Help me pick a B/W 400 speed film

[navilluspm]

I ordered one bulk roll of HP5+ from BH. They were selling it for $39.99 - $10 less than Tri-X.

I was thinking about Delta, but I was scared off by people who said it was hard to develop. I might try that film after this bulk roll is done, especially after hearing you can get good results in Rodinal.

I know this will sound strange, but I feel like supporting Ilford with my purchases becasue of their commitment to BW film photography at a decent price. I don;t get that same sense of commitment to BW photography from Kodak that I do from Ilford (but then again, what do I know. This is just my current perception. Maybe Kodak is more didcated to giving us good film at fair prices than I give them credit for. Maybe after finishing the bulk roll of HP5+ I will want to try Tri-X again.)

Thanks again to everyone. I was very interesting reading, and, browsing some of your galleries, I am impressed with talent on this forum.

 

[sepiareverb]

HP5 is a good choice looking at the scans you posted. I'd suggest you try some Microphen for development- it will give that crispness to HP5 that I see in the scans- especially of the standpipe.

Grain will be a bit more, but you should get a similar look.

 

[40oz]

Why wouldn't you go with a discontinued film? I can.t see a valid reason not to.
And Silvertone is indeed the APX line.

I don't know about kaiyen, but I wouldn't recommend going with a discontinued film simply because it has been discontinued. The time and effort to get results you like out of the film will be wasted as the film becomes unavailable. The price will rise as supplies disappear, and one will eventually have to give it up for good anyway.

If one is simply looking for a new film to play with or one has used the film extensively in the past, then sure, go for it. But if one is at the beginning of their home developing experience, it just seems unnecessary to invest a lot into something discontinued.

At some point giving APX a shot makes sense, but I'm not sure it would make sense for the OP. I'm not arguing the point, merely presenting what I consider a valid reason for the OP to give APX a pass. In the sceme of things, it makes no difference. But how would you feel if you finally nailed the exposure and development of your film only to find that it is no longer available at reasonable prices, much less unexpired?

 

[sepiareverb]

...The time and effort to get results you like out of the film will be wasted as the film becomes unavailable. The price will rise as supplies disappear, and one will eventually have to give it up for good anyway...

I'd chalk up the effort to a good understanding of film/development testing and move onto another. Nothing wrong with learning how to nail down that perfect ISO/developer/dilution/agitation. Makes it easier every time you start on a new film- discontinued or not. I just did this with some Panatomic-X- I only had ten rolls, spent a few getting everything figured out and made some images with the rest. If I ever find more I have a good starting point, but will need further testing to be sure. I guess it comes down to what the game is for each of us.

 

[shimo-kitasnap]

I had very good results with Ilford HP5+ in D76 1:1 and you can push it to 1600 but i never pushed past 800. I didn't like APX400 but i almost exclusively shoot APX100 bulk loaded in D-76 1:1. I've blown up to 11x14 and the grain is not very noticable. but you want a 400 speed film.

HP-5+ if you want to push
Tri-X if you don't (this is my fav 400 black and white film!)

 

[Ororaro]

I don't know about kaiyen, but I wouldn't recommend going with a discontinued film simply because it has been discontinued. The time and effort to get results you like out of the film will be wasted as the film becomes unavailable. The price will rise as supplies disappear, and one will eventually have to give it up for good anyway.

If one is simply looking for a new film to play with or one has used the film extensively in the past, then sure, go for it. But if one is at the beginning of their home developing experience, it just seems unnecessary to invest a lot into something discontinued.

At some point giving APX a shot makes sense, but I'm not sure it would make sense for the OP. I'm not arguing the point, merely presenting what I consider a valid reason for the OP to give APX a pass. In the sceme of things, it makes no difference. But how would you feel if you finally nailed the exposure and development of your film only to find that it is no longer available at reasonable prices, much less unexpired?

I think your logic is so wrong for many reasons. You're concentrating on anyihng except the essential, which is capturing images.

In the grand scheme of things, as you say, people usually shoot many films and switch between films like crazy. Even the ones that used Tri-X have been fooled by kodak and they happened to have switched midway. Same for Plus-X.

Let's face it: Sticking to one film is almost impossible. Even if you do, the company will switch it for you, in your back.

But above that, you haven't even asked about the guy's real needs and behaviour. If he shoots and develops 100 films a year, that's about 5 bulk rolls of cheap apx-400. He'll be likely to find 5 bulk rolls a year for the next 5 years easily, IMO. A person will want to switch films long before apx-400 vanishes completely from the market.
If you ask me, a newbie is more likely to ditch film completely way before APX400 dissapears from the market.

At last, a masterly captured image doesn't care about what film was used. So this is why I find it stupid to avoid apx-400 only because it's discontinued. Totally stupid reason, IMO.

 

[MIkhail]

Here is Arista.EDU 400 Ultra, really Fomapan 400.
Inexpensive film for family album (like this shot), works quite well for me.

http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t150/mikesht/0439-reallysmall.jpg

The low price is especially pleasing when it comes to 120 film (which I shoot a lot and dont have to hold back because of that).

 

[tedwhite]

Mikhail: Glad I logged on here. Very nice shot of the child and nice tonality. Equally important (for me) is that somehow I didn't realize it was available in 120.

I've used it in 35mm and found it a perfectly acceptable film. So thanks, I'm going to order up some 120. At $1.49 per roll it's hard to beat.

Ted

 

[Tim Gray]

All I know is that I effing love Tri-X. Been very pleased with Plus-X the couple times I've shot it as well. But Tri-X.... Wow!