What is your favorite B&W emulsion?

What is your favorite B&W emulsion?

  • Tri-X

    Votes: 277 33.2%

  • Tmax-400

    Votes: 53 6.4%

  • Tmax-100

    Votes: 27 3.2%

  • Tmax-3200

    Votes: 4 0.5%

  • HP5

    Votes: 126 15.1%

  • FP4

    Votes: 68 8.2%

  • Delta 400

    Votes: 23 2.8%

  • Delta 100

    Votes: 32 3.8%

  • Delta 3200

    Votes: 6 0.7%

  • Acros 400

    Votes: 23 2.8%

  • Acros 100

    Votes: 70 8.4%

  • Other

    Votes: 125 15.0%
  • Total voters
    834
Nokton48 said:
Excellent news Colyn. Looking forward to your future XX posts.
Double-X is really what I use the most in my XK, SRT's, and SR-M's.
Click to expand...

I was impressed with my first roll so I'll be using a lot of it.. My next roll will be run through my M3..
 
HP5+ is my preferred film for 4x5, 5x7, and 8x10. For twenty+ years I have processed it in Pyro PMK+. It's also very good combination in 120. Higher speed film is a requirement for me when shooting the larger formats.

Ilford Pan F+ 120 is also excellent when processed in PMK+. That film needs to be processed timely after exposure, as the latent image tends to fade with the months.
 
TMAX 400 is my Favorite, (now) I prefer the finer grain than Tri-X Grain.
I develop in HC110 (H) (1:60) at Box Speed. Plenty of sharpness and good contrast also.


Tri-X I shoot at 320 and HC110 (H)
 
I love, love, love Plus X.
I have about 20 rolls left in my freezer. I just started shooting B&W as it was being discontinued, if I knew then what I know now, I would have way more than 20 rolls left....
 
Between them, Tri-X and HP5 gathered more than half of the votes.

Is there something that these two films have in common that might have contributed to their sharing first prize, or are they completely different? (I've only ever used Tri-X, Plus-X and XP-2)
 
Regardless of poll results or the opinions of others, TMAX 100 is the best black and white emulsion. Even better than TMAX - but not a "true" black and white emusion, is Kodak BW400CN. These are - far and away, hands-down, bar none the two best black and white films. However, you're mixing up different film speeds, so it's not a fair comparison. Tri-X, for example, pushes well and is more versatile, is easy to use/develop, does well in this regard, but is simply not capable of the IQ of TMAX under optimal conditions.
 
I am returning to darkroom after decades of absence. Back in the day I shot Tri-X and developed primarily in HC110. Now there are new B&W emulsions on the market, so it is a new ball game for me. With Kodak's dominance in the marketplace diminished, I thought I might throw business to Ilford. I saw very few votes for Ilford Delta 100 and 400. How do these film compare to Tri-X?
 
They are far sharper. The tonality though is very different - Delta 100 has nice overall contrast, but not such a nice scale in midtones, Delta 400 has longer scale, but is sort of flatter than Tri X. They are also far less tolerant. If razor sharpness is not your main axe, stick to Tri X in HC 110 - this is what beautiful B&W is about...
 
Difficult to give a knowledgeable answer as I have used so few but FP4 has always given good results in the past.

HP5 seems too grainy and APX100 not as sharp/contrasty.
 
Fuji Acros 100, but is almost impossible to obtain now in Ireland....

So I'll try Ilford's FP4+ next - at least that is still here but only in 36, not 24..
 
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