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  #1  
Old 6th May 2011, 06:19 PM
tortoise tortoise is offline
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Question Monochrome Portrait Film

Hello,

A real newbie question for you all.
I am looking for a 120 film stock that is suitable for portraits.
By this I mean, a fine grained film that is known for its sharpness when developed.
I shall be scanning this film.
I have heard Adox is known for these properties.
I do not know if Kodak, Ilford of Agfa have something like these properties.
I am sure they do.
Thank you in anticipation!

Sergio
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Old 6th May 2011, 06:25 PM
FilmAyrshire FilmAyrshire is offline
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Sergio,

In the past I have used Ilford Pan F or FP4 (50 and 125 ASA respectively). Pan F can produce stunning portraits and if used with studio lighting the film speed should not be an issue.

Kind regards,

ft
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Old 6th May 2011, 06:42 PM
Alan Clark Alan Clark is offline
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Sergio,
Adox films are not noted for their fine grain. Adox 100 has similar sized grain to Ilford HP5 (400), but is nevertheless a very nice film! Grain and sharpness shouldn't be big issues with 120 film, and this will allow you to choose a film for its characteristic look. For example in 120 I really like HP5, which is very sharp and has a characteristic look that I like, but if you want something that is very sharp and fine-grained, you could try Delta 100.

Alan
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Old 6th May 2011, 06:45 PM
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Rob Archer Rob Archer is offline
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PanF+ would be my personal first choice. I would rate it at 25 or less and reduce development. The contrast can be a bit high otherwise. It has a 'creamy' quality which is hard to describe, but I haven't seen it with other films (except perhaps the late, lamented Agfa APX25)

Rob
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Old 6th May 2011, 06:46 PM
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cliveh cliveh is offline
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Pan F
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Old 6th May 2011, 07:03 PM
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Keith Tapscott. Keith Tapscott. is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by tortoise View Post
Hello,

A real newbie question for you all.
I am looking for a 120 film stock that is suitable for portraits.
By this I mean, a fine grained film that is known for its sharpness when developed.
I shall be scanning this film.
I have heard Adox is known for these properties.
I do not know if Kodak, Ilford of Agfa have something like these properties.
I am sure they do.
Thank you in anticipation!

Sergio
If you're scanning the film, then go for Ilford XP2. XP2 is designed to be processed in standard C-41 chemistry where the silver image is removed in the process to leave a dye formed image.
However, this is FADU which encourages participants to enlarge their negatives the traditional way in a darkroom on light sensitive silver gelatin papers. The hybrid photo-forum is best suited for film scanners.

Last edited by Keith Tapscott.; 6th May 2011 at 07:08 PM.
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Old 6th May 2011, 07:59 PM
Richard Gould Richard Gould is offline
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For portraits using 120 you do not have to b as careful as with 35mm, but if you want fine grain try the tmax films from Kodak, the Tmax 100 is as fine a rain as any 50, and the 400 not far behind.
Richard
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Old 6th May 2011, 08:32 PM
Mike O'Pray Mike O'Pray is online now
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I think that you need to specify under what light conditions you will be taking the portraits. If it is in studio conditions where you control the light then a 100 speed film will probably be the best. You could use even slower speed film but as Richard has said these days TMax 100 is probably as fine grain as you will need.

Outdoor portraits in Northern Greece except in winter and other than early morning or late in the evening might also be OK with a 100 speed but I'd be inclined to try 400. It will give you an extra safety margin for dull days and the use of filters.

It doesn't have to be TMax. Ilford D100 or D400 are good and in 120 HP5+ is also fine although it is an old style film.

As Richard has said Chromogenic films are good but require C41 processing which needs well controlled high temperatures

Mike
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Old 7th May 2011, 07:23 AM
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photomi7ch photomi7ch is offline
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In my case I use FP4+ @ 125 with a fine grain developer. the extra speed over the Pan f is handy. If you are going to scan then one of the modern films as Alan suggests the Delta 100 would be a good way to go. It also depends how large you are going to print after woulds.
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Old 7th May 2011, 09:09 AM
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I don't know about the scanning properties but Ilford Delta 100 in Perceptol (dev 1:1) works superbly for me. Delta 400 is great too, but if I remember (double-check this) the 400 is rated @320 for Perceptol.

Steve.
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