Ilford XP2 Super Black and White Film
Ilford XP2 Super Black and White Film
|
[Nov 03, 2003]
Eric
Casual
Strength:
Excellent grays. Easy to get developed. Can be pushed a little (I try not to).
Weakness:
Haven't found one yet. I started off with T-Max and Tri-X. Being a student at the time I didn't have room in my dorms to setup a darkroom and wanted to save some $$. Tried other C-41 B&W films, but they all looked brown. I found this by accident. For its price this film easily keeps up with (if not surpasses) the "real" black and white I've used. Similar Products Used: Kodak & Konica C-41 B&Ws |
|
[Aug 27, 2003]
Mike Tzzz
Expert
awful representation of soft tones |
|
[Jul 22, 2003]
bob martens
Intermediate
Strength:
convenience, always nice results, everybody loves the sepia tone of proofings, easy to print yourself
Weakness:
for higher contrast use Tmax. Don't push. unbeatable for outdoor/people photography. I always expose as 400 asa. very beautiful midtones, smooth contrast yet deep black. Similar Products Used: Kodak T400CN |
|
[Feb 25, 2003]
marksct
Expert
Strength:
See above.
Weakness:
Don't use B&W Filters. Like wearing you favorite pair of jeans. Easy, versatile, smooth, contrasty.....etc. I don't know why I didn't use this sooner in life. Definitly a street photogs dream. DON'T Use regular B&W filters, you will get that tint in all you shots!!!! Almost the perfect overall B&W print film experience. Similar Products Used: All Ilford, All Kodak. |
|
[Jun 01, 2002]
Franglais
Expert
Strength:
Fine grain Smooth tones Ability to handle contrasty light Easy to scan (digital ICE works fine) Processed by any minilab in 1 hour
Weakness:
Can be difficult to find a supplier Push-processing means finding a specialist lab I've used all the Ilford chromogenic films since XP1 came out in 1981. Fine grain, creamy tones, ability to handle difficult lighting conditions. As I'm not a big grain fan, I switched over from Tri-X and HP5 ages ago, except for special cases where the grain suits the subject. I used TMAX 400 for a long time, but somehow the tones just don't seem to fall into place the way they do with XP2 Customer Service Web site is good Similar Products Used: XP1, HP5, Tri-X, TMAX 400, TMAX CN |
|
[Jan 11, 2002]
RdEoSg
Expert
Strength:
excellent tonal range. I always rate mine at 100 iso. the prints dont always look good as machine prints, but custom prints are hard to beat..... i did 20X24 blowups that look like TMX (tmax 100) 5x7s
Weakness:
none other than you have to pay more for custom prints if you are going to rate it at 100 like i do.. but then why do that.. PRINT YOURSELF.. its half the fun!! Amazing.. I have been a black and white custom printer for several years.. this is by far my favorite B/W film Similar Products Used: every B/W you can imagine.. ive printed them all, and this and fuji Acros are by far my favorite... i never leave home with out xp2 in my contax T2 |
|
[Dec 05, 2001]
bobinarabia
Expert
Strength:
Wonderful tone and convenient processing.
Weakness:
None I could see, even shots accident shot at 200 ISO came out fine. I had a roll processed at Ritz, scanned it with Polaroid Sprintscan 35+ as black and white negative film and used the histogram and also increased contrast slightly. Fine detail, i.e., eyelashes really sharp, tones wonderful. Minimal unsharp masking and perfect 8 by 10s on Epson. Prints from Ritz were also excellent. Customer Service NA Similar Products Used: Kodak TCN 400. Also got excellent results from this film except it showed more graininess in flat/dark lighting. None of 36 Ilford shots had this problem so I know what I will be using. |
|
[Oct 24, 2001]
zsohel
Casual
Strength:
Color contrast, wide latitude of exposure setting. fast for low-light shooting. C-41 processing.
Weakness:
Not noticed. Very fine grain - even at 400ASA. I barely ever used B&W film - and didn’t expect much either - but XP2 amazed me - color contrast is very detail, I even had few shots taken at 200ASA - gave deeper contrast and fine details. I used few filters - I used 81B (warming filter) and pictures came out good for outdoor people photos. I will recommend to others who like to use B&W film and need the convenience of color printing process (C-41). Customer Service Not needed. Similar Products Used: Agfa APX |
|
[Sep 30, 2001]
Peter Merison
Expert
Strength:
Lattitide Tonal Range Smooth
Weakness:
Can be a little unsharp I have used XP2 Super for a lot of wedding work, which I believe is where this film works best. XP2 Super has a wonderful tonal range and smooth, detailed mid-tones. On the downside, XP2 can sometimes be a little bit soft around fine details such as eyelashes. This might have been a problem with that batch I bought, however, as I have had other excellent results with fine detail? If was after a traditional look and feel I would prefer to use Tri-X. T-Max should not be used for weddings unless you shorten development times a little (reduce contrast). Customer Service Not used Similar Products Used: Tri-X T400CN APX100 T-Max Delta 100, 400 |
|
[Aug 19, 2000]
Sinnott Patrick
Intermediate
Strength:
Some find the C-41 process more convenient or familiar, so I guess that could be a strength for some photographers.
Weakness:
I work at a custom color lab, and we have processed many-o-roll, and let me tell you - this film is all over the place. Extremely inconsistent tones and colors (yes, colors - this is not black and white film, sorry). I prefer the T400CN to the XP2. If you must use a C41 process "Black & White" use that one. But the bottom line is this - if you like black and white, take the time and make the effort to shoot true black and white film - its just different. I understand the convenience of the C41 process for some, though. Also, ask the lab to do Sepia for you, it makes it look more consistent (all we do is add yellow and magenta, but it works ok). Similar Products Used: T400CN |