Beginner film and chemicals for scanning

[retrochick]

Film choices are limited, usually 100/400/1000. If you want something else like 1600/3200, you often have to push.

Also, there is a considerable difference in price of ISO 400 film and that of ISO 800/1600/3200.

I shot with HP5 @ 400 for years before I dug up enough courage to try pushing it. Was pleasantly surprised by the results 🙂

 

[mathomas]

You could also consider Diafine for development. Very hard to get wrong. It's a two-bath developer that doesn't care very much about time or temp.

There's a compensating/speed effect, so with most films EI goes up a bit.

 

[Chris101]

Tri-X + D76

I use Sprint stop bath and fixer. Others work just as well.

And I find that Sprint developer is pretty dang close to D-76, plus it's a liquid concentrate, so easier to use. Cheaper too. None-the-less, I prefer HC110, because it does better with pushing and pulling. With slow film at box speed though, I prefer D-76 (or maybe Sprint?)

 

[Argenticien]

I'm not in UK, but I try to support my local photo store, which has gone almost entirely Ilford, so that leaves me using Ilfosol 3 developer and Ilford Rapid Fixer. Ilfosol seems to do horribly on almost nothing, and brilliantly on almost nothing -- in short, a general purpose developer with which you can't go too wrong, but I've never heard of anyone raving about it and becoming a dedicated partisan of it (as happens with Rodinal, Perceptol, etc.). I process very few rolls, so Ilfosol being a liquid concentrate helps there. (I've read -- though sceptically -- that mixing a tiny fraction of powder from, say, a D-76 bag that's meant to make 5 gallons or similar, risks having not all the chemical components in the 'sample' of powder that you take.)

I find HP5 has intolerably obtrusive grain in Ilfosol 3 (yes, even in their own developer, not only in Rodinal as mentioned above), and so have basically gone off HP5 entirely, in favor of Delta 400 and TMax.

+1 to newdorf's comment: Staying with one brand for film, dev, and fixer is not needed. I've used Ilfosol 3 on Ilford films, Kodak TMax, Fuji Neopan 400, and even Efke 25; this last is very weird, finicky film. It works, as I said, satisfactorily but never excitingly, on all of them. If you seek exhaustive manufacturer instructions, well of course the Ilfosol documentation gives the most detailed suite of standard, push, and pull developing times for Ilford's own films. But that's not a reason to match Ilford with Ilford, since the massive dev chart documents every imaginable combination.

--Dave

 

[Murchu]

Take a look at this diafine thread, it might interest you: http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=122332

Am curious to see if I can make diafine work for me in all conditions I shoot in, like others seem to have at the above link, and being in Ireland often shoot in overcast conditions like you

 

[Photo_Smith]

I use HP5 plus, my favourite developer is Rodinal. The combination in 120 gives wonderful tonality with a hint of grain in 12x16 prints if you shoot 35mm you'll get more grain at those sizes so you may find something like Ilfosol (a good all round developer) or Ilfotec HC (high concentrate syrup like HC110) may suit you better.
I wouldn't bother with powders if you are a beginner one shot developers like Rodinal or Ilfosol are probably easier to handle and less messy.

I shoot in the UK as well so I'm used to the very varied conditions we tend to have here day to day.

If you are scanning a film like HP5 you might like to meter for the shadows and stop down a stop or two, let the highlights fall on HP5's wonderfully long shoulder.
If it is dull you can get 'snap' from your images by rating at 400-500EI and increasing the development time by 10-20% (a method called expansion) If you have very bright conditions then do the opposite reduce speed to 200 (increase exposure) and reduce the times by similar amounts.

HP5 is a wonderful film even in Rodinal (despite what others might tell you) and can take pretty much anything you can throw at it as long as you meter for emerging shadow detail and stop down 2 stops you're good to go.
Even on a dull day you can get snap:

In bright conditions it holds the highlights:

The prints look better these are just £100 flatbed scans for web
Both were developed in the OMG huge grain Rodinal 😉
Perception of grain occurs in the user, so we all have different tolerance levels and as I don't use miniature formats like 35mm very often HP5's just a hint of grain works well if you don't like grain try T-Max 400 or shoot digital.

 

[mfogiel]

If you want to stick to Ilford, and like reasonable contrast, plus I imagine you will not disdain the speed, given overcast conditions, the most logical combination is HP5+ in Ilfotec DD-X. Dilute 1+8 and experiment development times with various EI speeds. I would say EI250 and 10 minutes are a good starting point, EI500 and 15 minutes, etc... This developer works well with HP5+, is good for speed increase development, and is generally easy to use, giving good sharpness and moderate grain.

 

[Bobfrance]

I've always found AG Photographic to be good for supplies in the UK. www.ag-photographic.co.uk
Though I'd recommend ordering over the phone as opposed to using the site's shopping basket.

 

[redisburning]

I find hp5+ immensely compelling in 4x5

just not in smaller formats. and frankly due to the fact that I shoot 4x5 only a tripod I will probably move to Acros there, as well. if I could really only have one combination, it would definitely be Acros in Rodinal.

I like Delta 400 but I'm not sold on 100. FWIW though I tend to limit my Delta shooting to lower contrast scenes.