Page 1 of 9 123 ... LastLast
Results 1 to 10 of 83

Thread: Do we still need Black and White FIlm???

  1. #1

    Join Date
    Jan 2006
    Location
    Tucson AZ
    Posts
    1,822

    Do we still need Black and White FIlm???

    OK, OK, OK, before everybody jumps on me I admit it - I have a freezer stuffed with Tri-X, Delta 100, Acros, TMY-400, even 50 sheets of 5 x 7 Efke 25. So I'm not really going to give it up. Each film has a character of its own.

    But recently I've been using a lot of Ektar 100 and I find it quite impressive indeed. I've pretty much switched to it for 90% of my MF work, even if the end product is going to be B&W. I find the combination of sharpness, grainless-ness and scan-ability to be hard to beat, particularly for my "sub-mini" Mamiya 645, and converting to B&W in Photoshop gives me a lot of control. I've even signed up for Keith Canham's 5 x 7 order.

    It took a few rolls to warm up to it, but now I absolutely love the stuff. (And C-41 is almost easier to process than B&W here in Tucson where the cold water can get close to 90 this time of year.) Yes, it's pricier, but I like the flexibility of not having to worry about loading B&W or color before I head out, or juggling film backs, and at the slow rate I burn through film the price isn't a huge issue.

    Anyhow, I find it to be pretty good for most everything.

    Would love to hear other (polite!) opinions. And I promise to go out and shoot some Acros tomorrow.

    Just FYI this is approximately a half frame crop from a 6 x 4.5 neg

    Dark Clouds by Kirigakuresaizoh, on Flickr

  2. #2
    jp's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2009
    Location
    Maine
    Posts
    5,628

    Re: Do we still need Black and White FIlm???

    It is indeed an excellent color film. I'd call it a e6 killer rather than a B&W killer.

    For B&W I want a film I can print in the darkroom. For a silver or alt process output. Yes, I can and do scan, but I still want a negative I can print the old fashioned ways. It appeals to me to have a negative not comprised solely of dyes as well.

  3. #3

    Join Date
    Jan 2006
    Location
    Tucson AZ
    Posts
    1,822

    Re: Do we still need Black and White FIlm???

    If I were still doing wet prints I'd agree with you. But having drunk the inkjet Kool-Aid (and not having a darkroom anymore, nor a place to build one) everything is now scanned and printed on an Epson 4880. I've been scanning on an Epson 750, but will be upgrading to a Nikon Coolscan 8k in a few weeks for the "little stuff". I'd go for a drum scanner if I had the space for it, but for now I don't. I'll be taking a couple of 5 x 7 negs to Lenny Eiger's place in a couple of weeks and no doubt he'll get me all fired up to MAKE a place for a Howtek or something. Just have to convince my wife that we never have enough folks over to really NEED half of our dining table. And having one on top of her Grand piano would be really attractive.

    Yeah, sure!!!

  4. #4
    おせわに なります! Andrew O'Neill's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2003
    Location
    Coquitlam, BC, Canada, eh!
    Posts
    5,136

    Re: Do we still need Black and White FIlm???

    I print using alt processes, so it's B/W 8x10 film for me.

  5. #5
    ic-racer's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Posts
    6,736

    Re: Do we still need Black and White FIlm???

    The question is 'do we still need color film.' Most color is done with digital. B&W is its own entity, it uses the principle of light and dark and shadowing to form an image and has nothing to do with digital.
    Printing color negative film on the available B&W papers does not work because the paper is not panchromatic. Panchromatic B&W printing paper went out of production long ago.

  6. #6
    Corran's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2011
    Location
    North GA Mountains
    Posts
    8,924

    Re: Do we still need Black and White FIlm???

    I can see banding on your scan, even in the small size posted here. Color banding seems to be an endemic problem with many scanners and at least in my experience shows up most commonly in color negative film. This is one of the many reasons I find color negative to be difficult to work with.

    Personally if I were to choose one process to do away with it'd be color negative (and keep E-6). I only shoot C-41 for cost reasons when I just want to blow some film or occasionally specifically for low-contrast, muted tones (Portra).
    Bryan | Blog | YouTube | Instagram | Portfolio
    All comments and thoughtful critique welcome

  7. #7

    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Posts
    1,247

    Re: Do we still need Black and White FIlm???

    Jim,
    Is today, April Fools Day?
    Surely you jest...
    Real cameras are measured in inches...
    Not pixels.

    www.photocollective.org

  8. #8

    Join Date
    Aug 2013
    Location
    Chicago
    Posts
    1,856

    Re: Do we still need Black and White FIlm???

    The only reason I'm doing LF is because I can do it cheaply. Currently, one sheet of 8x10 x-ray film costs me 40 cents plus my darkroom time. 8x10 color costs $17 a sheet plus someone else's developing. When I can do Ektar at home for 40 cents a sheet, we can talk.
    Thanks, but I'd rather just watch:
    Large format: http://flickr.com/michaeldarnton
    Mostly 35mm: http://flickr.com/mdarnton
    You want digital, color, etc?: http://www.flickr.com/photos/stradofear

  9. #9
    hacker extraordinaire
    Join Date
    May 2009
    Location
    North Carolina
    Posts
    1,331

    Re: Do we still need Black and White FIlm???

    At one time I had a similar strategy but with E6 instead (I don't do digital at this time). E6 processing was dirt cheap and if I wanted a b&w, or if the chrome was underexposed, I just made an interneg.

    If I scanned, I would also be highly tempted by C41. The latitude is amazing. However, I think I would be just as likely to shoot digital as to start scanning.
    Science is what we understand well enough to explain to a computer. Art is everything else we do.
    --A=B by Petkovšek et. al.

  10. #10

    Join Date
    Jan 2006
    Location
    Tucson AZ
    Posts
    1,822

    Re: Do we still need Black and White FIlm???

    Hi Andrew

    What kind of process(es) are you into? I'd love to have a go at carbon transfer, but no place for any wet process these days (I develop in a Jobo, and load in a Harrison tent.) Decades ago I did a lot of photo silk screening - great process if you really like "getting your hands dirty", so to speak. 宜しく

Similar Threads

  1. New LF Black and White film - from Rollei?!
    By Jeremy_D in forum Darkroom: Film, Processing & Printing
    Replies: 9
    Last Post: 10-Oct-2004, 19:39
  2. Black and white film
    By fw in forum Darkroom: Film, Processing & Printing
    Replies: 10
    Last Post: 29-Jul-1999, 15:38

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •