Best budget black and white film?

[Zuiko-logist]

I posted my previous reply too early.
@Zuiko-logist I wanted to add that if you find a "Ilford Pan 400" (see pic below) to give it a try. Ilford is making some confusing names with the way they market their kentmere 400 (They also call it pan400). The Ilford Pan 400 has nice contrast and fine grain, it is cheaper than HP5+ but it is aimed at the eastern market. I still consider it a budget film - I usually buy 10 when I go to Poland (if the local shop has).

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Thank you for the clarification. Nice photos.

 

[Slumgullion]

My vote is for Fomapan 400. I like metering for 200 and developing for 400. The extended red sensitivity and weaker anti-halation layer give it a very unique look. In Rodinal it is grainy (but that's part of the look):

Jenny on the Ferry by Jim Fischer, on Flickr

Robert by Jim Fischer, on Flickr

Taylor by Jim Fischer, on Flickr

 

[Slumgullion]

I've only shot one roll of Fompan 400 with Xtol (but I have 100' of it in my freezer, so I am about to shoot a lot of it with Xtol), and the results are much less grainy (xtol is a really wonderful developer).

Jenny by Jim Fischer, on Flickr

Tanuki Mario by Jim Fischer, on Flickr

Mocks Crest by Jim Fischer, on Flickr

 

[Coldkennels]

I posted my previous reply too early.
@Zuiko-logist I wanted to add that if you find a "Ilford Pan 400" (see pic below) to give it a try. Ilford is making some confusing names with the way they market their kentmere 400 (They also call it pan400). The Ilford Pan 400 has nice contrast and fine grain, it is cheaper than HP5+ but it is aimed at the eastern market. I still consider it a budget film - I usually buy 10 when I go to Poland (if the local shop has).

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These are really gorgeous, Pan. I've never seen this film before - I'll have to keep an eye out for it.

What developer did you use?

 

[Alpsman]

Depending on where you live and how high the import fees are, you can order Foma films and chemicals directly from Foma Czech Republic.

FOMA BOHEMIA e-shop

ÄernobÃlý papÃr,fotopapÃr,negativnà i pozitivnà vývojky,kinofilmy,svitkový film,ustalovaÄe

fomaobchod.cz

 

[Joao]

Alpsman wrote: "...Depending on where you live and how high the import fees are, you can order Foma films and chemicals directly from Foma Czech Republic.."

Or from Berlin. If you don't want the hassle of bulkloading, you can use this option. I did it. (no connections to the seller except as a buyer)

FOMA FOMAPAN 100 - 135 Set 6x film 35 mm/36 on spool + 1 cartrige - fotoimpex.com analogue photography

Content of the set: 5 films wound on a central spool - without cartridge + 1 film on a spool - in the cartridge for multiple use. Advantage: Financial saving, ecological ...

www.fotoimpex.com

Regards
Joao

 

[yossi]

I like Kodak Eastman Double-X 5222 in D96 or HC-110. Just ordered one of this: 400' Roll.
For the price, it is about US$4 per roll. Not bad at all!

Kodak double-x in D96.

 

[wlewisiii]

How do you handle 400'? All the bulk loaders I'm aware of only do 100', certainly my Watson can only do 100.

 

[Freakscene]

How do you handle 400'? All the bulk loaders I'm aware of only do 100', certainly my Watson can only do 100.

Sublime and ridiculous:

Reflx Lab Auto Bulk Film Loader

*Please watch the demo video before ordering. *Average order handling time is 1 week; shipping time is 1 week. This auto bulk film loader is an ultimate time and money saver for bulk-loading businesses or film photography enthusiasts: you can load a roll of 35mm in about 30 seconds. 2...

reflxlab.com

Or:

Open in complete darkness. Pull a length out by hand. Wind on with a Leitz AFLOO or by hand. Repeat.



I am not sure which is sublime and which is ridiculous.

 

[santino]

Wow.

 

[wlewisiii]

Huh, the auto loader says not to use it for 5222 because it will damage the emulsion. Well, that's good to know. I'll just have to stick to buying 1000' of HP5 if I get it!

Seriously, thanks for the info.

 

[yossi]

How do you handle 400'? All the bulk loaders I'm aware of only do 100', certainly my Watson can only do 100.

Up till now, I have been using this from a Chinese Co.


Other than some occasional fine lines, the quality is great. It is about US$7.5 per roll so not really cheap. Since I like the result, I have decided to get the 400' bulk roll directly from Kodak. As to how to handle it, I will likely to use the second method as mentioned by Freakscene:

"Open in complete darkness. Pull a length out by hand. Wind on with a Leitz AFLOO or by hand. Repeat." 😅

 

[Disappointed_Horse]

I posted my previous reply too early.
@Zuiko-logist I wanted to add that if you find a "Ilford Pan 400" (see pic below) to give it a try. Ilford is making some confusing names with the way they market their kentmere 400 (They also call it pan400). The Ilford Pan 400 has nice contrast and fine grain, it is cheaper than HP5+ but it is aimed at the eastern market. I still consider it a budget film - I usually buy 10 when I go to Poland (if the local shop has).

@p.giannakis — Really nice images there. I especially like the one of the lady walking the dog.

 

[wlewisiii]

Huh, the auto loader says not to use it for 5222 because it will damage the emulsion. Well, that's good to know. I'll just have to stick to buying 1000' of HP5 if I get it!

Seriously, thanks for the info.

 

[Freakscene]

Huh, the auto loader says not to use it for 5222 because it will damage the emulsion. Well, that's good to know. I'll just have to stick to buying 1000' of HP5 if I get it!

Seriously, thanks for the info.

Anytime.

5222 is not altogether that fragile; the emulsion is somewhat softer than most still films. Mild marks can't be seen when the copy positive goes through a projector at twenty-something frames a second just fine. I have occasionally seen marks on it that I am confident I didn't make; Tom A warned me of the same thing in the early 1990s when he put me on to 5222 for still photography.

One thing with 5222 is that the sprockets are not the same as standard still film and motor drives can have problems with managing transporting movie films. The Nikon drives for the F3 and the FA definitely struggle.

 

[wlewisiii]

I've tried a couple of rolls of it. It's nice and plays well with Diafine at EI640. Still, I prefer to stick to Ilford instead. Such a delightful range of film stocks to chose from - I am looking forward to high summer, my Rolleicord III & a handful of Pan F rolls 😎

 

[stephen_lumsden]

35mm - fomapan 100, the jury still out on fomapan 400

120 - definitely fomapan 400

 

[Mos6502]

I generally shoot ASA 100 films, and prefer Kentmere 100 to Foma 100. I've heard that Kentmere doesn't handle push processing as well as Foma because it is light on silver content, but one usually doesn't buy ASA 100 film because they want to push it. The look of Kentmere 100 is very close to the old Kodak Plus-X in most major respects.

I've also tried Kentmere and Foma 400 ASA films but not shot enough of either to form a definite opinion. Kentmere again seems to look a lot like a certain Kodak offering, whereas Foma is something else.