Clean Gene
9th of January 2011 (Sun), 00:12
Okay...right now I'm enrolled in a "large format" view camera course. The local camera supply store has a limited selection of 4x5 films, so I'm trying to decide what to use early, since I may end up having to order it.
Anyway, one of the restrictions for the course is that we have to use ISO/ASA 400 film. I believe the only 400 black and white film that the local shop has in the 4x5 format is the Ilford HP5. I worked with HP5 on 35 mm and it was okay, but I much preferred the Kodak T-Max 400.
So I'm probably just going to order a crapload of 4x5 T-Max 400 film. I liked the film for 35 mm, I'm assuming that I'll like it for 4x5 format. My only question is...are there any extra considerations I should think about when using large format?
For example, in 35 mm, I never really screwed around much with variations in development. I'd always have multiple pictures on a single roll, so it didn't make much sense to give the entire roll N+2 development just for one shot. So I always just pretty much kept development the same. But now seeing that I'm hypothetically going to actually be able to do unique processing for individual images, does T-Max 400 film work well in those situations? Does it respond well to pushing and pulling? Am I going to see film grain exceed beyond acceptable tolerances before I get the desired change in negative densities?
Those are just a couple of EXAMPLES of questions. But it basically boils down to...when I shot T-Max 400 film on 35 mm, I loved it. But I was also really only developing it one particular way. Now that I'm planning on using the film differently (in 4x5), are there any problems with T-Max 400 film that are likely to arise as a result of me using it differently?
I found T-Max 400 to be a very good 400 speed 35 mm film. But is it a good film for 4x5 format photography, in which I'm planning on making lots of variations on development?
Anyway, one of the restrictions for the course is that we have to use ISO/ASA 400 film. I believe the only 400 black and white film that the local shop has in the 4x5 format is the Ilford HP5. I worked with HP5 on 35 mm and it was okay, but I much preferred the Kodak T-Max 400.
So I'm probably just going to order a crapload of 4x5 T-Max 400 film. I liked the film for 35 mm, I'm assuming that I'll like it for 4x5 format. My only question is...are there any extra considerations I should think about when using large format?
For example, in 35 mm, I never really screwed around much with variations in development. I'd always have multiple pictures on a single roll, so it didn't make much sense to give the entire roll N+2 development just for one shot. So I always just pretty much kept development the same. But now seeing that I'm hypothetically going to actually be able to do unique processing for individual images, does T-Max 400 film work well in those situations? Does it respond well to pushing and pulling? Am I going to see film grain exceed beyond acceptable tolerances before I get the desired change in negative densities?
Those are just a couple of EXAMPLES of questions. But it basically boils down to...when I shot T-Max 400 film on 35 mm, I loved it. But I was also really only developing it one particular way. Now that I'm planning on using the film differently (in 4x5), are there any problems with T-Max 400 film that are likely to arise as a result of me using it differently?
I found T-Max 400 to be a very good 400 speed 35 mm film. But is it a good film for 4x5 format photography, in which I'm planning on making lots of variations on development?