Ilford Delta 400 - 35mm Film

A bit disappointed really

Used this stock on a few trips out when the weather was unpredictable, so it was used on overcast days and on sunny days. The speed is obviously good for overcast days so that you aren't struggling on lower shutter speeds, and it delivers alright results. I wasn't blown away by any of them, they had relatively muted contrast. The grain was fairly heavy, but that's obviously expected of a higher speed film and it doesn't look bad by any means, it helps convey the dull day. On the sunny days though, I honestly really do not like the film at all. Again, there's not much contrast, perhaps even less than there was on the overcast days. The grain is also more pronounced and it isn't attractive at all. I've used ISO 400 film before on sunny days and loved it, though it was a colour stock, but this stuff just didn't do it for me. Unfortunately won't be reaching for Delta again, but it's all about experimenting until you find your favourites, so I can't complain too much! Examples: the street corner and view from the boat were overcast days, the standing stone and seafront were both sunny.

Nice

Grain is well controlled. It can, of course, be made more visible in post-processing if that is your thing or kept at rather nice levels to give both detail and a filmic look. It looks nice SOOC but I found it was easy to lift or add shadow without things getting too gritty. This also enabled me to recover photographs where I (my camera!) didn't get the exposure as I wanted it. I shot this on the same day as using the much cheaper Fomapan Action 400 which I found comparable in terms of quality and reliability but with perhaps a little more contrast. I will probably try a lower ISO Delta film next in my pursuit of more detail and even finer grain.

Smooooth

First time using this, and enjoyed the subtlety with which it moves across the mid tones. Not an everyday film for me, living in an area prone to overcast skies - I think I'll stick to higher contrast film. However, happy with the results when used in the right conditions.