Good for people, or B&W shots at weddings, though I miss the Trix-X grain.
Develop in 1 hour at the local lab versus send away for true B&W film.

No latitude for sunlight.

I tried this out filming memorial statues on a sunny day and the results were beyond bad. The details were almost completely washed on wherever the sun was shining. We're talking about old elaborate statues, not simple sculptures. Even the shots in the shade were bad, foliage etc. Kodak Max 400 would have done better than this film. The shots were not overexposed either. And you can't blame the camera, it was a Yashica T4 with its' Zeiss lens.
The second time I shot this film was on cloudy day. I think I used Pentax SLR with a normal lens, shooting mostly people pics. The results were impressive. Almost as good as Tri-X for the people and close objects. Objects further away tended to look washed out.
So for low light, cloudy or indoor shots it is good. Maybe using neutral density filters would help for sunny days.

Similar Products Used:

Kodak Tri-X 400.

latitude smooth grain contrast

C-41 processing ( if you have your own darkroom ) price in some places ( shop around !)

I can't believe this awesome film has so few reviews. I had this film recommended to me by a photography teacher & instantly fell in love. The exposure latitude of this stuff is enough to make it the advised choice for street shooting or any situation where you're flying by the seat of your pants. It's grain structure is fantastic for such a fast film & has a blobby rather than spiky appearance under the enlarger focuser. In other words, it has very smooth grain & enlarges very well. I was using HP5 before this & I don’t want to go back. It does have slightly more contrast than most traditional chemistry B&W films, but this gives more pop to most peoples images. If you have a special subject that requires lower contrast, select a traditional film with smooth grain, like FP4. Some people have remarked about the sepia-like base colour. This is because the film is based on colour chemistry. In printing terms it merely extends the exposure time somewhat. Also the film tends to have a slight colour caste when printed on colour paper. 4x6 proofs are just proofs after all. For pro results you should always print B&W film onto B&W paper. For all round shooting/photojournalism this film is the best B&W film that I have ever used. It can be processed in ANY lab that does C-41 ( even if they’ve never heard of it ! which happened to me once ). The fact that you’re using a lab to process your film instead of doing it in the bathroom can only improve most peoples negatives ( haha). If you’ve never tried this film give it a whirl. If you’re a beginner & you’re disappointed it’s probably you. If you’re an expert & you’re disappointed then I didn’t write this review for you anyway !

Similar Products Used:

HP5 FP4 FUJI B&W

price available to anyone who wants to try out the black and white easily processed by any lab (uses the same chemicals as color fim : C41) Good grain for 400 film :)

beware of who you give it to !

AS I was looking for film, my eyes encoutered this film, and I said to myself:"sure, why not, let's try black and white photography" I shot a roll and... when I got my pictures back, the chemicals the lab used might have been over exhausted because I had the left part of the pictures with a gray-greenish tone, and the left part with a gray-redish tone... When I sent them back and got them in black and white, I was a little disapointed by the quality. This was the moment I decided to develop my own film !

Can be processed anywhere

Sky distortion, pathetic!

I bought this film to see how good it was and I won't make that mistake twice. I did a test roll using different Canon and Tamron lenses at different focal points and different Heliopan color filters. I found the film VERY weak when used for landscapes. In all shots I used a filter on and some without a filter there was a dark band at the top of the print. It reminded me of the drawings I did in gradeschool with the blue band of sky at the top. The level of grain was good, but I can't get over the sky distortion.

Customer Service

none needed

Similar Products Used:

Ilford Delta (GREAT FILM!) Kodak HIE (Fantastic)

None or very fine grain C-41 process cheaper and faster Excellent enlargments Professional results- sharp/high detail Few extra stops of exposure latatude

As a professional wedding/portrait photographer. Ive always been hell bent on my beloved Tri-X or T-Max for all my b&w images,however 1 month ago I pick up a roll of this C-41 b&w film to try thinking the the results would be terriable, boy was I wrong my shots were excellent I couldnt believe it, a 400 speed film with no grain an superior fine detail. I believe this film is actually better than the pro level T-Max & Tri-X 100 that Ive been using for years. The professional lab I use developes the film C-41 and prints the image on traditional b&w paper I couldnt be happier with the results and the enlargments are perfect with very- very fine grain as others commented.I now use this film for all my b&w photos without question.

