We get asked a lot at the shop by curious photographers for our opinion on which black and white film they should try. Invariably we ask, have you shot Ilford HP5+? If the answer is no, then we hand them a box of this film and tell them they have to try it. Any discussion on Ilford HP5+ starts as simple as that. If you haven’t shot it, you should. Everything that follows from here on out is explaining why that is so.

Ilford HP5+ wasn’t always called as it is. Before the current version, there was the film formerly known as Ilford HP5. It earned the “Plus” suffix back in 1989, kind of like when the Queen of England knights someone. But before HP5 came HP4, which kept film photographers well equipped from 1965 until 1976. Coincidentally, when HP4 first came on the scene, photographers could buy either it or choose its predecessor, HP3 for several years. These two films coexisted for four years, in fact, living together from 1965 until 1969. Many were probably sad to see HP3 go as it had been on the market since 1941. Such is the pattern of evolution and all things change. HP3 had in fact replaced HP2, which itself had just come on the market in 1935. As you might expect, HP2 was the successor of the original Ilford Hypersensitive Panchromatic plate film - later known as “HP” film. This originator was introduced by the company in 1931 and brings us to the genesis of the HP family of films. Just for comparison, this predates the introduction of Kodak Tri-X by about nine years.

The Ilford HP line of films was originally only available in plates. 35mm and 120 came several years later. Even to this day though, some of our favorite HP5+ images are the large format sheet negatives produced by our boss, Jake Shivery, self-portr… — The Ilford HP line of films was originally only available in plates. 35mm and 120 came several years later. Even to this day though, some of our favorite HP5+ images are the large format sheet negatives produced by our boss, Jake Shivery, self-portraited here. Ilford HP5+ shot in a Deardorff 8x10 camera.

While the history of a film may not overtly affect how the images from your camera turn out, we do feel it helps lend the film a certain gravitas that it heartily deserves. Ilford has been tinkering and working on this emulsion for longer than many of us have been alive. The roll of HP5+ you hold in your hands today is the culmination of almost a century of development and evolution. Something to bear in mind.

How does HP5 Plus shoot? Well, to borrow from a popular phrase, we would tell you it is the master of all trades and a jack of none. It does everything well and is one of the most versatile films currently on the market. It is a native ISO 400 speed panchromatic, traditional black and white emulsion. That ISO 400 rating allows it go almost anywhere. It can be easily used outdoors on sunny days or in deep shade or indoors on a whim. What is more, the film has some pretty amazing push capabilities. We have read numerous reviews of HP5 Plus exposed as high as ISO 25,600. That is a whopping six stop push. Yes, it can be done. Like most black and white negative films it can also credibly be pulled at least one stop and arguably two. That means this film has a possible range of ISO 100-25,600. That is a greater range of ISO than many modern digital cameras.

In regard to HP5+’s grain, it is your traditional cubic grain, as opposed to modern T-grain films. Cubic grain is the classic look. If you have seen a black and white image by Cartier-Bresson or Elliott Erwitt or… well, pretty much any black and white image made prior to the 1980s, then you were looking at a cubic grain film. Kodak Tri-X is the other super-famous cubic grain film, but there are several others on the market like the Rollei RPX films. HP5+’s cubic grain does give it a grittier, coarser image quality, and its shadows do tend to crunch up a bit more, but it is also a timeless look. We have never had an issue with grain in black and white film since it is the building blocks of the image, much like the brush strokes in a painting.

Of course, if grain is not your thing, then shoot large format and it won’t be a problem. Portrait of local photographer Ray Bidegain made by Jake Shivery with his Deardorff 8x10.

As to HP5+’s other qualities. It’s contrast is very moderate. We would not call HP5 Plus high or low contrast. It has wonderful midtones for sure. As we mentioned earlier, it’s shadows can fall off fairly fast, giving it these wonderfully rich blacks but also meaning that you will lose detail faster there than any other part of your exposure. In this way, Ilford HP5+ is fairly similar to Kodak Tri-X. It is important to note that given how long HP5+ has been on the market, there are dozens of methods for developing it and depending on which developer one pairs their HP5 Plus with, you can affect the contrast, sharpness and grain of the image. Take that into consideration as a photographer. You can make your HP5+ look more dramatic than ours simply by changing up your developer. Swinging back around to those deep shadows, if such detail is important to you, our tip is to overexpose your HP5+ just a bit. The film will readily forgive the overexposure in the highlights with no worry at all and will give you more detail and tonality in the shadows to work with.

Ilford HP5+ shot in a Holga WPC Pinhole and showing how this film is capable of softer levels of contrast.

Finally, we should not overlook how versatile HP5+ is outside the camera as well as inside it. As mentioned, once the film is out of your camera you have dozens of different ways to process it in the darkroom. The film pairs well with every major developer on the market: D-76, Rodinal, HC110, DD-X, Ilfosol and so forth. You can stand develop it or run it through Pyrocat HD. The breadth of choices you can make in the darkroom for how to handle this film are impressive and give you a wide array of control for fine-tuning HP5+ to the look you want.

The film has a wide array of options even before it meets your camera. This is an emulsion that is easily found not just in 35mm and 120, but 4x5, 5x7 and 8x10 as well. Even better, once a year Ilford specially cuts HP5+ to a whole list of other sizes including 46mm bulk rolls (if you want to spool your own 127), 4x10, 2.25x3.25, 3.25x4.25, 11x14, 16x20 and even 20x24. Not too mention too many sizes in between to list. You can find almost any film camera in the world and be assured that there is probably some HP5+ to put in it if nothing else.

And that is our pitch folks for why you should have a roll of HP5 Plus in your bag. If you were standing at the counter, this is generally the moment where you pause for a second and then say, “Better give me two of those then.” Whether you are a diehard HP5+ fan or have never before tried it, you are going to want to follow the link below to all the HP5+ you could ever want on our website.

You can find all the various formats of Ilford HP5+ that we have in stock in our web store.

We'll once again close out this Film Friday with a couple more HP5+ images. Enjoy.