Working with Ilford Delta 400
Dec 7, 2023 15:37:50 #
This series of images looks at my own Ilford Delta 400 results dating from 2016 through 2022, presented in time-sequence order.
Bike The Drive by Paul Sager, on Flickr
First released in the early 1990s and reformulated once since, Delta 400 can’t claim the long history of some of its siblings from Ilford.
Magdalena Community Cemetery
The abbreviated term T-grain has become a bit of a catch-all to describe any tabular-grain films, but this is like calling any vacuum cleaner a Hoover. T-grain is what Kodak called their own tabular-grain technology meaning the only real T-grain films, technically speaking, are its T-MAX ones.
1932 Studebaker / Route 66 Marker
Delta 400 has very fine grain, subtle tones, and medium contrast.
Andersonville National Cemetery
Brought to market in its current formulation in 1990, Delta 400 is a medium-speed, ISO 400, black-and-white, T-grain film; all things similar to Kodak’s T-Max 400. It’s sharp, has wonderful contrast, outstanding shadow detail, and could possibly be the perfect film for any occasion. Delta 400 provides consistent results and a distinctive look.
A-4B Skyhawk
The majority of the image presented in this survey use a Orange filter, a few others with yellow. I think maybe the first image from the LSD and the dragonfly below were shot without a filter, and only the first image was shot at the ISO-400 box speed. The Studebaker too might not use a filter, shot at an effective ISO-320.
EAA Airventure 2019
I mentioned in another post that I started around a decade ago an investigation into film. I planned to shoot lots of varieties and see what I could learn by doing. There wasn't much structure or process to that investigation. Just shoot and scan the results. Delta 400 was a later addition to the investigation, and seemingly after I developed a better technique on overexposing when using colored filters.
Cloud Gate
Ilford Delta 400 is easily my favorite of the B&W films investigated. I like many of the results of the other films, and there are times when those films will be a better approach.
Millennium Monument
But, when it comes to "art" in the form of B&W photography, I think the results from Delta 400, especially with an orange filter, is my preferred film.
Graceland in winter
Other black and white films using the T-Grain technology include all Delta-branded Ilford films, Fujifilm’s Neopan Acros II, and Kodak’s T-Max emulsions.
Blue dasher on film
As with most tabular grain films, one common complaint is that these films don’t have enough grit or texture. The t-grain films are meant to be clean and smooth. For a grittier look with Delta 400, simply overexpose it a stop or two. One can start at overriding to ISO-320. The dasher, above, was shot at ISO-200, with still virtually no grain.
2022 Boat Parade - Race to Mackinac
Ilford was founded in 1879 in the English town of the same name. They are B&W royalty in the photography industry thanks to their 140-year heritage and their support for photographers with chemicals and development as well as film.
2022 Boat Parade - Race to Mackinac
Bike The Drive by Paul Sager, on Flickr
First released in the early 1990s and reformulated once since, Delta 400 can’t claim the long history of some of its siblings from Ilford.
Magdalena Community Cemetery
The abbreviated term T-grain has become a bit of a catch-all to describe any tabular-grain films, but this is like calling any vacuum cleaner a Hoover. T-grain is what Kodak called their own tabular-grain technology meaning the only real T-grain films, technically speaking, are its T-MAX ones.
1932 Studebaker / Route 66 Marker
Delta 400 has very fine grain, subtle tones, and medium contrast.
Andersonville National Cemetery
Brought to market in its current formulation in 1990, Delta 400 is a medium-speed, ISO 400, black-and-white, T-grain film; all things similar to Kodak’s T-Max 400. It’s sharp, has wonderful contrast, outstanding shadow detail, and could possibly be the perfect film for any occasion. Delta 400 provides consistent results and a distinctive look.
A-4B Skyhawk
The majority of the image presented in this survey use a Orange filter, a few others with yellow. I think maybe the first image from the LSD and the dragonfly below were shot without a filter, and only the first image was shot at the ISO-400 box speed. The Studebaker too might not use a filter, shot at an effective ISO-320.
EAA Airventure 2019
I mentioned in another post that I started around a decade ago an investigation into film. I planned to shoot lots of varieties and see what I could learn by doing. There wasn't much structure or process to that investigation. Just shoot and scan the results. Delta 400 was a later addition to the investigation, and seemingly after I developed a better technique on overexposing when using colored filters.
Cloud Gate
Ilford Delta 400 is easily my favorite of the B&W films investigated. I like many of the results of the other films, and there are times when those films will be a better approach.
Millennium Monument
But, when it comes to "art" in the form of B&W photography, I think the results from Delta 400, especially with an orange filter, is my preferred film.
Graceland in winter
Other black and white films using the T-Grain technology include all Delta-branded Ilford films, Fujifilm’s Neopan Acros II, and Kodak’s T-Max emulsions.
Blue dasher on film
As with most tabular grain films, one common complaint is that these films don’t have enough grit or texture. The t-grain films are meant to be clean and smooth. For a grittier look with Delta 400, simply overexpose it a stop or two. One can start at overriding to ISO-320. The dasher, above, was shot at ISO-200, with still virtually no grain.
