When it comes to slow films there are only two that matter in my book; the first is Rollei RPX 25 the second is Ilford Pan F+. Pan F+ was the first real slow film I ever used and fell for it right off the bat. Great when you’re shooting in bright light and want that fine grain, smooth tone look for your summer images. In fact, I don’t think there’s a developer that the film doesn’t like. But for me, it’s always the film of choice for the summer months of the year when I’m out shooting landscapes and urbanscape both on and offRead More →

While not many people would notice it, but when watching a film, and you come across this amazing sequence in black & white, the rich tones across the board, and just a classic cinematic look and wonder, how can I make my still images look that good! Well if you are watching a film shot on traditional film stock the answer is rather easy, Eastman Double-X 5222. Chances are you’ve seen a film shot on this stock, such as the opening sequence of Casino Royale or Shindler’s List. I first came across Double-X a few years back when I purchased some rolls through the FilmRead More →

I will always be the first to say I don’t like a film, and I usually have good reason to. And while RPX 400 remains something I won’t go out of my way to shoot, it isn’t a bad film. Like Tmax 400 and Delta 400 you really need to develop it right to get the best results. And while I can easily do that, there are still plenty other reasons the film remains it’s not a favourite. But then again the single roll of Agfa APX 400 I shot I was not too fond of either. But there are many who swear by theRead More →

The middle-of-the-road film stock in the RPX line and another fantastic entry. Like RPX 25, RPX 100 is the spiritual successor to Agfa APX 100. While I don’t have much experience with APX 100 (I have about 50 sheets of the stuff in 4×5), the film is similar in look to Kodak TMax 100. And actually, you can use some of the TMax 100 times with RPX 100. While it’s no FP4+, I actually think RPX 100 is slightly better than Kodak TMax 100 mostly because of the huge latitude on the film, in fact, you can even do the Panatomic-X trick and shoot theRead More →

Through 2016 I did a 52-Roll project where I shot the Rollei RPX films for each week, out of the three flavours available my personal favourite remained RPX 25, a spiritual successor to the iconic Agfa APX 25. These days in film photography there aren’t many offerings below ASA-100, Pan F+ is a solid choice, but sometimes you want something sharp, fine-grained, and slow. And for that, you have Rollei RPX 25. While the thin polyester base might make it hard to handle in the bag and widely thin in sheet formats, the results are worth the trouble. Film Specs Type: Panchromatic B&W Film Base:Read More →

Fomapan 200 is a film stock that like TMax 400 and Delta 400 I’ve struggled with. I find it far too grainy for 200-speed film stock, often rather soft on the edges and can be rather fickle about lighting conditions. But it’s not a bad film; I think it needs to be handled with little extra care. Fomapan 200, was the first of the Fomapan films that I tried, and while initially disappointed in it, I quickly learned to like the film, for certain applications. Film Specs Type: Panchromatic B&W Film Base: Polyester Film Speed: ASA-200, Latitude: 64-800 Formats Avaliable: 35mm, 120, Sheets Roll 01Read More →

The Fomapan series of films are ones that I only recently discovered in the past couple years. It actually was in 2015 when I visited Europe for the 200th Anniversary of Waterloo and popped into a camera shop in the old city of Amsterdam. And there was the whole range of Foma products from paper to film. Well, when I returned I made a point to start checking out this Foma product line. While Fomapan 100 wasn’t my first experience with the product line, it is my favourite of the three film stocks. Film Specs Type: Panchromatic B&W Film Base: Polyester Film Speed: ASA-100, Latitude:Read More →

Kodak Tri-X, the mention of the film stock is usually met with awe or aversion. But for me, Tri-X is my film of choice no matter what situation I’m going into. I know that with the film I can get consistent results no matter what situation I throw myself into from abandoned buildings to a wedding, and will get amazing results no matter what chemical I toss the film into. With a classic look and feel, you can torture this film to your heart’s content and will always get the results you need. Film Specs Type: Panchromatic B&W Film Base: Acetate Film Speed: ASA-400, Latitude:Read More →

If there is one film out there that I have disliked the most but have had a radical change of viewpoints Delta 400 is that film. Like TMax 400, I just find Delta 400 too modern, and boring. It’s not a bad film; it’s just not exciting. It gives you a film that is almost equal in performance as TMax 400. And while I’ve found that the film isn’t bad, it just needs better development in many cases. While some people have managed to tame the film, I do have found through Delta Def Jam; it’s a great choice if you can’t get your handsRead More →

The name Bergger has been until recently been relatively unknown here in North America (at least to me) until recently when I learned that they were planning on introducing a new film stock, Pancro 400. While, Pancro 400 is the only offering from the company, and while you might still find their older BRF400+ film stock, Pancro 400 is a beautiful classic film emulsion. When I heard about the film through the Film Photography Project when they were just releasing the stock, I made a point to pick it up. I found a surprisingly beautiful film, despite the increased amount of grain. I would wagerRead More →