I'm looking for a nice 400 asa film to use , with a fine grain and a nice contrast. At the moment I'm using agfa 100 asa ,developing in D 76 one to one for 14 minutes. Maybe someone can give me a tip about a film and developingtime to use? Thank you very much.

-- Ciline van Balen (celinevanbalen@hetnet.nl), April 21, 2000

Answers

Try Agfa APX400, Ithink they do it in 400 speed though I could be wrong as I have only used it in roll film (My fault for not having a tank big enough to do sheets). Develop it in Ilfospeed diluted 1-100 for approx 16-18 min, you may find that you like the way it renders the grain (NB other print developers may work but not the multigade variety). Hope this helps.

-- David Kirk (David_J_Kirk@hotmail.com), April 21, 2000.

I have been using Kodak "TRI-X pan professional TXT". The ASA is 300, and it works very well with all the standard Kodak developers. I have been using D-76. Development time is 5 minutes at 72 deg. Fine grained and good contrast! I don't think it is as "fussy" to use as the T-MAK films.

The Kodak website lists all their products and charts for use. -Dave

-- Dave Richhart (pritprat@erinet.com), April 21, 2000.

Tri-X Professional or Ilford HP-5 plus gives me all I want in a 4x5 film. Both develop well in the standard developers. I have used Tri-X for years, but recently have been doing more and more on HP-5 Plus. Either film is excellent.

-- Doug Paramore (dougmary@alanet.com), April 21, 2000.

Ilford XP-2 Super. True ISO 400, superb long linear scale, virtually no grain. Process in any old C-41 setup. Who could ask for anything more?

-- Bill Mitchell (bmitch@home.com), April 21, 2000.

Celine, Ilford's HP5+ and Kodak's TXP are very nice. You will get beautiful tones and very fine grain with Diafine which is a two bath developer. Development is done by putting film in Bath A for 3 minutes, transferring to bath B for 3-5 minutes and go directly to fix. The 2 bath developers (Split D76 and Diafine to name a few are absolutely wonderful with no worries of over developing because of the compensating values of both developers!!!) work exceptionally well and I highly recommend them. They are long lasting and do an excellent job on all the older (non T-grained) films. Also, for an excellent 100 speed with a very long toe, try Kodak Ektapan. Scott

-- Scott Walton (scotlynn@shore.net), April 21, 2000.

I use HP-5+ for several reasons. 1) Agfapan 400 is not available in 8x10 and can be hard to find in 4x5. 2) Tri-X sheet film has a long toe, which is best for studio portraits, not landscapes. 3) Tri-X sheet film is different from Tri-X roll film, so if I use Tri-X, I would need to do two sets of testing (one for sheet and one for roll film). 3) HP-5+ is cheaper than Tri-X.

-- William Marderness (wmarderness@hotmail.com), April 21, 2000.

You might like Ilford Delta 400, developed in Peterson FX-39.

-- Alan Gibson (Alan@snibgo.com), April 21, 2000.

I like Ilford Delta 400 in D76 1:1 Jobo 3006 expert drum at 68F for 11:30. (5 min pre-wet) rated at 400 for this development time. Normal contrast subject prints on Iflord MG IV around grade 2-2.5. Contrast and tone is beautiful. This film should be fairly easy to dial in and get repeatable results.

-- Gary Frost (gfrost@home.com), April 27, 2000.