Beginners film :S

[bippi]

Hi,

Well I know it is a little stupid question but which film to you recommend for a newbie in B&W development. I was thinking of fuji neopan 400 or Ilford HP5+. Basically what I´m meaning is what film is the most forgiving i guess, if that makes any sense at all😀

 

[Tom A]

Either Neopan 400 or HP5+ will do well as will Tri X. The trick is to "invest" in a substantial amount of what ever film you choose and learn how it behaves. No teching aid is better than looking at negatives and printing from them. The trick is to standardize on film and deceloper first and once you have established your own "parameters" for using it - you can start experimenting - or just keep shooting.

 

[jayjee]

I'm with Tom A. But what I did first was bought 1 roll of each:
TriX
Tmax
HP5+
Neopan 400
Arista

I used them all in similar settings to see which I liked best and then after I figured it out I went and bought a pro-pack and starting shooting exclusively with a single brand.

 

[dazedgonebye]

I was given a bag with 20 rolls or so of recently expired (refrigerated) tri-x...so my film decision was made for me.
I bought a bottle of ilfosol s for my first developer because that was what was at hand.

So, I'm set for the early part of the learning curve. When I've gone through these supplies, I hope to know enough to try something else based on choices.

 

[MichaelM7]

I second the above suggestions, however, I would immediately decide on one film.

If you are inclined to use HP5+, use it. TriX will also be fine. If you go for HP5+ make sure you do not start with Rodinal as a developer. This will yield somewhat "special" results. Some like them, others despise them: the grain might get pretty dominant, if used incorrectly.

I'd follow Tom's advice (which is always good, as he is one of our best experts here in the forum), buy 10 rolls of HP5, some Ilford ID11 developer, and get shooting. Try to shoot motives, which you are familiar with, so you know the actual look of them, and you know what you aim for. Make notes. Try different development times to see the difference in contrast / gamma value. Try bracketing the shots. Learn the best combination.
And most important of all: have fun!

 

[bmattock]

Tri-X is much more forgiving of newbie mistakes than any of the others, and D76 is the most common developer. More important than that - when you get results you do not understand, there is always someone with extensive experience in that combination who can help you. Tri-X and D76 are the Chevy Nova and small-block V8 of the B&W photography world - absolutely ubiquitous, dead-on easy, and you can do a lot with it without breaking the bank.

I would not recommend anything else until you have quite a few rolls under your belt and feel like experimenting.

My 2 cents.

 

[pesphoto]

I started with TriX and I still use TriX.

 

[fidget]

As an experienced newbie of ~5-6 years (does that make sense?), I agree with the idea that you should get used to a film and developer. ID11/D76 is common and very cheap,
As far as I understand, the combinations recommended are as forgiving as you can get, but don't think that you would be limited to some kind of inferior images, the results can be quite superb.
I am thinking of adding another developer to my kit, to deal with pushing film, but it's quite possible that I will stay with ID11 as my standard for a long time to come...

Dave..

 

[Ronald_H]

I AM a newbie so I feel qualified to comment 😉

Read the forums and get an idea what different people use. I had a definitive aim in mind: High contrast concert photography. People adviced Tri-X and Diafine. Ley me tell you, it works better than my wildest dreams!

Diafine is very easy (wide range of temperatures that will work without changing the result, fixed development times for nearly every film) but that's also its drawback. You cannot really control your development as youy would be able to do with D76. Still, it will work very well vor a newbie.

But you asked for a beginners film. I love Tri-X, so that's my suggestion. But whatever you choose, stick with it and see how it behaves under a range of conditions and maybe even with several developers. It's a great place, this B/W film world. Welcome and enjoy!

 

[ibcrewin]

Look through flickr for film/dev combos and get a ball park figure of what you like. Find a film and hold on to it. I got a 2 100' rolls of TMAX400 so That's been my film for the last couple of months. Before that I was using HP5+ which I really liked.

 

[bippi]

Man, I must say this website and the people using are just all wonderful, thanks alot for all your comments.
Well I´m leaning towards tri-x over the HP5+. But the thing is that I live in Iceland and the Kodak supplier here is not the greatest, he has the film but not the D-76 developer. But the best pro photographyshop here sell the film and Ilford D-11 and Ilfosol S developers. So since they are still doing the best they can to keep the film going with ilford I want to pick HP5+ and D-11 developer. But does the TriX work well with Ilford D-11 developer if so that might be the way togo for me?

