John;
Regarding B&W films. I have had a lot of experience shooting B&W. My
absolute favorite is Ilford Delta 100 with Delta 400 close behind. I
have made ( and sold ) 11x14 prints from Delta 100 that people are
amazed that they could come from 35mm-- they are virtually grainless.
For fun I took a photography course at the local Junior College and when
I printed up some 8x10's from an assignment my instructor thought I had
used a medium format. He wanted to know my "secret". Probably the other
important key here is the developer. For all of these photos I have used
Kodak's XTOL, I have used it both as 1:2 and 1:1 and it seems to work
well at both dilutions. Only negative is a relatively short shelf life
once mixed. HP-5 is good film but it will get grainy even at 8x10.
Larry Otto
John Hudson wrote:
>
> My knowledge of the characteristics of various black and white films, other
> than film speed, is almost non-existent.
>
> A nearby photo dealer commented to me yesterday that the C-41 process
> T400CN film would produce respectable enlargements up to about 8" x 11" but
> anything larger would be noticeably soft. He also said that TMAX should be
> avoided for shots on bright sunny days unless I really wanted contrasty
> photographs. In addition, he said he sells very little slow Agfa speed
> black and white in winter but that demand picks up in late spring and
> summer. His principal comment was that if I wanted black and whites I
> should buy black and white film and generally avoid C-41 process film
> altogether.
>
> Anyhow, to get to the point! I am looking for sources of information and
> comments on the characteristics of available black and white films [Kodak,
> Ilford, Agfa, etc] and which brand might be appropriate for differing
> circumstances; eg: portraits, landscapes, low light, town, country,
> mountains, flora and fauna, etc, etc.
>
> Any information from the list will be appreciated.
>
> John Hudson
> Vancouver, BC, Canada
>
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