About to Try Ilford HP5 (35mm B&W Film) for a While

Image Source: http://filmphotographyproject.com/store/ilford-hp5-plus-bw-35mm-x-305m-100-ft

 

My friend Charlie has a couple of bulk film loaders. Since a small group of us have been regularly meeting and shooting film for a while now, we decided to start bulk loading our 35mm cassettes. It's actually interesting what's happening with film prices today. Charlie's a Tri-X shooter, so that's where we looked first. We were unable to locate a 100' roll of Tri-X anywhere at a price that would result in any savings over buying by the 36 exposure roll (savings is about the only reason to bulk load, unless you want to tailor the number of exposures you get per roll). HP5 is still reasonably economical.

 

(Click Here) to buy your film from the Film Photography Project.

 

So, we're just about ready to roll (pardon the weak pun).

 

In the past, I've played with pushing Kodak Tmax 400 to 1600. (Click Here) to see how that worked out.

 

I also found a post on the very interesting blog "35 MMC." (Click Here) to read about shooting HP5 at iso 3200. That's a three-stop push, but sure seems to work well.

 

I don't have any experience with HP5, but will soon!

 

DMC-365.blogspot.com

 

Why Are These Old Cameras So Much Fun?

I recently picked up a Brownie Reflex Synchro model camera in an antique shop. I paid $10, which is about $6 more than it originally cost.

 

It is a TLR design, but with fixed focusing only. So that really only means that it has a waist level finder. Anything >5 feet away will be in focus.

 

The camera was extremely dirty, but was easy to disassemble and clean; now it looks great. Another challenge: it shoots 127 film. Nearly extinct, 127 film can still be purchased at Frugal Photographer. (Click Here) to go to their website. It's pretty expensive, but at least it's available. You can get 127 film processed at The Darkroom.

 

I am guessing the fixed shutter speed to be about 1/50-1/100 second, and the aperture to be about f8. That means that iso 100 film should work in daylight situations. I have shot 10/12 frames of my first roll of Efke black and white 100 film. I look forward to seeing and sharing the results.

 

DMC-365.blogspot.com