Ilford FP4+ vs. HP5+ in D-76

[Andrew Sowerby]

Ok, forgive my ignorance but I was wondering if someone could give me a run-down of the differences (aesthetic differences, that is) between FP4+ and HP5+ in D-76. I'm afraid that I don't know much about Ilford films.

Thanks in advance.

[dkapp]

Here are some FP4+ in D76 shots

http://analog.lifekapptured.com/index.php?x=browse&category=32

I don't have many from HP5 yet, just one on the blog so far and its not a good representation of the film, but here it is anyway.

http://analog.lifekapptured.com/index.php?showimage=75

Maybe someone can offer more. I figured visuals would be best to help show the diffrences vs trying to describe them.

Dave

[titrisol]

FP4 will be finer grained than HP5 (both shot at box speed, and developed "normally) and tonality wise I think they are similar.

But there are still many other variables as well :)

[Andrew Sowerby]

Thanks for the input. I've realized that FP4+ is a 125asa film . . . for some reason I thought that it was rated at 400 (perhaps because of the "4" in the name).

So, if I might change my question: what are the differences between HP5+ and Delta 400? I'm just trying to get a feel for the different 400asa films that Ilford makes.

[kaiyen]

I haven't shot much Delta 400 (a whopping 2 rolls! woohoo!). But...since Delta 400 is a tabular-ish grain film (I think it's actually epixital or something, technically), you'll get a different response.

According to David Carper, formerly of Ilford, the Delta films have an abnormally smooth slope through the midtones. This can be very pleasing for landscapes, but can be a bit weird for skintons.

New emulsions like the Delta films also tend to be more sensitive to exposure and development, so you have to dial in your process a bit more (though not as much as Kodak's Tmax options). I believe that reciprocity on Delta 400 is a lot better than with HP5, as well.

allan

[David Doler]

HP5+ is more forgiving than FP4 when it comes to exposure. HP5+ is a good street shooters film and will let you get the harsh shadows and contrasts seen in city shots a bit crisper (and grainier) then FP4. But FP4 is a good lanscape film where you can take your time and work with the lower speed. I shoot almost exclusively HP5+ developed in Ilfosol-S, although It's matched better to DDX.