Re: [Leica] Re: Delta 400, Italy, and photographing people

[shino@ubspainewebber.com]

from the excellent _The Film Developing Cookbook_ by Stephen G. Anchell and
Bill Troop (one of the many things introducted to me by the LUG
http://www.bhusa.com/focalbooks/us/subindex.asp?maintarget=&isbn=&country=Un )
on page 14-15, some excerpts:

  tabular films take advantage of new technology for growing silver crystals so
  they have more surface area and less depth than conventional silver
  crystals ... the larger size of the cystals causes higher contrast in minute
  areas, resulting in higher sharpness but poorer gradation of fine detail.
  tabular films are not a replacement for conventional films; they are an
  addition to the palette.  like everything in photography, improvements in one
  area lead to compromises in another... tabular films are harder to process
  because they are sensitive to very slight changes in develipment time and
  temperature.  ...  all tabular grain films provide finer grain and higher
  sharpness than conventional films of the same speed.  but if you value smooth
  gradation of fine hightlight detail, a conventional film will provide more
  satisfactory results.

- -rei

> From: Henry Posner/B&H Photo-Video <henryp@bhphotovideo.com>
> 
> Ilford's Delta is similar to Kodak's T-Max. Their HP-5+ and FP-4+ are 
> similar to Kodak's Plus-X and Tri-X in that they're not delta or T-grain. I 
> have read many times that both T-Max and Delta tend to block up in the 
> highlights, that they're less forgiving of underexposure and less forgiving 
> of time/temp variations in processing. OTOH, most praise the grain. I guess 
> it's the trade-off. Personally, I like HP-5+ overexposed a bit.
> --
> regards,
> Henry Posner