What's the closest film to Ilford Pan F available in 4x5? It's not so much the speed/grain as the tonality, which I love and is quite unique.
What's the closest film to Ilford Pan F available in 4x5? It's not so much the speed/grain as the tonality, which I love and is quite unique.
Ilford Pan F in a roll film back.
[sound of fingers tapping]
Try Efke/Adox PL 100, not as fine grained as Ilford Pan F Plus, but it has great tonal rendering capability. I shoot it in 8x10, 5x7 and 4x5, (and 120 roll film).
Efke/Adox PL100 really sings in Pyrocat-Hd
oh, thanks, I was hoping someone would recommend Efke. What about the 25/50, any advantage going slower?
TMAX 100 in XTOL 1:3 develope for 17 minunts (but do a test for developing times for yourself)
Hi John,
You didn't mention how you have been processing your Pan F. When I've tried various development options with it, it could have more than one look, however most of the time, it had a smoth and long scale, but mostly super fine ( what grain? ) grain. You also didn't mention which aspects of the tonality you like in Pan F, a great film indeed.
Perhaps you are a traditional film fan. I second Efke 100 for color to B&W rendition and great options to control its contrast range with development/exposure. If it isn't the accuracy of color rendition, but instead the creamy smooth and subtle grays of Pan F done right, I love Efke 25 or 50. Sometimes the smoothness of tonal rendering indeed comes from fine grain as both Pan F and Efke 25 have. I shoot both Efke 25 and Efke 100 in 8x10 and love it. While no match for Pan F or slow Efke films, Acros 100 pull processed has some nice mid grays ( shoot at 32 and underdevelop ) in a pinch if a quick loading solution is needed. If you haven't tried the Efke films, you might end up liking them even more than Pan F for their own character. Nice to have the little black sheets between each film in the box on 8x10 at least. Beware Efke 100 when processing, it can get grainy even though the shape of that grain can be nice, the Efke 25 is much finer grained in general.
At the moment I am getting it dunked in a replenished Tmax line at Steichen here in Toronto... they do a great job and don't nuke it like some places.
I am totally a trad film fan. I can't get on with the T-grain films like Tmax and Acros (and I've tried). The midtones are so boring. So I guess what I like about Pan F is the shape of the shoulder and toe, and the interesting midtones.
You need to try the Efke films then. Maybe not the same exactly, but enough to take away the pangs for something like Pan F the way you're talking about it. Best deal is to process yourself, even if that means a tray or an HP Combiplan in the bathroom. The Efke films respond very well to different processing/exposure combinations. I love the skin tones that the Efke films will do.
When I shoot Efke 25 or 100, I treat them differently and always think of how I will develop them when I'm shooting (doesn't everybody do this?). People say Efke sings with Pyro, which is true, however some kinds of things look great with Rodinal. Efke films are pretty true to their rated speed in my experience, unlike some of the modern films. To push a bit, DDX works well. In Pyro, it's easy to make negs that only print best on very soft contrast paper or alternative process. I made some Pyro negs on Efke 25 that print best on POP paper. This doesn't sound like what you want. Try some more diluted regular developers to start - you'll probably be delighted.
My local B&W lab uses Clayton Extend and tells people that they use XTOL - whatever the case, it's like extreme pull processing, and they produce negs will little contrast and density. Efke filmes don't seem to like that type of setup much. I have not tried Efke films in TMax or HC110, because I liked the possibilities of Rodinal, D76, Pyrocat and DDX so much I haven't wanted anything else enough to try it. Perhaps someone else might comment on other development options that make Efke films sing.
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