I'm ready to start from scratch... a new film

[brian steinberger]

These are some good responses. When you guys say Tri-x, you have to mean the ISO 320. I've read many reviews in this forum about tri-x being geared towards studio and this and that. Is it really good for outdoor variable lighting situations?

I've been developing HP5 in D-76 and haven't found it to be satisfying to me yet. Also, I've ran tests on FP4 in Rodinal 1:50 and found my EI to be 40. That's just way too low. And like Brian said, I'd rather be in favor of a 400 speed film too, but the only one available in 4x5 in HP5.

Delta and Acros sound very promising. Although so does FP4. I need to hear more suggestions

[Jorge Gasteazoro]

I agree with Brian Ellis, you have tried 6 different films in various developers. I cannot beleive you have no tfound one that you liked or at least gave you an acceptable print. If you are looking for recomendations that will give you master prints right out of the fixer, you are on a fools errand. Ì work exclusively with Tmx 400 and Pyrocat HD, but I have been using Tmx films for 15 years, I did manage to turn out some of the most horrible prints when I first started using it, so it is not a matter of ease, it is a matter of proper testing and stuburness...

My opinion, pick one of the ones you already used and are somewhat familiar with and stick with it.

[Oren Grad]

And like Brian said, I'd rather be in favor of a 400 speed film too, but the only one available in 4x5 in HP5.

TMax 400 (TMY). Fortepan 400 (available as JandC Classic 400). ISO 320 is virtually the same, so Tri-X (TXP) effectively falls into this group as well.

Delta and Acros sound very promising. Although so does FP4. I need to hear more suggestions

Brian, at this point more suggestions are not going to resolve your problem. It's not possible for us to give you a verbal description of a film that will tell you what you need to know.

Decide what film speed you need, then pick a brand name out of a hat. Take as many pictures as you can with that film, and DO NOT TOUCH ANY OTHER FILM for at least a year. You must hold at least one variable in the system constant for a while, or you will never figure out what's going on.

[Patrik Roseen]

...
I shoot 4x5, and mostly landscape, rustic architecture, and industrial photography. I'm debating between Delta 100 and Fuji Acros 100. I don't mind paying more for the quickloads. I liked the Tmax but don't trust Kodak to keep making it much longer. The Delta was good, especially in 400 (120) but I didn't give it long enough til I moved on to something else. HP5 looked too muddy for me.
...

Brian, I'm into my second year of LF and am also trying different films and developers, but certainly not as many as you have mentioned.

I am very curious about the way you evaluate the result from these different combinations. Are you evaluating and comparing the negatives or the final prints?

I have found that the same negative can produce very different results depending on paper quality and Variable Contrast used during printing (wet darkroom), etc
I am not suggesting you start another excercise of 10 different papers in combination with 5 different developers...I am merely interested in your way of evaluting the film/developer combinations.

[photographs42]

I doubt that there are any films on the market that cannot produce good results in the right hands. There is no way WE can tell YOU what YOU will like. When I started LF 25 years ago I read Ansel’s book “The Negative” (three times) and decided on Tri-x developed in HC-110 dilution B. I used that combination exclusively for several years and learned what it could do. After a few years I started experimenting with other combinations (I would read that old newspapers developed in chicken soup was GREAT so I would try it).

My test method was the traditional two negative approach. After basic film speed and development tests; make one neg with Tri-x and another with film X, develop both and evaluate the results. Somehow it never surprised me that the negative made with the film/dev combo that I knew how to get the most from was better than the new combo that I knew little about. Then I realized that Tri-x was doing just what I wanted it to do so why change.

Six years ago I was on a trip and needed more film and the only 5x7 B&W film I could find (in Seattle) was three boxes of HP5+. Without the luxury of being able to test it, I exposed it at EI 200. When I got home I decided to try Xtol with it and did development tests at EI 200 (because that was how I exposed it). The negatives came out great so I did a film speed test and found that, for me, EI 400 is the proper speed. Since then I have only used HP5+ and Xtol because I like the extra speed of that combo and while it is a little different than Tri-x, I like it just as well.

As others have stated, pick something, test it, and stick with it for a year (or 100 negatives whichever comes first). Then decide if you like it or not. If not, figure out what it is about it that you don’t like, tell us, and maybe then we can be of real help to you.

In the meantime, keep us posted and good luck.

Jerome

[jstraw]

Reading this discussion with great interest...

Are there any brands and formulations that people here just would stay away from?

[Andrew O'Neill]

I've been developing HP5 in D-76 and haven't found it to be satisfying to me yet

Have you tried it in D-76 1+1? It's wonderful in that rather than straight. Even 1+3 is sweet.
What look (curve) are you after in a film/developer combination? Depending on the developer and/or dilution, you can really manipulate the curve.

[Andrew O'Neill]

Ì work exclusively with Tmx 400 and Pyrocat HD

...now that's another sweet combination. Tmx 400's curve is one of the most responsive to developers out there.

[Ron Marshall]

I've been developing HP5 in D-76 and haven't found it to be satisfying to me yet. Also, I've ran tests on FP4 in Rodinal 1:50 and found my EI to be 40. That's just way too low. And like Brian said, I'd rather be in favor of a 400 speed film too, but the only one available in 4x5 in HP5.

Delta and Acros sound very promising. Although so does FP4. I need to hear more suggestions

TMY is available in 4x5. Much better reciprocity charecteristics that HP5. I have heard it works well with XTOL, but have only tried it with HC-110, which works very well. XTOL should give you an EI of 400 with TMY.

[Bruce Watson]

...if I were choosing only one film it would be a 400 speed film rather than a 100, the extra stop or two of speed comes in very handy with landscapes and breezes.

I'll second the vote for a 400 speed film. I'll add that a fair amount of what I shoot ends up flirting with, it not in, reciprocity failure. This is enough of an irritation in the field that I'm thinking of moving from 5x4 Tri-X to 5x4 400Tmax because of 400Tmax's superior reciprocity characteristics.

As an aside, I've made some beautiful grainless (no one who has seen them has complained about graininess, and a number have commented about the lack of grain) and tack sharp 125 x 100 cm (about 50 x 40 inch) prints from 5x4 Tri-X. IMHO, grain is not an issue in 5x4 film, so I wouldn't even consider it.

That said, if these two things (speed and reciprocity performance) are a priority for you too, well, that narrows the field down a bit, doesn't it?