FOMAPAN action 400 black/white negative film

• Picks up detail well, but a little grainy.
• Needs slower shutter speeds (~250)
• Dark photos don’t have a lot of contrast
• Excellent dark/light contrast
• Out-of-focus shots really pull out the graininess

From the package: B/W negative film with good resolving power, low granularity and wide exposure latitude.

Ilford HP5 Plus 400 Black & White Film

scanner won’t read the photos – too dark. Think the stop-down communication between the lens and the camera body was not accurate. Too many photos too dark. Nonetheless…

• A very dull and dark negative switched into lab mode and then an auto-levels applied. Wow. Definitely can work with that, but it only works with some negatives.
  

  Original		Auto Levels		Curves
  009-01 original	–>	009-01 lab mode auto levels	–>	009-01 curves

• The negative edges curl, which makes it annoying to place in the negative holder for the scanner

Kentmere 400 Black & White Film

BH’s summary:

This is a fast black and white film geared for general use. It produces sharp images with fine grain. As a high speed film, it is suitable for normal and low light photography.

• Looks nice and bright until enlarged, and then not in focus. Humph. (But that’s my fault, not the films… unless it isn’t fast enough, but it’s bright enough to kick up the shutter speed one notch.)
• Sometimes bright, but not much contrast, which comes out when they aren’t too bright. BH says it has good contrast, but apparently not in low light conditions.
• I think this would be great for something other than Shirk photography.
• Then again, I kinda like it. There is no grain! It is a very sharp and clear film. This contrast puzzle bears a second look
  

  Icky		Nice
  Original: not much contrast	vs.	Original: better contrast; too bright?

Decision?

By the time I decide, basketball season will be over! Oh well. At least IWU’s celebration of 100 years of men’s basketball is this weekend, and I have approximately seven rolls of film (mostly Ilford).

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