Similar Products Used:

The whole Kodak line B&W and Color Agfa Fugi

GREAT sharpness, nonexistent grain, REAL B&W look and feel, inexpensive, VERY convienent to process

If you're looking for pushability, you've come to the wrong place

This is one film that shocked and awed me! When I got this film, i expected good images-but not the insanely great images I got with this film! What shocked me was that the film (when processed) had virtually no grain, TRUE black and white (better than Tri-X 400!), sharp details, and stunning sharpness-and that's when I processed it at Wal-Mart using 1-hour developing printed on matte finish Fuji Crystal Archive paper on a Fuji Frontier 390 ! What awed me was that the results were FAR better than my beloved Tri-X 400 (a REAL B&W film!) If you're a die-hard "real" B&W photographer-give a roll of this inexpensive ($8-$9 for a 3-pack) film-you won't be dissapointed!

Customer Service

Never needed it

Similar Products Used:

Tri-X 400

Kodak minilab seems to cope with it. Very fine grain. Has very good exposure latitude.

Too easy to get black and white prints. Flagellate yourself and say the Hail Mary to feel worthy instead.

This film is remarkably fine grained. You can print at exhibition sizes without the grain being obtrusive, even more than 100 colour film. I prefer it to Ilford XP2 Super through a minilab because the colour seems to be less tinted as 400CN has colour negative orange mask. Detail is not a problem and grain is not easily provoked by underexposure. Its very strength will be its weakness for some people. The C41 process. I can't comment on the colour response of this compared to BW film, but would suggest filtration to make the shots more interesting anyway.

dirt cheap! c-41, nice tonal range, fine grain to 8x12(proper technique)

unskilled Tech+poor technique=poor results

This is a fine film and a joy to use. I pick through my 4x6s to find the best shots and take them to 8x12. no visible grain! Getting color cast? Don't blame the film, blame the processing. I don't look for 1hr developing, drop it off and wait the 3days, do you think the kid at the 1hr drugstore really gives a crap about your pics? I use yellow,orange and red filter. I get a slight magenta cast with red filter, but I am working to eliminate that problem. This film has been a great learning tool for me. Fast, cheap results have shown me what does and what does not work. As for the issue of grain. I use tripod, cable release, gray card and hood, even hand held I've gone to 8x12 with no grain. Like the Eric clapton song says "it's in the way that you use it" Why don't I shoot an E-6 film? I don't feel I deserve it. You need to walk defore you can run, when I have learned the limits of this film, I'll move on. In a nutshell, if you are getting poor results, don't blame the film, blame the photographer and the tech. Don't do 1hr developing, If you need the pics that fast you should give up on film and move to digital!

Customer Service

not needed

Similar Products Used:

Tmax100,Tmax400

Easy C-41 processing. Detail, tone, fine grain. Readily available.

Use black & white paper if color casts bother you. Its a little overpriced.

Having been without a camera for years (my X-370 conked out) I bought a Maxxum 5 and to get familiar shot some rolls with this film. Wow. I love the results---sharp detail, deep & rich blacks. People look great. Everyone who sees them says, "Oooh---I love that black and white look!" Printed at a custom shop on color paper they have a bit of sepia warmth. Makes people look great.

Similar Products Used:

Tri-X. Ilford XP2

c-41

I've so far developed about 6 rolls of this stuff and have had nothing but good results. Of these 6 rolls, maybe 3 shots came out with a somewhat greenish tint in them... thats about it, and Ive developed them at different places almost every time. Maybe I'm just lucky?