What is your favorite B&W emulsion?

[Vince Lupo]

I voted 'other' -- Monochrom!

But seriously, I like Tri-X.

 

[Snowbuzz]

Tri-X and then Pan F.

 

[MartinP]

Where did you hear this?

That Foma make the EDU films? It is hardly a secret. Visitors on the tour of the Foma plant at Hradek-Kralove have seen the rolls being made and packed. I have also seen fotos of that, here or at APUG.

Ilford are on record as saying that they do not repackage their own branded films - however they will make anything else anyone wants (for example, they produce 120 size rolls to a Rollei specification), given a high enough order quantity, but the recent (last few years) Arista brand films have been Kodak, Foma and Fuji. This has been discussed ad-infinitum in RFF and Apug.

EDIT. Here is a link to the factory visit RFF-thread.

 

[teleparallel]

hp5+

Cause I use it.

Never shot tri-x. I shot, fuji. But I like hp5+.

 

[oilman930]

I voted other...

Classic emulsions: Plus-X and Verichrome Pan.
I've got a freezer full of these two films which will last me for a while.

Current emulsions: Ilford Pan F.

 

[CK Dexter Haven]

Tri-X, historically.
Currently in love with APX100/Rollei Retro 100 in ID-11/D-76.

 

[airfrogusmc]

tri-x 320 pro 4X5 film processed in a special dilution of HC110

 

[RobGetz]

This has been discussed ad-infinitum in RFF and Apug.

EDIT. Here is a link to the factory visit RFF-thread.

Oh I know it has. It's just that I still hear many different claims.

I heard from a man who recently toured the ilford plant that ilford and kodak were now supplying the edu/arista line. Edit: They were the ones who told him this. I can't verify that but that's what he told me.

I also read through that thread and I don't see a mention anywhere that this is supplying the arista line.

 

[nikon_sam]

I voted for Acros 100...I have about 120 rolls of Acros 100 and about 70 rolls of Neopan 400 in 120 format...
Voted for Acros 100 since I can still buy it...

 

[Bruno Gracia]

Tri X, but want to try rollei 80s and Across 100..

 

[DNG]

Tri-X for me, because I can get it for $3.00 a 36x when it is re-branded.

But, Delta 400 is what I'd like to shoot...just not in the budget.

 

[ssmc]

I voted HP5+, but I'm about equally a fan of Tri-X. I think it's hard to go wrong with either one. When shooting in harsh desert sunlight, HP5+ gave almost delicate images with "creamy" mid-tones, while Tri-X seems to have more "punch". But a lot of that could be down to processing as I send my negs to NCPS for developing and scanning. They're both great, just different.

For lens testing (i.e. shooting maps taped to a wall) I use Delta 100, but I find I get uneven results with that film in real-world use - sometimes it's great, sometimes it's... not so great.

 

[zsas]

Darn. Forgot PanF. Different films in the arista line are manufactured by either kodak or ilford, depending on who you ask.

I prob shd have been more clear, my vote for other was PanF+

 

[Harry Lime]

Tri-X

Followed by TMY-2 400, Delta 3200 and FP4+.

 

[alfredian]

Plus-X, while it lasts

Plus-X, while it lasts

Plus-X. While my supplies in 120 & 135 hold out. Goes back to first-roll-of-35 ever shot, back in 1969 (Minolta SRT101). Wish I'd picked up on Verichrome Pan, which was "Mom's film in 620 for the Bakelite Brownie she used. I recall seeing boxed 35mm VP waaaay back, but gave it a pass. KB25 is another fave gone the way of the Kodasaur.

Probably changing to FP4 & HP4 & Pan-F. Odd, but I visit Upstate NY where I grew up and find myself putting Ilford Film into my M4-P & M5 bodies. Irony?

 

[Benjamin Marks]

My "favorite" has changed over the years.

In 35mm:

Years 1-7 Tri-X in D76 (loved the classic look)
Years 8-20 Ilford Delta 400 in XTOL 1:1 (loved the finer grain and found the Delta films less finicky than TMAX)
Years 21-30 Fuji Neopan 400 in XTOL 1:1 and in Patrick Gainer's Vitamin C-Phenidone homebrew (loved the grainier grain)

In Medium format: any 320-400 speed film I could find

In Larger Format (4x5, 8x10): any emulsion at all.

A point of clarification: For many years I would keep a slow film and a fast film around. So: PanF or Pantomic X when I wanted fine grain, Plus-X or FP4 when I wanted medium speed and Tri-X or Delta 400 as my "standard." This would have been a standard menu in, say, 1991.

 

[sebastel]

APX 100

(10 char)

 

[MartinP]

I also read through that thread and I don't see a mention anywhere that this is supplying the arista line.

Then why are there large amounts of Arista-EDU boxes in the photographs of the goods-out area?

The only two Arista films on the Freestyle website are these, with the country of origin quoted alongside:

Arista Premium - "made in USA"

Arista EDU - "made in Czech Republic"


Some of the papers carrying the Arista brand are "made in the UK" (Harman Technologies ie.Ilford) but they are off-topic for this thread.

 

[filmfan]

You mean film?

 

[Gabriel M.A.]

Ilford XP2 Super

It's tied at #1 w/Tri-X for me.