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  #11  
Old 14th June 2020, 07:01 PM
soulstar soulstar is offline
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for me fp4+ is my medium/slow speed film. I mostly take portraits and its top notch. I shoot it from 25-500 depending on look i want. like the above stated its not really suited for low light handheld. Hp5 is my other fast film for pushing high iso's.
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  #12  
Old 14th June 2020, 07:27 PM
Mike O'Pray Mike O'Pray is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by soulstar View Post
for me fp4+ is my medium/slow speed film. I mostly take portraits and its top notch. I shoot it from 25-500 depending on look i want. like the above stated its not really suited for low light handheld. Hp5 is my other fast film for pushing high iso's.
soulstar, 500 is certainly very fast for FP4+. What developer do you use and what are the changes that occur at 500?

Thanks

Mike
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  #13  
Old 14th June 2020, 08:06 PM
soulstar soulstar is offline
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Originally Posted by Mike O'Pray View Post
soulstar, 500 is certainly very fast for FP4+. What developer do you use and what are the changes that occur at 500?

Thanks

Mike
i use mircophen. its extremely contrasty but it fits the mood of my multi exposure frames. sometimes which are from 64 shots in one. i wouldn't use fp4+ at 500 for say portraiture as you are not getting the best of the film.
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  #14  
Old 14th June 2020, 08:29 PM
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GoodOldNorm GoodOldNorm is offline
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The reason I asked the question was in order to help me make up my mind about what films to buy next and stick with. In the past I have bought any films that were on offer or whatever took my fancy. As a result my fridge is stocked with a wide variety of films, when my stock is depleted I am looking to have one good all round film fp4+ and one fast film, probably hp5+ . I like Delta 400 also (why no 4x5 Delta?). The same goes for developers, I may just stick to pyrocat hd and try Id68 when I need a little more speed.
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  #15  
Old 14th June 2020, 08:47 PM
Stocky Stocky is offline
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Originally Posted by GoodOldNorm View Post
That appeals to me, have you ever tried Fp4+ at EI160 developed in microphen?
No I haven't. Mainly because I'm mostly hand holding the cameras, and in general I don't like the higher contrast that comes from the extra development needed to eke out a bit more speed. Even if the grain is a bit smaller. Of course, all of this is dependent on how one uses one's light meter.

My maximum print size is 12" x 16" and HP5+ in Pyrocat is completely satisfactory.
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  #16  
Old 15th June 2020, 06:39 AM
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skellum skellum is offline
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Good Morning Norm.
A couple of years back I had a major clear out- I'd bought a number of films to try, and ended up with stock I just wasn't going to use.
Some wonderful work has been made using FP4 (I think John Blakemore uses it a lot), but I didn't take to it. For me it was a bit like white bread; inoffensive and mostly fine, but not distinctive in any way that pleased me personally.
I've ended up with 2 films. PanF which I use in 120 for landscape and still life in my Mamiya. It really makes the most of 6x6 and makes beautiful prints.
HP5 which I use in 135, 120 and 5x4. In small formats it allows hand-holding in most light, and in 5x4 it remains fine enough to make large prints without showing grain thanks to the big negative area.
I develop everything in PMK pyro; PanF at EI 25 and HP5 at EI 200.
I do bend my own rules, and over the summer sometimes shoot Rollei IR400 which also goes into the PMK at EI 6
Pretty soon I'll be retiring, and hope to get back to printing before the end of the year. I've already decided there will be one paper in my darkroom, Ilford Multigrade Classic.
Two films, one developer, one paper.
I think we can be influenced by seeing beautiful work by other photographers, and find ourselves seduced into trying a different film, or paper, or magic developer in the subconscious hope a bit of talent rubs of on us.
If FP4 suits your vision, and makes you happy, then stick with it. The more you use it the more you'll come to understand what it can (and can't) do. Good luck.

