fine grain film for warmtone prints - Medium Format Photography Forum

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Q. fine grain film for warmtone prints

Asked by Nicole Takeuchi (K=0) on 2/10/2004

Hello. I'm looking for a very good fine grain black and white film that works well when printed on ilford warmtone paper. I'll probably use ilford.
I plan on using a rolleiflex with a close-up 3bayonette lens. The product i want to shoot is the size of a matchbox. Although I have considered shooting with my 35mm nikon macro lens since it's very sharp. But i decided against it because it's not really sharpness that i'm looking for, i love the 6x6 format. Thesedays I use tri-x and am develop myself. My question is: should I use fuji across 100, or ilford 100 films? Is there anyone who can recommend a good film?Thanks in advance.

Chris Lauritzen (K=14949) - Comment Date 2/11/2004

I would try Ilford Pan f

Nicole Takeuchi (K=0) - Comment Date 2/11/2004

Hi Chris,

Thanks i'll look into and do some testing.

nicole

Michael Goldfarb (K=629) - Comment Date 2/12/2004

I'd also recommend Agfapan APX 100. In my own work (with a Minox, where grain is the name of the game), I've found it to be the finest grained of the "old tech" films in that speed range. What's more, it has a beautiful look with very smooth gradation and is less prone to excessive contrast than the new tech films. Better exposure latitude too.

I've never used in in MF, but it should be *gorgeous*...

Khalid Ismail (K=43) - Comment Date 2/14/2004

Hi Takeuchi,

The ILFORD FP4 (125 ISO) and HP 5 (400 ISO) are the best films I ever used in B&W, they are technically more sharp than T-Max and Tri-X pan but I found the touch of HP5 and Tri-X pan are the same.

Best Luck

IsmailKhalid@Yahoo.com

Nicole Takeuchi (K=0) - Comment Date 2/14/2004

Hi Michael,

Thanks for your mail.
I happened to have some agfa apx 100 in the fridge, so i did a test the other day. I hope they turn out gorgeous!

nicole

Nicole Takeuchi (K=0) - Comment Date 2/14/2004

Hi Khalid,

thanks for your suggestions. maybe there're other alternative than just ilford warmtone like kentmere or forte warmtone i'm thinking of using.

nicole

Giuliano Guarnieri

(K=36622) - Comment Date 5/4/2004

From my experience the best "no grain film" is the Pan F in PMK (Pyro) or Rodinal. In both the two developer you have to set your ISO at 32 ASA.

Phillip Cohen

(K=10561) - Comment Date 5/8/2004

If you have lots of light and want NO grain, give Kodak Technical Pan film a try using Technidol developer. It is probably the finest grain film on the market, but at ISO 12 it does take a lot of light.

Brian C. Miller (K=478) - Comment Date 5/10/2004

While Philip suggests Kodak Techpan, I'd recommend against it unless you are an anti-grain nutter. I've shot a good bit of it, and pulling the film for 12 instead of 25 will take a few rolls to experiment with for proper development times. And Techpan isn't cheap film, and it requires a special developer, Technidol.

The Ilford films are quite nice. Fact is, pretty much all 100 speed films are nice. I've read reviews from pro photographers who think Tmax is nearly the equal of Techpan for lack of grain.

Oliver Racz (K=169) - Comment Date 5/17/2004

You will get as many different suggestions as there are slow and medium speed films out there. This is really only a question of your preference. My personal favourite (not that I have used so many films) is Ilford FP4+. It has a much nicer tonal range than T-grain films like Kodak T-max and Ilford Delta films, and is still very fine grained. It is also easier to control the highlight areas and prevent them from being blown away. I normally rate it at EI64. I never lost any shadow detail at its nominal speed of ISO 125/22 either, but it just looks better for me at EI64.

t chamberlain (K=638) - Comment Date 6/10/2004

I have used Techpan at ei8 and processed it in Rodinal dil. 1:100 with one inversion per minute in a stainless tank.

I liked my results..

t chamberlain (K=638) - Comment Date 6/10/2004

Oh yes and printed on the Ilford warm tone... good luck tc

Stefan A. F. Kassler (K=3727) - Comment Date 6/13/2004

I also would use the Ilford Pan F 50 film.
This film has a very rice tone and a fine grain.

fp student (K=42) - Comment Date 6/17/2004

Hi. I used to shoot tmax 100 almost exclusively. I have developed a taste for certain Ilford films. I am quite partial to FP4 125 and Delta 100. I find each to have a silky smooth tone as compared with tmax films. The grain structure is not as harsh as that of tmax either. It is also MUCH easier to get the film on a rell for developing. I find that Kodak films, ESPECIALLY Tri X, are a royal pain in the but to load on a reel, and an even bigger pain when it comes to trying to make the silly film lie flat for scanning.

Given a choice, I will shoot with Ilford every time.

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