Is there any ISO 1600 film in production?

Foma made till 2001 the Fomapan T800 film so in principle they have some high speed film production technique in their pocket. Anyhow I hope to have some sample film material Retropan 320 soft in a few weeks for testing.
 
Like others suggested you can try Delta 3200@1600, but I find the grain a bit too much (and I like grain !). So far I quite like HP5 @800 and @1600 in Microphen
 
Fotohuis said:
Foma made till 2001 the Fomapan T800 film so in principle they have some high speed film production technique in their pocket. . . .
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True, but it was flat, muddy and grainy and barely 800 in speed increasing developers. Foma has made some great films but that wasn't one of them.

Cheers,

R.
 
Lauffray said:
Like others suggested you can try Delta 3200@1600, but I find the grain a bit too much (and I like grain !). So far I quite like HP5 @800 and @1600 in Microphen
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Jerome,

I'm thinking of trying to reducing grain size of Delta 3200 by minimizing aggitation and perhaps extending development about 20-25%. I will likely loose some film speed, but my hope is for an honest 1250 with mid-tones and only moderate contrast. Be aware that I'm pursuing a compensating effect of lower contrast, and the bonus of minimizing aggitation with a strong developer is generally smaller grain.

I think I will be using Microphen as a stock solution and time would be extended from 8 minutes to perhaps 10.

The idea for me is to utilize Delta 3200 at 1250 to utilize my Noct-Nikkor for night shooting in NYC. Btw I tried Diafine-Times-Two (where you process Tri-X 3+3 plus 3+3 a second time with a very carefull rinse inbetween) for a reasonable 1000-1250 ISO; I found that using Diafine with a straight 7+4 gave me very similar if not better results; but I found the grain to be rather large for my liking, especially when compared to the almost no grain of Tri-X at 800 ISO developed 3+3 with my minimized aggitation. I think the Diafine 7+4 gave me smaller grain due to a shorter amount of time of development, but I would judge the film speed to be about the same (1250 ISO).

My suggestions are kinda out-of-the-box. I exploit a compensating effect to gain mid-tone, but at the sacrifice of some film speed. I don't mind grain, but to me it is the limiting factor of how large I will print. What is novel about my methods is that I can get a nice midrange even though I'm pushing film speed rather hard. Also know that the compensating effect limits development of the highlights in a similar manner to "stand development." The key is to develope enough for the shadow detail.

Cal
 
Roger Hicks said:
Dear Cal,

Extended development invariably means bigger grain.

Sorry.

Cheers,

R.
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Roger,

I agree, "extending development invariably means bigger grain" but here's my twist to add understanding to my post above: "minimizing aggitation reduces grain."

My idea is to find the right balance in a slower development to offset the grain size increase you mention. More than one factor effects grain size.

Also know that for IQ this means using a strong developer in stock solution to minimize time. 10 minutes with Microphen while longer than 8 minutes is still a relatively short development time when compared to other developers that are not so active as Microphen.

Another developer that has even shorter times is Acufine, but I do not know how well it favors Delta 3200. Shorter time is no panacia

Cal
 
Kodak publishes the same development times for TMAX 400 regardless if it is shot at ISO 400 or 800, so that gives you an easy to find option for ISO 800 at least. I'm sure you can push to ISO 1600 without too much loss.
 
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