ps- I tried 'pushing' HP5 to 1600 a while back for a project. Hated it. Too mush contrast and poor shadows. If I wanted a fast film again I'd use Delta 3200 which is fabulous.
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  #17  
Old 15th June 2020, 09:52 AM
big paul big paul is offline
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I have stuck with two films delta 100 and delta 400 ,I sometimes shoot the 400 at 800 or 1600 ,I develop them in DD-X ,well it keeps me happy .
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  #18  
Old 15th June 2020, 02:57 PM
Svend Svend is offline
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Originally Posted by GoodOldNorm View Post
Any love out there for FP4+ in 35mm,120mm and 4x5? Is FP4+ the best choice as an all rounder? What film would you use if you could only pick one?
Hi Norm,
I used FP4 as my main film for many years, developing pretty much only in ID11/D76. I struggled to get tonality that pleased me -- everything just seemed a bit boring, to be honest. Then I started experimenting with developers and discovered that FP4 responded quite well and I could finally get tones that suited the scenes just by using a different developer. Also, I stopped using ID11 at 1+3, which I was doing for economy, and used it at 1+1 only, which improved things tremendously.

Bottom line, I think FP4 is a terrific film...very versatile. Looking around the house I see some of my nicest images were FP4 in ID11.

For landscapes and nature I now like it in Perceptol 1+1, which softens it up a bit and gives it a lovely glow. For urban or industrial scenes it's ID11/D76 1+1 or Rodinal 1+50, although the grain in the latter is not always to my liking (best left to 120 format, not 135). For ID11 I like to overexpose a bit...say ISO80, and develop as for ISO125...really punchy negs, lots of guts.

Like you, I want to experiment with it in replenished Microphen, as well as HC110 which I'm hoping will give it the deep mid- and low-tones that Rodinal has but without the weird grain.

All of that said, I still love HP5 as a faster film and have made some wonderful images with it. As with FP4, it responds really well to different developers. Perceptol and ID11 (both 1+1) give very different looks. Lately I've shot a few rolls of TriX as well, and was very impressed, so that's also worth a try for a faster film.

For a landscapes/nature I have also been using a bit of PanF and am frankly thinking I might use it as my main slow film...it's wonderful in Perceptol 1+1, and is the only film I could get Rodinal to work well with.

Lots of food for thought. Hope this helps.
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  #19  
Old 15th June 2020, 06:07 PM
Mike O'Pray Mike O'Pray is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by soulstar View Post
i use mircophen. its extremely contrasty but it fits the mood of my multi exposure frames. sometimes which are from 64 shots in one. i wouldn't use fp4+ at 500 for say portraiture as you are not getting the best of the film.
Thanks soulstar. I'd have expected a serious loss of detail in the lower zones at 500 but just because it is not a film you often read about in terms of 500 in box speed it doesn't mean that it doesn't work and in Microphen its speed may be boosted to nearer 250 only

If you can share any prints from shots taken at 500 I'd find it useful

Thanks

Mike
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  #20  
Old 15th June 2020, 07:42 PM
Lostlabours Lostlabours is offline
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I've used I think 2 rolls of FP4 in the last 30+ years and those were bought under strange circumstances I needed to have my photograph taken for a magaine article so asked a friennd (apro) he came to stay a day before with no camera so I lent him one. Over halfway to the location I realised he had no film, so back to the nearsest small town and 2 rolls 35mm FP4.

Best was the location was a mile walk from the car, almost there he realised he'd left the film in my car !!!!! I was less than impressed.

However FP4 is probably one of the best films available, I'd used it and FP3 before that before switching to Agfa AP100 then APX100, and Tax100, slightly finer grain.

My issue is using prints from 35mm, 120, 5x4 and 10x8 alongside each other in exhibitions. I dropped 35mm in the end except for separate projects so I might go back to 35mm FP$, I have some boxes of 5x4.

When choosing a film the developer is just as important in the combination. I only use Pyrocat HD now and that is superb with HP5 and friends say just as good with FP4. But ultimately qualitynis down to tight technique, and that's another story.

Ian
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