Preface: I'm new to large format and trying to get through my first box of film, 50 sheets of T-Max 400, exp. 2003. I'm actually shooting a photo a day until it's exhausted, at which point I may continue the project and order another box, but I'm trying to decide what film to try shooting next.
I was having a discussion with an older pro photographer, and he was surprised that I was asking about lower-ASA film (namely Delta 100) in 4x5 sheets. He said that most Large Format shooters would ideally use 400-speed film since the format is so large and you can use faster shutter speeds at that film sensitivity.
While I was fairly sure it was bogus reasoning to apply to the whole LF community, it did get me thinking. I use a 400-speed film (HP5+) as a general-purpose film on smaller formats and switch to something like Delta 100 or Acros when I want something sharper or more fine-grained. But again, that's for smaller formats. Do you think that your philosophy about choosing a film (and it's ASA) to shoot changes once you've moved up to large format? Or do you still find yourself noticing differences in sharpness and resolution once you're dealing with a gigantic negative?
Bookmarks