It’s safe to say that Ilford FP4 Plus isn’t your grandfather’s film, but it is also quite possible that your grandfather once used some of the FP film seeing as how the first emulsion in this line of film was introduced in 1935. It is because of this history, and FP4 Plus’ many lovely qualities that we are excited to give it a Film Friday feature.

As we mentioned above, Ilford first announced Fine-Grained Panchromatic (FP for short) roll films in 1935. The FP film would eventually undergo revisions until FP4 was introduced in 1968 and then itself succeeded by FP4 Plus in 1990. Over these decades, the look of FP4 and then FP4 Plus has changed as the emulsion has been tweaked. But some things have remained quite constant: FP4 Plus remains one of Ilford’s more versatile and beautiful films.

Ilford FP4 Plus is a cubic grain emulsion, just like it’s higher speed brother HP5 Plus and its now-deceased rival Kodak Plus-X. As a cubic grain emulsion, different from modern T-grain emulsions, FP4 Plus has a more classic and textured look to its grain that continues to give the film a timeless feel. For some photographers a lack of grain is everything, but for other photographers the presence of grain is everything. It is a film like FP4 Plus that will make you fall in love with film grain.

FP4 Plus is also known for its contrast. While not as contrasty as some films like orthochromatic emulsions, FP4 Plus has a nice, dramatic contrast to it. FP4 Plus exposures are especially known for their dramatic and deep shadows. These deep shadows though don’t sacrifice the midtones with FP4 Plus, and in that range it definitely delivers as well.

The drama that comes with an FP4 Plus exposure. Image made with a Rolleiflex twin lens reflex.

The look of FP4 Plus’ grain and contrast though can be highly customized depending on how the film is developed in the darkroom and this gets to one of FP4 Plus’ other big strengths: its versatility. The film boasted its versatility when first launched and its extremely long production run has given countless photographers opportunities aplenty to experiment and hone various development methods. You can easily find developing times for FP4 Plus shot at speeds ranging from ISO 100 up to ISO 6400. We have even heard of photographers pulling it down to ISO 50 and pushing it up to ISO 8000. Even if you don’t plan on changing FP4 Plus’ speed, you can customize its grain and contrast through development as well. By varying the developer of choice (Ilford DD-X will produce a different look than Rodinal 1:50, for example), the temperature of that developer and the dilution of that developer, you can further smooth out FP4 Plus’ grain and contrast or increase them for even more drama. In this sense, FP4 Plus can really be like dozens of different films all wrapped up in one package. If you want a film to hole up all winter with in the darkroom, FP4 Plus will make sure you don’t get bored of it.

So FP4 Plus boasts a lengthy family history. It has lovely grain and wonderful contrast. It is extremely versatile and the extensive darkroom info out there on it allow for quite a bit of customization for how the final negatives look. What more could you want of a film? How about the fact that it is available for most cameras out there? FP4 Plus can be found in the usual formats of 35mm and 120, but it is also widely available in large format sizes as well. You have the big three large formats covered easily enough with 4x5, 5x7 and 8x10. FP4 Plus is also one of the few films that is part of Ilford’s ULF (Ultra Large Format) program, meaning that it is possible to track down this famous emulsion in sheets of such size as 9x12cm, 2.25x3.25in, 4x10in, 11x14 and more. It’s versatility isn’t just in its image qualities but its shape and size as well.

If you have never tried a roll of FP4 Plus before, we hope this feature gives you the motivation necessary to pick up a roll. It is one of those black and white films that every photographer should try at least once in their career. We have a good selection of FP4 Plus films in stock so hop over to our website to make procuring a roll easy. Meanwhile, we’ll leave you with a few more images made on FP4 Plus by our staff.

Enjoy!

Film Friday - April 5th, 2024. Ilford FP4 Plus