Hi,

I am looking for a film in the 800-1200 ASA range for night photography. I am not obsessed with fine grain. What I really want though is something with lots of latitude and low contrast. Sort of like a Tri-X. Something with lots of "shadow detail".

I am looking at Ilford HP5+ pushed. Will it be better developed in ID11 or Microphen for my purpose? What do you think of this film pushed?

What else can I try? I don't like the idea of TMax 3200 and Ilford 3200 and pulling them because they are both very expensive (3 times the cost).

So please advise me!

Thanks!

-- Mike Foster (mike567@acgecorp.com), May 16, 2001

Answers

Mike, Fuji has a great film, 1600ISO. Can't say about price, but quality will obviously surpass any pushed 400ISO. Give it a try. Good luck.

Cesar B.

-- Cesar Barreto (cesarb@infolink.com.br), May 16, 2001.

Mike,

while I can't give any direct recommendations, it seems that TM3200 and Delta3200 are both really closer to 800ASA (or thereabouts). I've heard this mentioned in numerous articles and websites, but is also apparent when you check the recommendations for development. For example, if you look at the Kodak data sheet for XTOL developer (download it from the kodak website), when these two films are developed to a normal contrast (0.58) they are rated at an EI of 800. The value of 3200 is given for high contrast (ie no shadow detail). Ditto for development in Rodinal which Agfa say should be rated at 1250. I believe a similar state of affairs applies to Neopan 1600. You've asked a question which I'd like to know the answer to - HP5 pushed to 800 or Delta 3200 pulled (ie dev to normal contrast) to 800.

George

-- George Paltoglou (stellar@optusnet.com.au), May 17, 2001.

Mike, I really like Fuji Neopan 1600 a lot. The price is around $3.20 per roll - from B&H. I expose it @1000 and develop accordingly.

chris

-- Christian Harkness (chris.harkness@eudoramail.com), May 17, 2001.

Mike, I'm not sure where you are seeing your prices, but ILFORD Delta 3200 is not triple the cost of HP5+. Price difference should only be about $1.50 per roll or thereabouts. Delta 3200 has a true film speed of 1000-1250, depending on developer. Development in ID-11 or ILFOTEC DD-X should give excellent results at these speeds. An alternative would be the new version of ILFORD Delta 400, which will push very well up to ratings of about 1600.

Regards, David Carper ILFORD Technical Service

-- David Carper (david.carper@ilford.com), May 17, 2001.

Thanks to all.

It is nice to know that an Ilford rep listens to us. Thanks Ilford!

Yes I agree that both TMZ and Delta 3200 are actually 800 ASA films. However they are fine grained and have little latitude wheras HP5 has lots of latitude and so I was hoping that it would be as good as those two at 800ASA.

Now about the costs. Sorry I should have made it clear that I bulk load my films. So if I get a roll of HP5+ at about $24, I can get 20 rolls out of that. That works out at just over a buck a roll! Pretty cheap!

Sadly Delta 3200 is not available in bulk and costs about $4-5 a roll! And TMZ is available in bulk, but for some very strange reason Kodak has priced the bulk roll stupidly! It goes for around $90 per roll! So it is cheaper to get 36 exposure rolls!

Again I appreciate your help but would like more input!

Which is a good developer for HP5? Which is better at 800ASA HP5 or Tri-X? Again I am not after grain, but shadow detail!

Thanks!

P.S. I wish Delta 3200 was availble in 100 foot rolls!

-- Mike Foster (mike567@acgecorp.com), May 19, 2001.

Delta 3200 has a true speed of 1000 (in ID-11) and Kodak Tmax P3200 of 800 (in D-76), if my memory is good. I am not sure about Fuji Neopan 1600... I prefer the results of Ilford HP5 + pushed at 800- 1600 and developed in a well chosen chemical... Try the Tetenal Emofin Two-Bath developer, after a few trials I think you will get unexpected results...

-- George Papantoniou (papanton@hol.gr), June 08, 2001.

HP5+ works very well in Microphen or DD-X, giving a real speed of EI 640 and a nice push to EI 1200-1600 without getting nasty. While Microphen is normally used straight and DD-X is diluted 1:4, they work just fine at 1:1 and 1:9 respectively, giving equivalent curve shapes and speeds to the stronger dilutions at development times of around 1.5X the normal times.

This can really be a toss-up; at EI 1200-1600 HP5+ begins to get a little contrasty, while Delta 3200 at those speeds offers superb tonality but is significantly grainier.

-- John Hicks (jbh@magicnet.net), June 08, 2001.