Best B&W for contrasty images.

[Visions]

Hello All.

I am interested in shooting film that will give me a contrasty image similar to what I can produce on my Leica Digilux 3.

I realize this is a LF film site & forum, so apologize about the digital reference, but in this case I have no other reference point.

The Leica's programing allows for three different B&W types of image capture, perhaps similar to B&W films? Don't know for sure, except I really like the more contrasty one.

Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you.

[Bruce Watson]

I am interested in shooting film that will give me a contrasty image similar to what I can produce on my Leica Digilux 3.

Don't have a clue about a Leica and don't want one.

Analog ain't digital. It's not about zero or one. It's about what happens between zero and one.

In this case it's not the film, it's how you develop it. You can make any given B&W film give you a huge range of contrasts, from completely flat to extremely contrasty. How much contrast you develop for depends on what you want to do with the film when you get done. Thus the oft repeated directive: "Expose for the shadows, develop for the highlights."

So to answer your question directly, any B&W film will give you the contrasty image you seem to desire. If you treat it correctly.

[Brian C. Miller]

This would probably be better covered in a book, with more depth.
Contrast is controlled by a film's development time. The more development, the higher the contrast. If you underexpose film, then develop it longer, you will get higher contrast. If you overexpose film (a bit) and develop it shorter, you will get lower contrast. Even with a "correctly" exposed negative, you can still make the print into a contrasty image, but certain shadow detail or highlights will be lost.

The thing is, it's not just snapping the image, it's a chain of exposure and development. The film is exposed in the camera. It's developed to produce the negative. The negative is exposed onto the paper, and then the paper is developed. At each step the contrast can be controlled, and there's a lot of control that can be done. So, yeah, there's lots of books on the subject.

If you filled out your profile and let us know where you are, there's probably someone near you that could fill you in on this. Or at least chat on Skype or something.

[ic-racer]

I'd use any continuous tone film and paper then process the prints to completion in Lith developer.

[Jay DeFehr]

I don't want to seem rude, but you've not given this enough thought to compose a meaningful question, and so a meaningful answer is not possible without resorting to a comprehensive explanation of image contrast, in all its varied forms. The most appropriate answer to your question, I think, is the following:

Any film you can find.

[D. Bryant]

I don't want to seem rude, but you've not given this enough thought to compose a meaningful question, and so a meaningful answer is not possible without resorting to a comprehensive explanation of image contrast, in all its varied forms. The most appropriate answer to your question, I think, is the following:

Any film you can find.

As Jay said. You might try the Rangefinder Forum more apropos.

[MDR]

I don't know how contrasty the contrasty setting on the Leica is but most ortho films (maco Geniusprint film, Ilford Ortho 25, Efke/Adox PL25 ort) developed in normal filmdevelopers as opposed to special developers for high contrast film will give very contrasty results.

Dominik

[Lachlan 717]

Surely it would be easier to do this post-capture?

Even basic digital editing software has contrast control.

Shoot using its RAW colour setting and post-process. You'll get the best tone range shooting RAW and you'll get the best (for you) result when YOU control the outcome.

Doing anything else is using someone else's vision.

[Tom J McDonald]

Surely it would be easier to do this post-capture?

Even basic digital editing software has contrast control.

Shoot using its RAW colour setting and post-process. You'll get the best tone range shooting RAW and you'll get the best (for you) result when YOU control the outcome.

Doing anything else is using someone else's vision.

Film cameras have raw these days?

[Lachlan 717]

Film cameras have raw these days?

I feel so dirty just knowing these terms, Tom.

Please leave me alone to wallow in my own filth...