darkroom for all sorts of questions. Very knowledgeable people there. Third, just wanted to remind you that Tri-X and D76 are the classic b&w film and developer. With these two, it's very hard to produce a negative that's not printable. Kodak has a lot of down loadable information on there web site. But I would stick with one method, film and developer for the first dozen rolls or so. When you're comfortable, then sort to branch out and try different things.

-- Glenn Travis (leicaddict@hotmail.comG), May 08, 2002.

This has nothing to do with film but still. Phil the Sexgod says "just go out and buy a Nikon F5, now there's a babe-magnet" You must really be the sexgod Phil. In my case the F5 has only attracted guys, and this is not what I want. My DCS 620 (digital f5 on steroids) has scared several women away, so much for the magnet. Now my real chick magnet is EOS 3 with 550 EX and a lens shade (the lens does not matter - it can be made of wood, as long as you can stick that shade on). I've heard multiple comments like "Oh! It is such a beautiful camera" Unfortunately, I ruined it all each time because I fired up and started to talk about the camera. Oh well, I'll learn (maybe with some help from Phil). As far as the M6 - nobody notices it at all. It is the opposite of the magnet. Igor

-- Igor Osatuke (visionstudios@yahoo.com), May 08, 2002.

Uh oh! Hardly had I responded to Phil's insightful comment - the original is gone. Oh well. As far as my experience with bw film for portraits: I like HP5 for its lower contrast and good shadows. Another film that I like is Verichrome Pan but it only comes as 120 and will be discontinued soon with Plus X as the closest substitute. T-max 100 is good as well. I compared it with Agfa APX 100 and found TMX much subtler and softer in tonality but still sharp (so I am sticking with Agfa). Hope this helps. Igor

-- Igor Osatuke (visionstudios@yahoo.com), May 08, 2002.

Phil is funny even when he gets sensored. Phil is amazing.

-- pinhead (blieb@sheridanross.com), May 08, 2002.

Thanks for your replies. They were all very sensible. The concensus apperas to be experiment and decide for oneself which is the best combination.

I suppose I will start with Tri X in D-76, the classic combination and see how that goes.

Thanks again.

-- Tony Salce (NadinaTony@bigpond.com), May 08, 2002.