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Re: [OM] B/W films....

Subject: Re: [OM] B/W films....
From: "Glen Lowry" <lowry@xxxxxx>
Date: Tue, 18 Jan 2000 09:58:02 -0800
Hi Thomas,

These days, I too am shooting predominantly b&w.  Being able to do my own
development and printing is a major reason; it allows me a lot more creative
latitude than working w/ high contrast chromes.  Secondly, the
traditions/styles I'm most interested in following/learning are deeply
dependent on b&w.

But then you asked what films we are using, not why.  So in answer to you
query, I shoot mainly Tri-X (ei 250/320) and Delta 100 (ei 80)--souped in
Xtol 1:1/1:3.  Sometimes Agfapan 25 in Rodinal (1:50)/Xtol.  I have shot a
lot of Ilford Pan F, but abandoned it to in favour of either Delta 100 or
Agfapan 25.  I also like the contrast range and shadow detail of HP5+, but I
have abandoned it for Tri-x. Last night, I printed some five year old Delta
400 negatives (ei 400? ID-11) that I'd assumed (due to weak contact sheets)
were overdeveloped, but they turned out to be quite impressive.  The fact
that Delta 100 and 400 are listed as having similar development times in
Xtol (1:1) makes it very appealing to me; perhaps I will drop Tri-X as my
everyday standard.

What I like about these films:  the Delta 100 and 400, in addition to the
fine grain and resolution, print to deep black.  The skin tones w/ Delta 100
tend to be of a higher value, making it excellent for portraits.  Tri-x is
truly in a class of its own--great tonality and detail (I'm sure there are
others among us who can give a more exact description of what it does
exactly)--if you don't mind the grain.  Agfapan 25 is the finest grain, high
resolution film I know of.  The shadow detail suck--at least in the
developers I've been using.  However, w/ a high accutance dev like Rodinal
the image sharpness is amazing.  Lacking better descriptive powers, I'd say
I like Agfapan 25 because it has a real old time look to it.  The slow speed
is both a blessing and a curse--a blessing because it forces one (if s/he
has an aversion to tripods, as I do) to shoot w/ a very shallow depth of
field.

The only film I'm not happy w/ is Agfapan 100.  In both Xtol and Rodinal, it
seems to be very flat, dull, lifeless, which is a drag because I just picked
up 20 rolls of 120.  If any of you have a good recipe for Agfapan 100, I'd
love to hear it.

Hope this helps.  I look forward to hearing about others experiences.

Cheers,
Glen


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