Black and White Film Stocks, With Prompts

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Black and white film stocks

The stocks, and what each one does to grain, to skin and to the sky.

A black and white film stock is not a black and white grade. A grade takes the colour out of a picture that already exists. A stock decides three things before the picture exists: how big the grain is, how the tone curve runs from black to white, and how each colour in front of the camera turns into a grey. Name Tri-X 400 and you get coarse grain and hard contrast. Name Acros 100 and you get no grain and a long flat grey. The eight stocks here cover that whole range, and each one carries the wording that gets it out of a model.

Grain you can see

3

Three fast stocks where the grain is part of the picture. Each one is rated at 400 or above, and each one gets grainier as it is pushed.

Tri-X 400: Coarse sharp grain and hard contrast, the press stock that pushes to 1600.
Tri-X 400
Coarse sharp grain and hard contrast, the press stock that pushes to 1600.
HP5 Plus: Flatter contrast and rounder grain than Tri-X, with shadows that keep their detail.
HP5 Plus
Flatter contrast and rounder grain than Tri-X, with shadows that keep their detail.
Delta 3200: Huge clumping grain and low contrast, a stock built to be pushed in the dark.
Delta 3200
Huge clumping grain and low contrast, a stock built to be pushed in the dark.

Grain you cannot

3

Three slow stocks with fine grain. Each one trades speed and latitude for a clean negative, so each one needs light, a tripod, or both.

T-Max 100: Tabular grain at 100 speed: almost no visible grain, very high sharpness, a long straight curve.
T-Max 100
Tabular grain at 100 speed: almost no visible grain, very high sharpness, a long straight curve.
FP4 Plus: 125 speed traditional grain: fine, even, medium contrast, the general purpose daylight stock.
FP4 Plus
125 speed traditional grain: fine, even, medium contrast, the general purpose daylight stock.
Pan F Plus 50: The slowest stock here: near grainless, very high contrast, short latitude.
Pan F Plus 50
The slowest stock here: near grainless, very high contrast, short latitude.

Flat, and cine

2

Two stocks that sit outside the grain argument. One is the flattest emulsion on the list and the choice for a long exposure. The other is a motion picture negative.

Acros 100: The flattest and finest of the eight, and the one stock that holds a long exposure.
Acros 100
The flattest and finest of the eight, and the one stock that holds a long exposure.
Double-X 5222: The motion picture black and white negative: 250 speed, visible grain, deep blacks.
Double-X 5222
The motion picture black and white negative: 250 speed, visible grain, deep blacks.

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Other look groups

Colour film stocksThe colour stocks, and what each does to skin, to sky and to green.12 colour stocksSlide and instant filmThe positive stocks, their narrow latitude, and the wording for each.8 slide and instant stocksCamera and formatThe ways to size a frame, and the wording that gets each one.8 cameras and formatsDarkroom and processThe changes made to the film itself, and the wording for each one.6 darkroom processesHistorical processesThe processes from before the film roll, and the wording for each.10 historical processesPhotographic genresEach genre written as the lens, the light and the distance that make it.16 photographic genresProduct and commercialThe shots a product needs, and the light, shadow and edge each takes.10 product shots
Cinematic techniquesShooting a video rather than a still? The same reference, for the camera in motion.

Start from the grain, because it is the biggest lever. Tri-X 400 and Delta 3200 put grain into the picture. T-Max 100 and Acros 100 take it out. HP5 Plus, FP4 Plus and Double-X 5222 sit in the middle, and Pan F Plus 50 is fine grain with hard contrast.