c41 bw vs normal bw negative..which do you prefer?

[Keith]

Shot number three in particular displays the type of grain that I was refering to ... there is something harsh and unreal about it and it reminds me more of digital noise! The sharpness and midtones are excellent as they are with BW400CN but the pics overall remind me of why I prefer conventional black and white emulsions.

I would still use C41 myself without hesitation if I hadn't progressed to developing my own black and white. Quality lab processing here in Brisbane is a little expensive and the nearest lab is miles away from me but when I did use C41 exclusively the local Kodak 1hour was consistent and cheap.

One thing that I did notice about the Kodak when I used it was photos shot in very low light never displayed the blacks nicely. The Neopan 400 that I like to use in the near dark does this beautifully! The sample pic here shows the qualities (I hope ) that I'm refering to ... smooth but very visible grain and very clean rendering of the black areas. This pic with chromogenic C41 would look very different IMO.

 

[fbf]

I thought c41 bw always gives higher contrast, at least from my experience.
bw400cn

 

[Leighgion]

I hadn't thought of it that way, but XP2 does look harsh in a kind of digital way. The limited contrast kind of relates to digital's limited dynamic range.

This is the best shot I got with XP2:

This isn't the best shot I ever got with BW400CN, but I still like it better.

 

[Leighgion]

To actually answer your question, Faris... while it looks like you either got some streaks on your negs or your scanner is dirty, the qualities of the images is very much in line with what I've seen from my own roll of XP and that others who shot XP2 and scanned. I happen to not like the favor of those results as previously stated, but that's my personal feeling and has nothing to do with your photography. If you're happy with these results, then I'd say your test was basically successful.

 

[faris]

Thanks a lot folks. At least I know now what to expect from the ilford xp2. I have to
try some other film!!

Best regards.

 

[Arvay]

I prefer true b&w as I'm developing it myself and find it interesting.

As for c-41 process: yes, it's convenient to develop it in the lab and I actually use them when I need a quick result for quick scanning.
I would rate them as follows:

Neopan 400 CN
Kodak 400 CN
Ilford XP2