Ilford HP5+ Black and White Film, Not What I Expected

[@stephenmason5682]

David, use a magenta filter on the ferns or wood to bring out the tones and increase the textures and contrasts!

[@DavidPattonPhotography]

Thanks for the tip

[@sophietucker1255]

HP5+ is finer grained than what you'd expect. HP5's grain adds to the bokeh in the out of focus areas. It has a nice contrast range without being contrasty. I know some people will push it to 800 and even 1600 but I've never done that myself. The images I've seen at 1600 have bigger grain than I like and it seems more contrasty. HP5+ is my go to B/W film for most occasions and it has rarely let me down

[@DavidPattonPhotography]

Thanks for sharing your experience with HP5, it looks like it would hold up well to pushing but I'd only push it if I needed the extra speed, otherwise I'd prefer the lower contrast and finer grain that this film shows, I think I'm going to run a couple more rolls through my cameras to see how I get along with this film in more lighting conditions.

[@toine1915]

Hello, Dave. Nice to see you making a video again, friend. Due to KZbin's compression, you cannot really see what a film shows on the image. I do know that the T-max is more contrasty than the HP5. For me the HP5 is a softer film, I mean the image does not display harsh contrasts. And because the grain is so soft, the image is also very beautiful. See you at the next opportunity. Antoine.

[@DavidPattonPhotography]

Thanks Antoine, yes KZbin isn't the best to show photos, plus the images can look different depending on the device used to view the video. I like the lower contrast nature of HP5+, I find adding contrast is the easiest thing to do the way I scan and edit the negs. I was also impressed with the amount of image detail I was getting from a 400 speed film. I'm looking forward to trying this film on other subjects.

[@grahamrichards8531]

@@DavidPattonPhotography I've been using HP5+ for my NZ bush photography always with a tripod, I'm shooting it plus 1/3 stop and (n+1) dev and am happy with it. The project is well on the way towards another zine.

[@DavidPattonPhotography]

Thanks great Graham, looking forward to seeing what you come up with.

[@ronaldbroom1433]

Feel better soon, great work and great photographs.

[@DavidPattonPhotography]

Thanks Ronald, doing better now :)

[@jorsetti]

Thanks for doing this review David, I recently bought HP5 Plus in a bulk roll and plan on shooting it a lot, cheers! nice images!

[@DavidPattonPhotography]

Thanks, enjoy where that film takes you!

[@bflintphotography]

Great video David! Glad you're feeling better and are getting out and about! Nature and laughter are the best medicines! Love those forest floor patterns and textures!

[@DavidPattonPhotography]

Thank you Brent!

[@Eli4Bill]

David, enjoyed the video and comments on the HP5 film. Also loved the images!

[@DavidPattonPhotography]

Thanks Bill!

[@ruudmaas2480]

Nice to see you again. Trying out is also a part of the ride.

[@DavidPattonPhotography]

Thank you, I agree, I need to try new things more often!

[@oldfilmguy9413]

Great video, David! I am glad you liked the film - I think it has a very special look. So many great images, my favorite being the sloped trees at10:52. Like many of the images today, there was a real sense of depth and three dimensionality - I think that is one of the strengths of HP5+. Cheers!

[@DavidPattonPhotography]

Thanks Robert, I was a bit surprised by how flexible HP5 is in my editing workflow, I find that contrast is one of the easiest aspects to add when editing, I would much rather have a low contrast negative to start with than to much contrast baked in, I looking forward to trying this film on other subjects and scenes, maybe covered bridges would look good with some traditional grain :)

[@BillMcCarroll]

HP5 is my go to film for 35mm. You can lower the cost even more David by rolling your own. Your results look really good, I think it really works for your style of shooting, a very versatile film for sure.

[@DavidPattonPhotography]

Thanks Bill, if I find I'm using a lot of HP5 I just might get a bulk roll, I already have a bulk film roll holder so it might make sense picking up a 100' and rolling my own.

[@DaveInElland]

Love your presentation style, one new subscriber! Back in the 1970s Kodak Tri-X was my go-to film but fast forward to the year 2024 and compared to HP5+ it’s a lot more expensive over here in the UK. Over the last few years I’ve mainly used Ilford HP5+ as my 400 speed film of choice. I recently tried rating it at 250 and then developing in stock Perceptol for 13 minutes and was blown away by the results. It’s a film that can be very versatile in my experience especially if you match the developer to the way in which you expose the film. Good luck - I’m off to watch your next instalment 😀.

[@DavidPattonPhotography]

Nice to meet you Dave, thanks for stopping by the channel and sharing your experience with HP5, I've over exposed and reduced development on Delta 100 with excellent results, I'll have to give that a go with HP5+

[@andyvan5692]

@@DavidPattonPhotography a great idea, but look at the HP5+ instruction sheet from Ilford, it has a warning about going below asa 250 ! they give a different time as well as dilution & developer stock for situations where you "accidentally" expose for asa 50/100/200 and give the "first aid" processing instructions to get something back, but NO guarantees, they state this is for emergency use only {it gets something, NOT as fine a grain as per asa 400 performance}, and to rate at asa 400 up to 3200 in complete safety, as per performance expected.

