PAST BYLINES: Gear Patrol, PC Mag, Geek.com, Digital Photo Pro, Resource Magazine, Yahoo! News, Yahoo! Finance, IGN, PDN, and others. I mentioned above that HP5 PLUS typically retains less shadow detail in darker scenes than modern T-grain films but that isn’t a surprise considering the differences in emulsion technology. Taking advantage of this characteristic allows the photographer to isolate lighter subjects in bright relief (as the images above show), and is something to think about when you’re shooting this film in a dark environment. However, PLUS films, which use an established emulsion technology, have more exposure latitude than DELTA films. This makes them better for push and pull processing. They are also less sensitive to over processing making them ideal for people learning about film photography. This sequentially numbered HP range has remained at ISO 400 ever since, through the 1970s and 1980s in the form of HP4 and HP5, and on to today with the introduction of HP5 Plus in 1989. Ilford HP5 Plus is rated to shoot between ISO 200 and 3200, but it will show the best results between ISO 320 and 1600. This film shows remarkable results even at higher ISO values, but the further HP5 is pushed, the more grain and contrast it’ll show. When overexposed, HP5 negatives will have greater density, finer grain, and less contrast.

Ilford Black and White Film Guide - Shoot It With Film Ilford Black and White Film Guide - Shoot It With Film

Ilford was also known through its Selo brand that was selling its films between the 1920s and the 1940s.If you just look at the ISO 400 box speed, traditional yet fine grain and not overbearing contrast, it would be easy to dismiss HP5 Plus on paper as being an average film with no unique selling proposition. With an ISO rating of 400, Tri-X is an ideal film for overcast days and darkened rooms with window lighting. Kodak’s Tri-X exposure latitude is a well-known secret amongst film enthusiasts. Offering a generous three stops of exposure latitude (+/- 1.5 stops), it’s forgiving for under or over-exposing. HP and FP were refined and updated over the decades that followed, becoming HP2 and FP2, then HP3 and FP3. The product line was expanded to include cine film, aerial film and yes, more of those plates. Judging by the results it gave me and for the price at which it did, I have to say I like it quite a bit. There’s no question I’d shoot it again. This is a really cool process that works to reduce the negative contrast and increase sharpness by allowing the developer to exhaust itself on the highlights while having more time to interact with and develop the shadows.

HP5 PLUS HARMAN technology Limited TECHNICAL INFORMATION HP5 PLUS

Kentmere films offer superb value for money and are a great starting point for students or anyone learning film photography, before stepping up to ILFORD films. A couple of other things worth noting before buying a film: If you just want to think about what you want to tell with a photo, it’s best to expose correctly for what you want to show, on 400 ASA and to develop with the times as shown on the box. When Ilford describe the differences between their Delta and Plus lines, they mention how films in the latter are good for beginners or those still learning – which is all of us, to be fair. They can handle under or overexposure and can be pushed and pulled all over too.In fact, if you want an extended dynamic range, my experience is that the best choice is to expose the film at 200 ASA, overexpose your scene by about 1 stop and shorten the development time of 10-15%. for example 7 minutes 30 seconds instead of 8 minutes. Curiously, many of the improvements HP5+ gained over its plus-less predecessor were apparently tailored for press photographers (Photo Pro issue 4, 1989). Pushability up to ISO 3200 was one of them. So was the slightly finer grain and a bit more shadow detail than its fierce competitor for the press market, Kodak Tri-X . At 3200, shots of dark water look awesome, different textures, trees and stuff like that come out looking surreal, because of that contrast and tonality. I’m not sure what’s to be done about this “problem”, or even if it’s a product of my own imagination. At the very least, trying to dispel a few myths is a good place to start.

HARMAN technology Limited TECHNICAL INFORMATION HP5 PLUS HARMAN technology Limited TECHNICAL INFORMATION HP5 PLUS

Rated at EI 6400, there’s much more detail using Microphen than with DD-X – so it is absolutely fine to push to this limit even using a 35mm film. Depending on a scene, shots might not even look like they are shot on such high sensitivity. I also tried ILFOTEC DD-X but for my taste it tends to ‘smooth’ grain a bit too much – as happens in digital post production when you want to lower the noise. Note: All HP5+ scans in this article were shot on 35mm film and developed in Ilfotec DD-X which, according to Ilford, develops the finest grain and “best overall image quality.”As for exposures, I found it’s better to use semi-automatic camera modes when shooting, or in the case of fully manual cameras, watching that your exposure is more or less spot on.