ISO 400 B&W Films.

[Keith Tapscott.]

What are your favourite ISO 400 B&W films and what is it about them that you like compared to others in the same speed group?

[Ian Grant]

Delta 400, great tonality and sharpness with good grain structure. Just wish it was available in LF as I much prefer it to HP5 and want to buy Ilford films. Tmax 400 is another film I've usedwith great results.

Ian

[2F/2F]

There are so many good ones. I have used many, but I had to finally just settle on one for sake of simplification: Ilford HP5 (in Ilfotec HC). It is a great film, and I want to support Ilford's efforts to salvage and advance black and white film photography. Oh, how I wish it was the American company who was making such attempts known, but it is not. All of my favorite films and papers by Kodak are gone, except for Tri-X and Supra Endura. Now Fuji is at it again too, getting rid of my favorite of their remaining emulsions: T64 (while offering three different varieties of Velvia.........)

I sometimes use Delta 400 or T-Max 400, but I don't like their look as much as HP5. Before that, my preference was Tri-X 400 in 35mm, and Tri-X 320 in larger formats. I still shoot Tri-X sometimes for landscapes, though not generally for people. I usually only shoot it now when I want to use 220 black and white film. It is a little more open in the shadows, more dead in the highlights, and greens and blues appear a tiny bit lighter on the print. It (the 320) was the first film I totally "zoned" (4x5 and 120/220 in D-76 1:1), so I still have all my notes and such. All I need to do is run a wee seven negative test when I want to use it.

I also used a lot of Agfa APX 400 when it was cheap at Freestyle. It was a nice black annd white film that got the job done, but it never really did it for me as much as Tri-X and HP5. Not sure why.

As for Fuji, they are good IMO, but still don't have the style of HP5 or Tri-X. I use them only in 4x5 when I want Quickloads.

[Aurelien]

As I have a great preference for old style films, I do not like at alll the TMAx films. Grain is for me the spirit of pictures.
So , I use triX, HP5 or neopan 400 when I want sensitivity. When no more than ISO 320 are needed, I use Fomapan 400, which I love. And I have a stock of Fortepan 400, which is the grainiest of all. Like it too

[Jeff Kubach]

One of my favourite films is the HP5. I just like the look of it.

Jeff

[mcgrattan]

I've had consistently the best results from Neopan 400. In just about every developer I've tried the negatives have been at least usable, and they usually have a combination of relatively low grain and good tone and contrast.

I've also had good results from HP5, Fomapan 400 and Tmax 400, but they've not performed quite as consistently for me as Neopan.

[MikeSeb]

Tmax 400 is my favorite, followed by either Tri-X Pan (320) or "regular" Tri-X.

I'd say that, by upgrading several existing color and B&W films, and introducing at least one new one, within the last few years, Kodak has demonstrated significant commitment to film photography. They probably deserve better than a knock because someone's personal favorites didn't make the cut.

Far better I guess to operate unprofitably and simply go bankrupt, so that then you can't offer ANY films.

[John Bragg]

My current film of choice is Neopan 400. It has a look when developed in Rodinal that just fits the way I see things. It was always Tri-X before that and I started with Neopan to work up a credible alternative in case of availability issues. I ended up liking it more and made the switch, although either is a great choice....

[brian steinberger]

I work almost exclusively with Neopan 400 in 120. It is a great film. I develop in Xtol 1:1 with great results and Rodinal from time to time also. Neopan is also less expensive than other 400 speed black and white films. And, I know it's nit-picking, but it dries perfectly flat (120) and also has no purplish hue as some other films do.

[white.elephant]

I'm an HP5 man, and I like it because to my eye it has a weight that Tri-X doesn't match. My personal taste.