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Cheap C41 B/W Film?
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PostPosted: Sun Oct 28, 2012 4:28 pm    Post subject: Cheap C41 B/W Film? Reply with quote
http://www.ebay.de/itm/5-BLACK-WHITE-NEGATIVE-BW-400-27-FILM-135-27-BULK-/380493096868?pt=US_Camera_Film&hash=item589727e7a4
http://www.ebay.de/itm/40-BLACK-WHITE-NEGATIVE-BW-400-27-FILM-135-27-BULK-/380499816347?pt=US_Camera_Film&hash=item58978e6f9b

Does anyone have experience here with it?


PostPosted: Sun Oct 28, 2012 4:30 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
I used once ILFORD C41 film, was much softer than real B&W , my conclusion was not taken any more.


PostPosted: Sun Oct 28, 2012 5:25 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
I would not recommend that type of film.
In the past, it was a way to save money, because colour processing was cheaper than B&W in the labs.
Today, it doesn't make sense anymore, because labs prices are high also for colour film, while home developing
is really cheap for B&W and B&W films are much better in quality.


PostPosted: Sun Oct 28, 2012 7:22 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
I made this choice for my 6x6 cameras just for testing them because I don't have yet the possibility to develop myself . I am curious what crap I'll get when I'll receive the films.


PostPosted: Sun Oct 28, 2012 7:37 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
yinyangbt wrote:
I made this choice for my 6x6 cameras just for testing them because I don't have yet the possibility to develop myself . I am curious what crap I'll get when I'll receive the films.


I never seen this film in medium format. To develop own film need a tank + chemical only, you can use kitchen sink and bathroom as dark room.


PostPosted: Sun Oct 28, 2012 8:31 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
I don´t know this particular film. but if it is Ilford XP2 then it´s a good choice when you don´t want to develop film yourself. it also has nice and wide tonal range and can be pushed a lot


PostPosted: Sun Oct 28, 2012 10:14 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
If it's XP2, I like it. It's a great film for cheap processing and scanning.


PostPosted: Sun Oct 28, 2012 11:23 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Lloydy wrote:
If it's XP2, I like it. It's a great film for cheap processing and scanning.


That was what I not like at all Laughing so take one roll and decide suit for you or not.


PostPosted: Mon Oct 29, 2012 6:52 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
berraneck wrote:
I don´t know this particular film. but if it is Ilford XP2 then it´s a good choice when you don´t want to develop film yourself. it also has nice and wide tonal range and can be pushed a lot


+1
it basically is a colour film, only without colours. Think about a 400 ISO colour negative film and you get the idea.
This means, to start with, much wider latitude than B&W film. Practically, you can miss the exposure completely and still take the photo home Laughing like the films in compact use-and-throw cameras.
Of course, you also get the minuses of colour negative film: weak contrast, and all that beautiful detail and micro-contrast that you admire in classic B&W prints, all gone.


PostPosted: Mon Oct 29, 2012 10:58 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
It doesn't look well cared for. BW400CN is one of my favourite films, but I wouldn't trust this one.


PostPosted: Tue Oct 30, 2012 12:05 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Orio wrote:

it basically is a colour film, only without colours. Think about a 400 ISO colour negative film and you get the idea.
This means, to start with, much wider latitude than B&W film. Practically, you can miss the exposure completely and still take the photo home Laughing like the films in compact use-and-throw cameras.
Of course, you also get the minuses of colour negative film: weak contrast, and all that beautiful detail and micro-contrast that you admire in classic B&W prints, all gone.


From what I've seen the C41 B/W negatives are more demanding for accurate exposure than several B/W films.
Scroll down here for an example: http://forum.mflenses.com/film-review-kodak-bw400cn-t42511,highlight,%2Bbw400cn.html; only one stop and any shadow details are missing.

Also I won't subscipe that part with the weak contrast, when I tried it the overall contrast of BW400CN was always high.

Bye the way Kodak BW400CN is imo not a real ISO 400; it's more ~250, because at ISO 400 the film has practically no details in dark areas.
See example
http://forum.mflenses.com/some-b-w-from-contax-g1-t52769,highlight,%2Bcontax.html


PostPosted: Tue Oct 30, 2012 1:49 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
ForenSeil wrote:

From what I've seen the C41 B/W negatives are more demanding for accurate exposure than several B/W films.


I doubt that. I have been thaught in the darkroom course that I followed, that the latitude of B&W film is much narrower than colour negative film.
C41 monochrome negative is a colour negative film without dye couplers. But the nature of the emulsion, is that of a colour film (and in fact, it has three layers like colour film).
I would rather believe these facts I was told, than judge on the base of a published image that may have been influenced by many factors independent from the film (scanning, editing).


PostPosted: Wed Oct 31, 2012 12:24 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
To admit I never made a direct comparision but in my humble experience BW400CN has much less tollerance than normal C41 ISO400 color negative film in exposure accuracy.

While some fairly forgiving real B/W films like Ilford FP4 with slightly compensating development have a lot tollerance. +-2 stops and the results are still usable.

Of course most real B/W films are not that forgiving.

Last edited by ForenSeil on Wed Oct 31, 2012 9:06 pm; edited 1 time in total


PostPosted: Wed Oct 31, 2012 4:37 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
XP2 is no more or less exposure tolerant than the other Ilford BW films in my experience.


PostPosted: Wed Oct 31, 2012 5:54 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
I have a better idea shoot on C-41 color film if you can't develop own b&w film , buy silferx plugin to photo shop and make perfect b&w conversion from color film scan.


PostPosted: Wed Oct 31, 2012 9:57 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
attila if you ever tried XP2 Super you would know that results are better than shooting color negative and turning it into BW in photo editor.. Wink and as a bonus, there aren´t any problems when enlarging it in darkroom, as is with color negatives using for BW prints


PostPosted: Wed Oct 31, 2012 10:50 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
berraneck wrote:
attila if you ever tried XP2 Super you would know that results are better than shooting color negative and turning it into BW in photo editor.. Wink and as a bonus, there aren´t any problems when enlarging it in darkroom, as is with color negatives using for BW prints


I not share your opinion I not print ever , just scan.


PostPosted: Wed Oct 31, 2012 11:22 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
XP2:



Fujicolor 200 turned to BW:



Both are fine with digital processing, people get too hung up on technique, results are what matters and there are usually more than one way of getting to the result you want.


PostPosted: Wed Oct 31, 2012 11:32 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Lydebrook Dingle. by Mudplugga, on Flickr

Straight out of the camera, processed at Tesco's for 99 pence, and scanned. I like XP2.
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