XP2 first rolls - I'm lovin' it !

[icebear]

Hello folks,
I thought I'd give the Ilford XP2 a try. I can't develop BW myself and I trust the C-41 Standard process more than some apprentice souping my BW's. So the first two rolls are back and I'm lovin' it.
Some examples and what I tried in PS (levels , set grey/black/white point). Depending on what you choose the typical XP2 sepia tint gets lost but the picture gets a diffenrent character which is not better or worse but different. So which version do you like best ? All are scanned from 5x7" prints with a EpsonV500

Iguana Bar 1

Iguana Bar 2

Iguana Bar 3

 

[DNG]

I like #1, but #3 is a nice too, just a hint of green with the sepia...
The BW is OK. but not as much character as #1, & #3 has.

 

[leica M2 fan]

I just asked this question in the Gallery under comments to one of your photos. I like the effect of this conversion even more than the regular black and white. I would probably like this in one of mine once in a while but not a steady diet of it.

 

[Fawley]

I like the sepia version of XP2 as long as the lab does a good job. But I have had a wide range of results from an unpleasant pink tone to something not far off a straight black & white. I don't use XP2 a lot because I do my own processing, but when I do, I now stick with the straight black & white prints which the labs seem to be able to produce more reliably.

 

[icebear]

Thanks all for the comments,
yes indeed, if you can't process the film yourself and depend on a non-pro lab, it's more or less a matter of luck. After spending hours of scanning prints from my recent trip to Lisbon, I'm seriously considering taking the plunge and go for the M9 but hell I just still didn't hit the jackpot😱.
I agree that the color tint is quite special and not for an every day meal. In these cases I like it a lot though.
Cheers.

 

[jvan01]

I like XP2 as well.

 

[raytoei@gmail.com]

I soup the normally c-41 processed film in Rodinal 🙂 The result, if unadjusted, is a nice sepia tone.

Of all the film I have souped in Rodinal, XP-2 Super is the only which I get (a) very small grains and (b) consistent results.

The following is souped in Rodinal for 01 hour in 1+100, or 3ml + 300ml water.

 

[bgb]

I think number 1 is the best
I was a bit disappointed when i got my first film back and it was sepia, I expected black and white ... it does look good for some images but overall i prefer black and white film to be just that.
Did some b&w with the digital too and that was so easy ... not with an M9 as that's in the 'once i win Lotto' file

 

[Renzsu]

I really like XP2 as well, I got a NY trip coming up and I'm considering just shooting it all with XP2.. (iso 200 during the day, 400 when it gets darker). It's a nice and forgiving film if you mess up the exposure a bit.

 

[batterytypehah!]

#2. Sorry, I just can't stand sepia. IMO it's always a distraction.

Does anybody else find that the guy on the far right, just stepping into the street, looks like a cardboard cutout? Clearly less 3D than all the other people. A bit of motion blur causing this, maybe?

 

[amateriat]

#2. Sorry, I just can't stand sepia. IMO it's always a distraction.

Does anybody else find that the guy on the far right, just stepping into the street, looks like a cardboard cutout? Clearly less 3D than all the other people. A bit of motion blur causing this, maybe?

I think it's the semi-"halo" highlighting of his hair that creates this effect a bit more than motion-blur.

I've used XP2 quite a lot and love it. Availability has been a bit spotty from time to time, so I've shifted more toward Kodak BW400CN, which I also like a lot. (The fact that it's about a buck a roll cheaper than XP2 isn't hurting much, either.)


- Barrett

 

[icebear]

Yes the guy stepping on the street looks a bit weird because I guess he has bleached his to hair, so with most of the light striking from behind it looks like a halo. But I can't see the cardborad effect.

Here's another example of this series from Lisbon on XP2 :

Lisbon-Conductor

How do you like it ? For me it has some historic touch to it and besides the neon lights inside the car there's hardly anything you can pin point that this is a modern photo. Lot's of places / scenes in Lisbon look like they've been preserved in time. Lot's of TLC needed but therefore nothing has been destroyed by repairs w/o thinking about preserving the historic value.

 

[amateriat]

Generally, I'm not all that big on the sepia "look", preferring to work in as dead-neutral b/w as possible, but I like this image a lot, definitely an out-of-time photograph that would be hard to pin down date-wise.


- Barrett