another NEOPAN 1600 question

[ima_robot]

i just got a bunch of neopans as a gift. i just started with film like 6 months ago & i use a canon a1.

i dont really know when or how to use this film. ive just been working with 400 black & whites.


so if anybody could give me a basic rundown, that'd be great!

 

[SolaresLarrave]

Very good in low light, and more so with fast lenses. Be careful when developing it: a little time over the limit and the contrast gets too strong. If you use it with an SLR, you should have some fun doing interiors and night shots, but don't expect a lot of detail because this film can have a grainy, noir look at times. I'll see if I have a jpg in my computer for you to see how your photos may look.

Lucky you to get it as a gift! 🙂

 

[Mike Richards]

Emofin

Emofin

I like existing light shots, so have used Neopan 1600 several times over the last few years. At first, I was using D76 or Xtol with acceptable results (Tsiknopempti), but wanted to tame the contrast a bit for the harsh light encountered at my favorite darts haunt. I finally tried Tetenal Emofin, and it seems to me to have have done a good job with the contrast: Darts. I also tried Rodinal, but the grain and contrast were just too much.

 

[cole]

Neopan 1600 is one of my personal favourite films - so much so that I now only shoot Neopan (100, 400, and 1600).

The 1600 has a wonderfully unique grain structure and tonal structure. As many people will tell you, you do have to be quite careful with agitation when developing it, as it is by nature very contrasty. If you're getting the film developed at a lab, try and find a lab that can accomodate special developing requests (ie, a lab that works with dip and dunk processing, and not automated machines).

It handles pushing to 3200 quite well; I've only pushed it to 6400 once, and the contrast was out of control - I had perhaps one or two zones between black and white! It also handles pulling quite well. Most people tend to expose it at 1000 - 1200 to extract a little more shadow detail. I've shot it as low as 400 with acceptable results, with better results at 800. Again, particularly watch the agitation/contrast when pulling it.

The grain structure is somewhat gritty, and while it works well enough for 'softer' subject matter, it excels at darker/grimier subjects - this tends to be more personal preference, though.

Enjoy shooting it! 🙂