ILFORD FP4 PLUS - My Favourite Film Stock

A simple homage to my favourite film stock... Ilford FP4 Plus.

……………………………........................................................

[daveed]

HP5 has been my go-to for years, but I just got scans back from my very first roll of FP4, and I'm blown away. I'm going to buy a few more rolls when I pick up my negatives. Just fantastic.

[vitosrus]

Quite recently I became interested in film photography, and quite by accident I stumbled upon a fresh ilford fp4 in our photo lab! Now I'm trying to find out more about her! It's good that there are people who shoot on film and share their experiences! Good luck and success in your work 🇷🇺🇷🇺🇷🇺❤️

[MattWeddis]

FP4 gets my vote too. Great selection of your images too Tom.

[ImperiousImages]

Great review and amazing images. I leave inspired.

[canoedoctor]

FP4 is my default film. I buy it in bulk rolls and that cuts my cost per roll in half. You can really vary the results you get with this film by your developer choice. Use Perceptol for gobs of tone and fine grain. Use D76 for higher contrast. Use Rodinal at various dilutions and the results change again. Use Rodinal 1:200 for stand development (3-4 hours) and you can over expose and under expose and every shot will develop consistently.

[carlmcneill]

Tmax 100 is my favorite as of now but FP4 is right there behind it. What I do like about FP4 is how versatile it is. I shot a roll at 400 ISO and pushed it 2 stops and got pretty good results. I'm scanning my photos because I don't have a dark room or an enlarger. I would be able to tell more if I was making my own prints in a dark room. Tmax and FP4 both have the fine grain I like. I've been shooting digital for nearly 8 years. I never shot black and white growing up. We just had cheap 110 cameras. I bought a cheap point and shoot auto when I got on my own. I usually shot Kodak or Fujii film. Sometimes cheap CVS pharmacy film or Walmart film. I didn't even know what the ISO on the film was back then. I just tried some delta 400. It has a little too much grain for me. Maybe slightly better than HP5 though. I don't like HP5.

[toptoolsyou]

Great photos, not sure how much is metering and how much might be darkroom work, but the final results look amazing

[lightninginabottleuk]

Superb video - are you no longer shooting with the Pentax 645n camera? I've just come from that video... Very jealous of you having a Mamiya 7ii and Toyo 4x5!

[lensman]

I have been a photographer for over 45 years and during most of that time I shot and still am shooting film in all formats. Up to recently, I shot exclusively Kodak and Fuji B&W stock. We know the way Fuji went. They prefer to sell their digital junk. Kodak on the other hand have gone crazy. Price increase after price increase, have all but made their films unaffordable here in the UK. I have no idea to whom they are trying to appeal in the US either. There is a group of phootgraphers known as ' hollywood hills' or something to that effect that don't care how much the price of the stuff is, apparently. I have all but stopped using Kodak emulsions and if the price increases continue I will stop using their chemicals too. I am with Ilford right now. It has taken some getting usd to as the emulsions are quite different to Kodak, but they are relatively affordable and available. The danger is if Ilford who are also owned by another American company ( Harman Technology ) decided that if people were willing to pay that sort of prices for Kodak, then they would gladly pay the price increases for relatively cheaper Ilford material. I hope that they don't go down that route. It will be the end of film photography, atleast for me. PS: I still have a box of 50 sheets of 4X5 TMY2 from 2010. The price sticker is still on it, £39.95 for 50 sheets. It was purchased from Calumet in Manchester.

Thank you for your experience. Could you advise the dev times you do with Ilfosol 3 for iso 200 and iso 400?
Just shot a roll at iso 400 and I would appreciate the word of someone who is practical.

[krakulandia]

Do you have a video about how to shoot/see in black and white? Shooting in color feel way different than when I try using B&W film. I haven't learned to see what works in B&W and what doesn't. Any tips?