Best 35mm B&W Negative film for overall user friendliness & Digital Scanning Q's???

Sorry, we overlapped, I really dislike those days when you hear the Grasshoppers, very hard to get complete zone1 to 9 (or 10). Talk you when I get back.
 
Tri x is the best all round film. Cut your development 20% and ISO 200 and grain becomes even finer.

Develope so it prints on #2 paper with a condenser or #3 paper and diffusion and it will scan beautifully.

Tmy-2 400 is very nice also but maybe a bit more accuracy required. 6.75 min stock D76 at 68.

Tri x times are stock D76 5.5 and 4.4 min at 68 for iso 400 & 200. 1: times are 8.25 and 6.6 for iso 400 & 200.

These times assume Chicago lake water, calibrated thermometers, shutters and meters. Your mileage may vary.
 
An 8th or 9th vote for 400CN and XP2 :) In a hybrid workflow (straight to scanner) I am amazed how much 'better' these films are then any 'real' B&W I have used. Wet printing is just sooo different IMO and no scanner is really going to give you the same DR control unless you are doing 3 or 4 individual scans. So all the advantages of say TMAX are kind of wasted in 'digital' for me. I love the grain and creamy rendering of 400CN and don't mind not being able to push it.
 
furcafe said:
Agree w/this. If you want to do digital prints that rival good wet prints, you'll need the best files possible, which means a dedicated film scanner (especially for 35mm). The Nikons are expensive when new, but you can find good deals on used Minoltas, Canons, & Nikons on eBay, etc.
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are the nikons; (coolscan 5000) really good?
i've been pondering going back to printing.
but the physical labor/time involved would limit my production i believe.
also i wish there was an effective, easy method of scanning a contact sheet.
 
dfoo said:
Yes, the coolscan 5000 is really good. The devil with B&W silver film, however, is dust.
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Ditto for the Coolscan 5000. I used to have huge problems with dust too. Then a friend of mine, an experienced b&w photographer, urged me to use Rollei wetting agent with the final rinse. My negs have been free of dust ever since. I couldn't recommend it more.
 
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