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Thread: What's your go-to when you want pronounced grain on BW sheet film?

  1. #1

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    Question What's your go-to when you want pronounced grain on BW sheet film?

    I like grain, which is partly why my 120 Tri-X gets Rodinal. Tri-X 320 sheets are another beast - still good in Rodinal, albeit with relatively mild grain, as you might expect.

    Do you like grain? What's your secret to getting nice and not-too-subtle grain in your sheets, preferably when shooting within a stop of box speed?

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    Re: What's your go-to when you want pronounced grain on BW sheet film?

    Royal-X Pan -- not to be confused with Kodak Royal Pan.

    ASA 1250. Comparable to Kodak 2475 Recording film in grain.

    Click image for larger version. 

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  3. #3

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    Re: What's your go-to when you want pronounced grain on BW sheet film?

    Fomapan 400

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    Re: What's your go-to when you want pronounced grain on BW sheet film?

    Make huge prints I guess.

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    Re: What's your go-to when you want pronounced grain on BW sheet film?

    Sadly, Royal-X Pan has been discontinued for at least 30 years. Maybe try paper developer- it's more active than a film developer and will likely give you more grain along with its increased contrast.

  6. #6
    Peter De Smidt's Avatar
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    Re: What's your go-to when you want pronounced grain on BW sheet film?

    Fomapan 400 + Rodinal, pushed a stop.
    “You often feel tired, not because you've done too much, but because you've done too little of what sparks a light in you.”
    ― Alexander Den Heijer, Nothing You Don't Already Know

  7. #7
    Mark Sawyer's Avatar
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    Re: What's your go-to when you want pronounced grain on BW sheet film?

    I'm not into grain, but if I were, I think I'd try temperature-shock reticulation.
    "I love my Verito lens, but I always have to sharpen everything in Photoshop..."

  8. #8
    Drew Wiley
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    Re: What's your go-to when you want pronounced grain on BW sheet film?

    Modern thin emulsion films don't reticulate well, at least without the emulsion lifting clear off. You need another extinct film, Super XX, to do that well. But the look is quite different from pronounced grain per se.

  9. #9

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    Re: What's your go-to when you want pronounced grain on BW sheet film?

    Most people think that pushing film is the way to go, but that's not a good approach.

    The short version: choose the grainiest film you can, overexpose, overdevelop, and print on the highest grade possible.

    When I say overexpose, I mean by at least 2 or 3 stops. By all means use a print developer to develop. You want a very dense, preferably flat negative you can print on grade 4 or 5.

    Though I'm not sure why you want to do this with sheet film. That seems like doing it the hard way.

  10. #10

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    Re: What's your go-to when you want pronounced grain on BW sheet film?

    or used a grain texture screen in the enlarger -- extensively discussed in a similar, recent thread.

    Another option is to use use smaller format, such as the half-frame Pen F.
    Last edited by xkaes; 14-Mar-2024 at 10:41.

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