The finest grained B&W negative films are:
AGFA APX 25 (Discontinued, but it can be found);
EFKE 25 - Relatively new in this country, stocks
are low now, but a very nice film from what I've read.
I have a few rolls and will be running some tests soon.
ILFORD PAN-F+ - Not quite as fine grained as the Agfa
or the Efke, and not quite as sharp, either, but a good
choice for many people nonetheless. I never really
cared for it, but every few years try a roll or two just
to check in.
KODAK TECHNICAL PAN: One of the finest grained films in
the world. Makes the others look like Tri-X. Very fussy
` as it's actually a copy film. High contrast, weird red
sensitivity, EI can change a bit depending on lighting
conditions. It's somewhat of a challenge to work with, and
requires great care in development and experimenting with EI.
Kodak makes a special Tech Pan developer, but people have
used all sorts of concoctions to get results, including
C-41 chemistry sans bleach. Looks good in Paterson FX-39
diluted 1:19.
GIGABIT 40: Another copy film being pressed into service as
a full-range emulsion. Has characteristics similar to TP, is
usually sold with its own one-use container of Gigabit
developer. For a guy like you, this and TP are probably not
the best choice.
There are a couple of other slow, fine-grained films out there, but I
can't recall their names right now, and I've absolutely no experience
with them. Moving up a couple of stops there is:
AGFA APX 100: Not super fine-grained, but excellent sharpness,
accutance, and contrast. Try Rodinal 1:100 for great tonality.
ILFORD DELTA 100: Not bad, and probably the finest granularity
of the ISO 100 films. Somewhat low contrast, so ya gotta give
it a boot in the developer if you've exposed in low contrast
situations.
FUJI ACROSS 100: Nice film, wide latitude, virtually no reciprocity
failure. Might be best at around EI of 64 or 80. Grain is good and
tight, but it's a relatively new film, so I can't recommend a
particular developer.
So, if you want to keep grain to a minimum, these are the films to
experiment with. Notice anything interesting about this list? The
finest grained films are not the newer T-grained or Delta emulsions.
Now, here's the kicker - YMMV. As with all B&W neg films, the developer
and technique used will have a very noticeable effect on the results.
"J. C. O'Connell" wrote:
> I'm curious what are the thre finest grain Color
> negative, B+W negative, and color slide 35mm films
> on the market???
>
> I feel a real need to reduce the grain even though
> sharpness with my 50mm SMCT is excellent.
--
Shel Belinkoff
mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
http://home.earthlink.net/~belinkoff/
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