HP5 and The Rise of Black & White Film
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 22 พ.ค. 2024
- In the midst of Kodak price hikes found myself turning to shooting more black and white film. My black and white film of choice being Ilford HP5 Plus 400 which in my opinion is the gold standard of black and white film.
Now I know that is controversial take for some but let me tell you why I think it is the best. I do want to say I admittedly have some inherent bias because some of the most important memories of my life were photographed on this film stock but I wanted to take HP5 out into the field using my Leica and the Fuji GA645 to demonstrate the beauty of this film. I hope you enjoy the video and learn a thing or two!
PS: Shout out to @graincheck for being an inspiration in her journey to only shooting B&W film for 365 days. Check out the end of the video if you'd like to see me struggle with her name.
Cheers
Intro: 00:00-01:07
Grain Structure of HP5: 01:08-01:52
Should you Shoot at Box Speed: 01:53-03:44
Why HP5 is the Best: 03:45-05:05
Will B&W Film Dominate in 2023 and Beyond?: 05:06-08:29
Watch me Struggle: 08:30-09:01
Connect with me
Film Account: / thomasbocage
Main Account: / thomasbocagephoto
I just got back into shooting film after years of shooting digital. I picked up the Pentax 654N because I love medium format. Back in the day I owned a Pentax 6x7. I have gotten into HP5 Plus and I have to say it is a gorgeous B&W film. Back in the day I was a big fan of Ilford's XP1 so I am no stranger to Ilford films. I shoot HP5 Plus at box speed and home develop in Ilford DD-X. I would recommend for anyone to try this film. You too might become a fan. Thanks for the video
Thank you for the suggestion! I appreciate you watching
I loved HP5 for the longest time but now im all about the Neopan 100 acros. i love the higher contrast on this BW film stock
Been hearing a lot about that! Gotta give it a try
Great video with some nice shots.
I love the flexibility of Ilford’s HP5, it pushes really nicely and gives great results at box speed. It’s my main film stock. I also love Ilford’s Pan F Plus, FP4 Plus, Delta 400 & 3200 and Ortho 80 but I always have HP5 Plus in my bag and a few rolls in the fridge.
Thankfully, I got into film because I love Black & White (which I Dev/Scan myself). I was always drawn to Black & White photography so it’s always felt a natural choice for me.
There are times where colour is preferable and I love colour film too but the now annual Kodak price increase (plus Lab Dev/Scan costs) is making colour film a hard choice to justify economically. I’ll shoot what I have built up in the freezer but I won’t be buying more colour film unless it’s for a family event.
Thank you for taking the time to write all this my friend! Always interested to hear other people’s perspectives on how black and white film fits into their workflow. Certainly now a necessity to always have in a bag imo. Glad you enjoyed the video! Cheers
Nice shots 😊 I’d agree with your assessment of Ilford HP5 - Gold standard indeed.
Thank you brother! Such a solid choice
FP4 and HP5 were the available rolls I learned to shoot on because my art academy that didn't have to make a profit sold them without any profit margins. Availablilty is the driving factor behind what type of film I shoot with, though.
Delta 400, for nice grain, is quite good. You should give that a try, if you haven't already. I push, rather then over expose my black and whites. As far as flexible films Kodak 5222 aka Double X film is pretty amazing. But we all find our comfort zones, glad you found yours, keep shooting.
I’ve yet to try delta but will certainly give it a try soon! And you’re absolutely right about that haha!
I also thought Delta 400 has finer grain than HP5
Good points in the video. I was looking for a cheap bw option to buy in bulk and stick with since the recent price increases. Picked up and shot a few bricks of Holga (Foma) 400 through a bunch of tests, which I've come to love. However, if I want a standard and dependable bw look I'll reach for HP5 all day.
Glad you enjoyed the video! Definitely a lot of great options to continue shooting film in B&W
Dig the video and I'm definitely more of a black and white shooter in general, but luckily I like the look of portra 160 and Gold, so at least I can pick that up for a lower price. That being said, 4x5 isn't helping my case lol. On a side note, I moved back to DFW a little bit ago. Know of any group meetups/events in the area?
I’m glad you enjoyed the video! Gotta look into 4x5 myself. And yes there are quite a few meetups that done through legacy photo lab in Fort Worth and Dallas! Give them a follow on IG and you’ll see things come up here and there
@@ThomasBocage will do and thanks!
Nice video
Thank you my friend
With affordable shooting in mind and turning to black and white film, I'd be really interested in your thoughts regarding fomapan 400. You can snag both hp5 and fomapan 400 in 100' rolls. In the states, we're looking at $90 for hp5 and $70 for fomapan. At about 18 rolls per 100', that breaks down to $5 a roll (36exp) for hp5 and $3.89 a roll for fomapan. Quite a significant difference between prices. Now. We know hp5, we love hp5, but is fomapan 400 "good enough" esp when factoring in cost savings.
This is a great question to look into! I’ll definitely grab some fomapan and see how it stacks up to old faithful HP5! Thanks for the suggestion brother
I see some people on TH-cam turn their color film black and white in post and I never understood that because 1. It's a waste of color film, and 2. No black and white image will ever look as good as black white film
I’ll be honest and say I’ve done it before. Usually only do it when the color film is terribly over or underexposed. Black and white can save an image and if I can do that rather than delete it I definitely will. Certainly not my first choice tho lol
Off topic question did you have to calibrate that voightlander lens before you could use it on your film Leica? This has been mentioned with other non Leica branded lenses that the focus or zone focus could be off. Meaning you need a digital Leica to calibrate it or it’s going to be to difficult to do using film cameras
Thankfully I have not had to do that on the lens. Typically if focus is off it’s because I’ve moved slightly and that really only happens wide open at 1.4
I've been shooting HP5 since before you were born, and have only ever shot it at "box speed", and the same goes for any film I've used since the mid 70s.