[@ChristineWilsonPhotography]

Gorgeous images Dave as always , your aesthetic is the main contributor to your successful images no matter the film or the camera HP 5 is so versatile though isn't it

[@DavidPattonPhotography]

Thank you Christine, yes I think HP5 looks like it would be an excellent choice for a lot of different situations and is also easy to work with in developing and scanning

[@kenblair2538]

Another great discussion, David. Hope your feeling better . I seemed to have stuck with Fomopan 400 135/120mm . Develop with D-76. It was the cheapest , but with good reviews, when I started shooting film again. I'll throw on a contrast filter if needed, otherwise , adjust contrast in post (you know , like contrast filters in the darkroom) .KB

[@DavidPattonPhotography]

Thanks Ken, yes, I'm on the mend, a little better each day. :) I much prefer a lower contrast film, because it's easy to add contrast in post or even when printing in the darkroom, when a film has to much contrast baked in, its much harder to deal with, at least that's how I see it 😂

[@geekgee]

I used to love higher ISO grain back when I shot with B&W film... which feels like 100 years ago now. 😉 Glad to see you out and about again, David. You are still my favourite photography KZbinr... even though you are lacking a "fro". 😂 ---Howard

[@DavidPattonPhotography]

😂 thanks Howard

[@GonzoTheRosarian]

I love Tri X and used it exclusively for B&W work for years. Coming back to my love for film photography I still use Tri X and here recently I am experimenting with a chromogenic film XP2 Super, it is perfect when traveling you can change ISO mid roll without affecting the output. Your photos are great.

[@DavidPattonPhotography]

Thank you, XP2 Super sounds like an interesting film to give a try!

[@orvozon2914]

Another nice walk with Nori. Have a nice weekend. Christine

[@DavidPattonPhotography]

Thank you Christine!

[@SloopJohnBee-vq6dw]

HP5 is my go to. But I need to experiment more. I have previously but ended up back on it!🙄🤷‍♂️ Sorry to hear you haven’t been well. Hopefully you didn’t have the 💉🧪💉👍📸

[@lensman5762]

HP5 is a very versatile film. It is almost fine grained @ iso 250 in Perceptol 1+1, then you can easily push it to 1600 in Microphen. This year for me photography is about taking risks and leaving the comfort zone.

[@DavidPattonPhotography]

I think the versatility of HP5 is something I think I will find very useful, I'm also with you on taking risks and get out of our comfort zone, I think that's where growth as an artist come from.

[@MB-or8js]

Thanks for sharing! I have used HP5+ for many years until I switched for cost reasons to Delta 400 after HP5+ became so popular. IMO HP5+ is a bit more grainy, but both films capture the tonality very similar (not as good as the ISO 100 counterpart films but obviously ISO 400 is more sensitive to light if needed on overcast days for example). I develop B&W films with Rodinal (1:50) and Xtol (1:2) in two steps to get the best ratio of sharpness and low grain.

[@DavidPattonPhotography]

One of the bonuses for me to use HP5 is it has the same development time as my usual Delta 100 in my current fine grain film developer so I can run them in the same tank. :)

[@andyvan5692]

hey, David, if you want to know what HP5+ is really capable of, look up Irene Resnik 's channel, in particular the video when she shoots Large format for the first time ( I think with Andrew Bolton?), and a model Drew, those shots are with this film, in 4x5" !!! look at the subject separation and BOKEH! you have to be seated to be safe when looking at this one, WOW, jaw dropping- definitely.

[@DavidPattonPhotography]

Thanks I'll have a look

[@andyvan5692]

@@DavidPattonPhotography good, but I've gaffed, the surname is Rudnyk; I got the phonetics, but not the spelling, from memory.

[@Robert-ko6wr]

Are you using your Nikon F here? I couldn't tell. I like B&W, always have. It's what I learned on. Your photos were all sublime, every one. You shot in color so when you switched to the actual B&W image I said to myself, WOW! Completely different feel. Nicely done, sir.

[@DavidPattonPhotography]

Thank you Robert, the camera in this video is a Nikon N80, I think it is also known as the F80 in other parts of the world, it's a light and compact camera which works well for a nice walk around camera.

[@jasongold6751]

Nice relax video I hated the flat miserable grays I received! I develop for contrast! Using older SLR intriguing! I hace couple similar Canon SLR ! Use odd battery, but I have a few! TX for ideas and neat images!

[@aleksanderdomanski222]

Man, T-max, Delta looks digital-ish (due to its grain structure). What is the point using in digital age film that looks like digital? Would not be better to just use digital caera? And use more oldschool films for its look? Even push them a stop or two for its contrast and grain. HP 5 plus @ 1600 looks interesting. Much health for you~ ps. Maybe you try Ferrania stocks for its look? Like old italian movie (Fellini etc.)

[@DavidPattonPhotography]

I definitely want to give Ferrania films a try!

[@m49v50]

Is that a digital camera I see? It doesn't look like a N50.

[@DavidPattonPhotography]

No, the camera in this video is a Nikon N80 loaded with a roll of Ilford HP5+, I like this camera for walking around because it is light and pretty compact and has an excellent light meter.