ISO 50 - 100 b&w fim with moderate contrast

[Thomas78]

Hello,

I am looking for an (panchomatic) ISO 50 - 100 b&w film with moderate contrast which will give me creamy and rich medium gray tones.
I want to use it with my FSU lenses (I-22, J-12, J-11) and an uncoated Summar.

The film should give me a "vintage" look, e.g. for a steam boat tour in the late spring or early summer.

I have Ilford DD-X and Rollei RHS as developers at home.

Which films would you suggest?

Regards,
Thomas

 

[HHPhoto]

Delta 100, PanF+, T-Max 100, Acros 100 (and any other film in this speed range 😉 ).

If you develop them right (= calibrate them to your workflow, to your enlarger, paper etc.) all of these films will deliver moderate contrast (with every film contrast is dependant on development time and agitation) and creamy, rich tones with DD-X and RHS.

To 95% its up to your development technique.
Learn the technique, the films will follow.

If you want excellent tonality with much higher resolution and medium format quality, then take Agfa Copex Rapid and Spur Modular UR New developer.

Cheers, Jan

 

[BobYIL]

For long gradation medium grays Acros developed in D76 (ID11) is recommendable. You will receive silvery grays up to highlight tones.. I used also FP4 again with excellent results.

Medium contrast: I do not have any experiences with the FSU lenses however I do not believe they could be as contrasty as the newer Summicrons, so mostly your timing in development will determine the end-contrast. (Also less agitation than normal!!)

The uncoated Summar OTOH is known for medium contrast for almost all apertures and it can contribute to the real "vintage" look sometimes with a ton of flare. Use it as much you can (it has no distortion..)

You still have time to test some combinations. I might suggest you to take a good look at Tom Abrahamsson's site as he is the guru to teach us a lot with his film & developer combinations. Another site to suggest could be Hen's March at flickr as this gentleman is still using a number of vintage cameras for vintage looks.

FYI, the old Leica photographs of Germany were generally shot on low speed Agfa and Adox films, developed mostly in Beutler, Rodinal and Neofin Blau. These developers result in extreme high acutance and microcontrast so I do not know if they were what you're looking for. Take into account that nobody may know what vintage really means for you, so if I were you I would not be changing my developers before testing them with some films; pick also some other 24-exp. 100 ISO rolls from Agfa, Adox or Rollei offerings. Such experiments can teach you a lot for the period after the tour..

Finally, if you really are keen about the vintage look, then look for the pictures of James Ravilious. Magnificent work...

 

[jbielikowski]

Adox CHS series, nothing else.

 

[sepiareverb]

Adox CHS series

+1. Pan F+ in DD-X 1:4 is darn nice too.