2022 Boat Parade - Race to Mackinac
Ilford was founded in 1879 in the English town of the same name. They are B&W royalty in the photography industry thanks to their 140-year heritage and their support for photographers with chemicals and development as well as film.
2022 Boat Parade - Race to Mackinac
Dec 8, 2023 08:34:49 #
Dec 8, 2023 15:39:51 #
Very interesting. Question: When you use a filter (usually Orange) and if you are using an in-camera TTL exposure meter, do you also still manually adjust iso?
Dec 8, 2023 16:54:20 #
Thank you John, William!
When I 'override' the exposure, this is done in one of two ways:
a, I may know I'm not going to change lenses nor filter for the entire roll. Here, I calculate the over-exposure, say 2-stops (Orange), and I override the DX code of the film canister. Say I've decided an ISO-400 film should be shot as ISO-320 by default, I then calculate 2-stops for Orange and further adjust the ISO to ISO-080. When shooting, regardless of mode, I let the camera meter to the 0-mark using this ISO setting.
b, Other times, especially when changing lenses and / or filters across a single roll of film, I tend to adjust the meter using +EC by the number of stops per the filter used. This can be complex and error prone, but it's been done in the past.
The final image, the Lake Michigan image, that image reports ISO-080 in the EXIF data on the linked Flickr page (extracted from the EOS 1v). Contrast the noise / grain in the sky over Lake Michigan to the 'crunchy' sky over the Magdalena Cemetery (the 2nd image from the top), where the image was shot at an effective ISO-125, as in an ISO-400 with +1.7 exposure bias. This subtle difference in the exposure (2/3 stop) informs my over-exposure approach to using these filters, this camera and the various B&W films.
When I 'override' the exposure, this is done in one of two ways:
a, I may know I'm not going to change lenses nor filter for the entire roll. Here, I calculate the over-exposure, say 2-stops (Orange), and I override the DX code of the film canister. Say I've decided an ISO-400 film should be shot as ISO-320 by default, I then calculate 2-stops for Orange and further adjust the ISO to ISO-080. When shooting, regardless of mode, I let the camera meter to the 0-mark using this ISO setting.
b, Other times, especially when changing lenses and / or filters across a single roll of film, I tend to adjust the meter using +EC by the number of stops per the filter used. This can be complex and error prone, but it's been done in the past.
The final image, the Lake Michigan image, that image reports ISO-080 in the EXIF data on the linked Flickr page (extracted from the EOS 1v). Contrast the noise / grain in the sky over Lake Michigan to the 'crunchy' sky over the Magdalena Cemetery (the 2nd image from the top), where the image was shot at an effective ISO-125, as in an ISO-400 with +1.7 exposure bias. This subtle difference in the exposure (2/3 stop) informs my over-exposure approach to using these filters, this camera and the various B&W films.
Dec 8, 2023 18:33:12 #
Thank you! (I think I may have to re-read this a couple of times, and experiment more.)
Dec 10, 2023 01:22:53 #
RodeoMan
Loc: St Joseph, Missouri
Paul, these are some good images. I really like the first one. I just watched a "Grainydays" video detailing his recent visit to the Ilford plant. He exposes b&w much like you do. The part showing film being made was interesting.
Dec 19, 2023 21:51:38 #
A quick (and likely dumb) question, if I may, regarding your explanation above regarding setting up the exposure — specifically regarding adjusting for the Orange filter. I follow the steps and reasoning if I were setting up an external light meter to use with a camera having no TTL metering (like my Leica IIIF). But, with a camera having TTL (like my old Nikon film camera) which does have TTL, I’m having cognitive dissonance. Doesn’t the TTL metering already adjust exposure for the Orange filter? In which case, also adjusting the iso or EC would double the effect? Sorry for the bother, and am very much appreciating your work and discussion on the various films.
Dec 19, 2023 21:57:44 #
William Royer wrote:
A quick (and likely dumb) question, if I may, rega... (show quote)
Logic says the thru-the-lens metering gets the exposure right, even with the colored filter installed. My results say otherwise, at least with a Canon EOS 1v. You'd have to shoot your own tests, with your camera, your lens filter, and suggested 'as metered' and +1 and +2 (at the minimum) over-exposed vs the box speed of the film and / or metering approach. I've gone with a 0-meter and adjusting (overriding) the canister DX code of the film ISO.
Dec 19, 2023 22:04:08 #
Dec 20, 2023 02:19:56 #
CHG_CANON wrote:
Logic says the thru-the-lens metering gets the exposure right, even with the colored filter installed. My results say otherwise, at least with a Canon EOS 1v. You'd have to shoot your own tests, with your camera ...
It is going to depend on the film.
Most B&W films are panchromatic and respond to about the same mixture of colors as the cameras' meters. Fred Picker (Zone VI) modified the off-the-shelf Pentax spot meter to respond "more accurately" to panchromatic film but I could never see a difference.
But there are a few films (like Fuji Acros and technical pan films) that are not conventionally panchromatic. They respond differently to the red end of the spectrum.
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