# T-Max 100, IlFord FP4 125, Ilford PanF 50, or Ilford Delta 100: Which should I use?



## Treymac

Hey guys. My last question on film selection, probably . So for black and white, I have four options and I can't choose:

T-Max 100
IlFord FP4 125
Ilford PanF 50
Ilford Delta 100

So I guess most of you guys know already, I'm using these down in Utah/Arizona where it's going to be really sunny. Please tell me which type I should use, I can't decide . Any help at all would be really welcome. 
Thanks.


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## compur

Use them all and then you will know and you can tell us.


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## Treymac

OK, I'll take that advice. I was about to do something hasty and buy film off eBay. But now I finally decided to look at B&H, and film is so much cheaper to buy from there. And I can specify the amount of film I want of each kind. I guess that's a lesson, eBay is not a place to go to for film. It's a little too late for me now though, I've got loads of Ektachrome coming.

So, here is how I'm probably going to break it down:
3x Delta Pro 100
2x Pan F
4x FP4
4x T-Max (photos of Utah taken with TMax on Flickr look amazing)
1x an extra roll to make it one roll a day

I revise my question to: which film do you think I will have the most satisfactory results with, shooting things like Monument valley, and Zion, and Moab?

Now I just need to learn how to meter manually :meh: My plan is to take a test roll, meter with my XTi, use those metering settings on my ETRSi, then get them developed and see how far off it is.

Thanks.


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## Steph

I would say out of those four, FP4 is probably the most tolerant towards exposure errors. Then, it is down to personnal taste. I personally like the look of older emulsions (such as PanF and FP4) better than more modern ones (such as Delta 100 and T-max). I also find properly exposed PanF and FP4 easier to print in the darkroom (but I have limited skills when it comes to printing).


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## tirediron

My preference would be Pan F if you need fine-grain and can get away with 50 ASA, otherwise FP 4. The Delta I'm not familiar with and, well, T-Max?  :thumbdown:


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## Easy_Target

I've used tmax and the delta. I personally don't like the way the delta comes out. I shot both tmax 100 and delta 100 on the same day about 15 minutes apart between rolls. The delta was an incredible pain to print, even though I was taking the same subjects as  the tmax. If I can find the negatives for them and I can get my hands on a scanner, I'll show you what i mean.


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## flipsidestudio

I like the look of FP4 and it's pretty tolerant of errors.  PanF would be great if you can get away with 50 asa.  I'm not a fan of Delta at all but TMax isn't terrible.


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## Treymac

Ok guys, I just put my order through and here is the black and white film I got:

1 roll  - Agfa Scala-200 (also bought mailer (only 1 developer in north America! but pictures look amazing on flickr, can't wait to try it))
1 roll  - Ilford Delta
1 roll  - Ilford PanF plus
5 rolls - Ilford FP4 plus
5 rolls - Kodak TMax 100
3 rolls - Kodak Tri-X (expired in 2000)

Which averages out to a little over a roll a day. What do you think, good mix?   :thumbup: :thumbdown:

(side note: just picked up a roll of Fuji Acros 100 for my AE-1 Program to play around with before I go. Anybody have any thoughts on this film?)


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## elemental

That looks like a great mix, though don't expect that Tri-X to be a representative sample. I am doing the same thing with Tri-X and T-Max (400) and trying out some Agfa I got on clearance. It's fun to mix and match.


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## ZachGibson

Panf is the bomb if you're in conditions that you can use 50. Delta's great too.  I'm not a big fan of Tmax though, I'd go with Tri-X if you have a choice.


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## r.reeder

Glad to read all the opinions.  I'm trying out FP4+, Delta 100, & Pan F.  I developed the FP4+ & Delta 100 in HC-110, 1:31 (B), & found that both films were quite grainy.  I then tried them with HC-110, 1:39 (D), & the grain was hardly there.  I have not had trouble getting images out of either FP4+ or Delta 100.  I have yet to try the Pan F, but I think I should develop it in HC-110, 1:63 (H).  We'll see what happens.


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## gsgary

Treymac said:


> OK, I'll take that advice. I was about to do something hasty and buy film off eBay. But now I finally decided to look at B&H, and film is so much cheaper to buy from there. And I can specify the amount of film I want of each kind. I guess that's a lesson, eBay is not a place to go to for film. It's a little too late for me now though, I've got loads of Ektachrome coming.
> 
> So, here is how I'm probably going to break it down:
> 3x Delta Pro 100
> 2x Pan F
> 4x FP4
> 4x T-Max (photos of Utah taken with TMax on Flickr look amazing)
> 1x an extra roll to make it one roll a day
> 
> I revise my question to: which film do you think I will have the most satisfactory results with, shooting things like Monument valley, and Zion, and Moab?
> 
> Now I just need to learn how to meter manually :meh: My plan is to take a test roll, meter with my XTi, use those metering settings on my ETRSi, then get them developed and see how far off it is.
> 
> Thanks.


Pan F will give you the finest quality but I like grain, do B+H sell Agfa apx100 ? I love this film but my film of choice is Ilford HP5, I have a hard time choosing what film to use i have so much in the fridge I've got 300 feet of Double X  to get through

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## gsgary

Treymac said:


> OK, I'll take that advice. I was about to do something hasty and buy film off eBay. But now I finally decided to look at B&H, and film is so much cheaper to buy from there. And I can specify the amount of film I want of each kind. I guess that's a lesson, eBay is not a place to go to for film. It's a little too late for me now though, I've got loads of Ektachrome coming.
> 
> So, here is how I'm probably going to break it down:
> 3x Delta Pro 100
> 2x Pan F
> 4x FP4
> 4x T-Max (photos of Utah taken with TMax on Flickr look amazing)
> 1x an extra roll to make it one roll a day
> 
> I revise my question to: which film do you think I will have the most satisfactory results with, shooting things like Monument valley, and Zion, and Moab?
> 
> Now I just need to learn how to meter manually :meh: My plan is to take a test roll, meter with my XTi, use those metering settings on my ETRSi, then get them developed and see how far off it is.
> 
> Thanks.


Get yourself a good meter that can also spot meter much more accurate than your digital camera

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## limr

Thread is from 2008. OP hasn't been seen since 2010.


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