written by adambukaty on 09/06/2004
Good Points
Fine, contrasty negatives in daylight situations.
Will support a generous range of lighting areas from bright sunlight to shadow on the same exposure.
This film has a fine grain, which allows for modest enlargements without the photo looking like it was printed on sandpaper.
Price ranges (depending on location) between 4 and 5 euros, which is reasonable considering the decent prints one can attain with this film and the right equipment/situation.
Widely available (at the moment in Europe...we shall see, as the digital migration forces changes upon film manufacturers.)
Ilford's website gives detailed descriptions/informational-support and instructions for their black and white films.
Bad Points
Not as predictable as i had hoped for longer exposures under low light conditions. Ilford does attempt to forewarn you about this via a PDF downloadable spreadsheet from their website, but the provided graph leaves quite a bit of room for error.
General Comments
There's objectively not a lot which you can say about this Ilford FP4 125 35mm Black/White camera film; because everyone's personal shooting style differs from the next. Some people even modify medium format spools on their holgas to receive 35mm film stock, so really, any review of a given film is highly contextual. I shot a test roll of this particular Ilford product in a Nikon N80/F80, in conditions ranging from a bomb shelter (4 second exposure), to overcast outdoor scenes, to direct sunlight, with and without black and white filters. Be prepared to burn this film for quite a while if you will be attaching a red 25 or deep orange to your camera rig. Sharpness was as good as i had expected from a 125 Ilford film, but that is also affected by your lens, use of tripod, quality of filters (if used), movement of subject, etc.
Basic point: This is a solid 125 film that gives you a more sensitive alternative to an Ilford ISO 50. Of course, the sensitivity comes at the price of the Ilford 50's ultra fine grain.