 

[Florian1234]

I'm a newbie, too.

In the photography class I took in the second week of March, we used Ilford Delta 400 film and Tetenal Ultrafine plus developer.

What do you think about that combination?

 

[bmattock]

I'm a newbie, too.

In the photography class I took in the second week of March, we used Ilford Delta 400 film and Tetenal Ultrafine plus developer.

What do you think about that combination?

I don't know, but I'm sure it must work fine. In a controlled setting such as a classroom environment, where you have the instructor to assist and advise, I'm sure it's no problem.

My recommendation is based on a newbie to processing B&W, usually working alone, who might need advice and diagnostic help from others online. As good as Delta 400 is, and as good as Ultrafine must be, I'd be willing to bet that there is a much larger user-base of experienced home-developers who have used Tri-X and D76 and might be able to lend assistance.

I'm not trying to convince anyone that Tri-X and D76 is the 'best' film and developer combo - but it is very forgiving, it is well known and well understood, and it is classic combo that millions have had experience with.

So for a newbie who might need help - I think that's the way to go.

 

[bmattock]

Man, I must say this website and the people using are just all wonderful, thanks alot for all your comments.
Well I´m leaning towards tri-x over the HP5+. But the thing is that I live in Iceland and the Kodak supplier here is not the greatest, he has the film but not the D-76 developer. But the best pro photographyshop here sell the film and Ilford D-11 and Ilfosol S developers. So since they are still doing the best they can to keep the film going with ilford I want to pick HP5+ and D-11 developer. But does the TriX work well with Ilford D-11 developer if so that might be the way togo for me?

If I am not mistaken, ID11 is a more-or-less exact replacement for D76. So you can use them the same way.

Also, if Tri-X is not locally procurable or is very expensive, what the most 'common' film might be a better choice if budget is a concern for you. I based my 'Tri-X' advice on someone who could get it pretty easily.

 

[Keith]

I'd start with HP5 and D76 ... that was my starting combo (recommended by a lot of people) and it worked straight away. It's very forgiving with agitation during development which Neopan is not in my opinion. I've nevert tried TRI-X but I suspect it would be as user friendly as the Ilford. I had trouble with the Fuji initially which I blamed on the film but it was me, not tailoring my technique for a different emulsion and assuming it was going to be as quick to please me result wise as the HP5.

 

[charjohncarter]

Tom's right, get a film that you can buy easily where you live and one that at least will be around for a while, too. Learn how it behaves. Get a developer that you can afford and is easy to use in your developing area and stick to both until you proficient with the developer and your one film. That will take more than 2-3 rolls. I feel learning is more important than the choice of film or developer. They all work well.

 

[bippi]

Hi,

Thanks again for all your help. Well I´m going HP5+ since the price of it here in Iceland is "Only 7$ per roll" instead of "9$ per roll" for the TRIX.

So this price issue leads me to another question. A friend of mine is coming to Iceand from NY and has offered to carry like 20 rolls of film for me. Is it safe, will the films make it through customs okei, if I choose for instance to buy 20 rolls of HP5+?

 

[Ronald_H]

Why don't you order your film on-line? Is it too expensive to get stuff to Iceland?

 

[John Bragg]

Hi, Bippi.

If product availability is an issue, why not go for the HP5 with a highly concentrated liquid developer such as Ilford`s Ilfotec HC. This will last an incredibly long time in the concentrated form and can give marvellous results. It is Ilford`s near equivqalent of Kodak HC-110. It comes as a thick syrup and is easily dispensed with a syringe. Dilution of 1:63 should make it stretch a long way indeed thus solving supply issues.

http://www.ilfordphoto.com/products/product.asp?n=32&t=Film+Developers

Regards, john.

 

[bippi]

That´s the plan in the future. I was just going to use my friend as a carrying mule 😀 to skip customs. But Ronald you live in Holland right? Have you ordered films online and if so have they all made it ok to you?