I've always pick my film according to the look required. Unfortunately the reduction in available film stocks (I'm not including re-named / repackaged products) has changed all of that.
Film prices will eventually kill analogue shooting off for good.
Glad you gave this input! Definitely hope it’s not true that it will die off altogether but at this point with the way things are going it is certainly not out of the realm of possibility at some point in the future
Gosh...I hope not. I'm not that knowledgeable...but a commenter on another video said he worked for some decades at Kodak Rochester. He said film demand has increased so much that Kodak Rochester is now running three shifts, 24 x 7...and has to buy new equipment and hire more employees at a competitive wage. ....to explain the reason for the price increases I think film prices will settle down in 2024...but that's my wishful thinking. 🙂
Hopefully I don't think it will - so prices should remain decent. Cause those who announced they'll finally stoop to shoot b&w will always miss the "tones & vibes" of color negatives and never have the patience to either see in b&w and shoot when b&w is more suited - ei in not sunny situation - or learn how chemistry and dev techniques impact your negative. But for sure, if you don't care about that and only shoot when it's bright outside and let a lab develop your film, HP5 is nice :) Though I'd say Tri-X/Tmax and the original Acros are (way) better suited for my photography. Also, where do you find a Portra at +20$? Is it at small local shops or at big online seller like b&h. Because in Europe, online, a 120/35mm of Portra 400 is found around 13/14.5€ - so roughly 14/16$.
Glad you gave your thoughts my friend! Definitely important to intentionally shoot black and white to get away from just shooting for the “tones & vibes” as you said.
And those prices I mentioned are factoring taxes into the roll as well. I’ve seen that price in both local shops and online retailers
You should see the UK prices…
Excellent video. What film developer do you use? Thanks.
Thank you my friend! I use Legacy Photo Lab here in Fort Worth, Texas
What nobody seems to notice is that the agfa apx400 is the best traditional emulsion on the market, the best tonal separation, and very homogeneous spectral sensitivity. Also is cheap as hell and the grain is small with good acutance. All this means good 3d pop, no wacky blown out skin tones and a lot of detail with visible grain. And unlike foma 400, apx is an actual 400 speed film
will give it a try!
I guess I am going to showing my age here but here goes. Personally I think that Kodak Tri X is a much better film. Yes I have shot HP 5 along with many other film types. Shooting a particular film is a personal choice and I think it’s up to the individual. After shooting for 46 years and using a wide verity of film stocks my go to film if TriX.
Thank you for your thoughts. I always appreciate the words of someone who has much more experience than I do. Certainly taste is always up to the individual but you are certainly not alone in thinking Tri X is the better film all around
The rise of black and white film is due to the low to non-existent inventory of color film and when it is in stock is more expensive.
Certainly
Most definitely, I will be shooting more b&w than color. I'm really starting to like it better than color, which is another reason I'll be more in to b&w.
Glad to hear I won’t be the only one haha!
I’m a tri-x boi but this definitely made me want to run the hp5 in my fridge haha
Yee, it’s definitely worth a try my brother
Where you buying portra 800? I still get it for $16. 😭😭
I’m looking at local places for the most part. But I’m also factoring taxes as well
@@ThomasBocage oh oop 🤭 forgot about taxes
Bnw film is easier to develop especially with Cinestill df96 mono bath.
HI, are you INDIAN?
What do you think I am?
@@ThomasBocage not sure brother, Indian best people's
Strange question.
@@jonflan691 just trying to connect on a personal level
I cannot afford a Leica camera with a Voightlander lens. You apparently own one so please don’t complain about the price of film. Sell the camera. Downgrade. And buy more film.😊
Lol I suppose that is fair
Disagree with you there. For somebody who wants to shoot a lot of film it doesn't matter if you use a $2000 leica or a $20 pentax, the price of film and processing very quickly exceeds those initial costs so even if he sold his leica that money is gone soon and he's still struggling to afford or even find colour film.
Some of us work extremely hard and save to own a camera we love using, and for some that might be a leica. It doesn't mean we earn six figure salaries. Film is becoming more unobtainable for many and that is a shame. Of course it's all about market forces so complaining about inflating prices is OK - as long as you accept that film is now a luxury and we are fortunate to have it as an option at all.
My leica was a gift and there are many times I would have been well served by selling it. I never have because it is a camera that I want to carry with me everywhere more than any other I've ever owned. They're overpriced for sure but they're also some of the world's most enjoyable cameras
I appreciate the comments. My first knee-jerk reaction is like hearing someone with a Ferrari complaining that gas prices are too high for him. 😊
I was wondering if possibly the Leica was a gift. I appreciate that. I’m trying to go the Leica iii route and Russian copies. Film is high but so is trying to develop your own film. But I bite my lip and deal with it. A 36 roll does take me a while to shoot. And crappy cameras so sometimes give crappy results. But for someone new to your channel seeing you with a camera I cannot afford complaining about film turns me away.
There is a guy in England that has a segment on “Is Film Expensive”. His channel is “Shoot Film Like a Boss”. I like his view on it.
I purchased a Leica SL which takes r mount lenses. Their relatively cheap. I haven’t used it yet because my wife doesn’t know I bought it! 😁 But looking through the viewfinder is awesome. I bought a cheap R4 and it’s not the same as the original.
So, thanks for the feedback. Enjoy your Leica. DON’T sell it! 😁
Gatekeeping at its finest!