Ilford HP5 Plus 400 Film Review | Black & White Film Stock

Name: HP5 PLUS Black and White Negative 120 Film
Brand: Ilford
SKU: 1629017
Price: 7.99 USD
Availability: InStock
Rating: 5 (4 reviews)

Last Updated: July 25, 2022

A staple to the world of monochrome.

Hunter Lacey @hunterfolacey

Ilford HP5 Plus 400 has been my staple ever since I began shooting with black and white film. Black and white is the main way I work these days, but I actually shot primarily in color up until a little over a year ago. The way I look at photography was changed completely after I read Sally Mann’s memoir, Hold Still. I saw the full potential of working in black and white for the first time, and I picked up some Ilford HP5 Plus 400 shortly after finishing the book.

The two rolls featured in this post were shot on different days. The landscapes are from a trip to Marfa, and the portraits are from an afternoon with my sister. I photographed her wearing a sweater vest I had just finished knitting.

Portraits are my favorite type of photography. Ironically, they cause me the most pre-event anxiety. Landscapes are simple because you’re on one person’s time: your own, and no one is watching you as you create (not to disregard the skill it takes to create a strong landscape image). Portraits can be overwhelming because you don’t want to waste your subject’s time and your subject is actively watching you while you work. For a newbie (or even a well-versed photographer), that can feel a bit like someone breathing down your neck. Luckily, with time, the act of making someone’s portrait does get easier.

In full transparency, I’ve tried out other films (see my TMax review here), but HP5 is still my favorite.

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To Know:

This film is low contrast with medium grain. It is made by Ilford, the company that leads in production of black and white film stocks. Ilford has been in the game for a long time, and its makers know what they’re doing.

What We Love:

This is a forgiving film.

Because it has great exposure latitude, even if you under- or over-expose a few of your shots, your film will still come out usable.

This is a flexible film.

You can push this film multiple stops and your film won’t come out overly contrasted.

This is a classic film.

Ilford HP5 Plus has been shot by photographers for almost 100 years. It started out as hypersensitive panchromatic plates in 1931 and is now available in 35mm, 120mm, 4x5, and 8x10 film.

The Details:

Brand: Ilford

Product Type: Film

What I’d consider using it for: portraits, nighttime shooting (with the intention of pushing), detail shots, landscapes.

Ilford

HP5 PLUS Black and White Negative 120 Film

Looking to get a 35mm film that will deliver outstanding sharpness, fine grain, under all lighting conditions? Feed your film camera Ilford HP5 PLUS 120 film

Buy for $7.99

Shooting Experience

Personally, HP5 Plus feels like a trusty old friend at this point. When HP5 is in my camera, I know that I’m using a film that I can rely on. If I overexpose the shot a bit, I don’t have to worry. In general, shooting in black and white is a much different experience than shooting in color in that you are not guided by the colors in front of you as much as you are by composition. I understand that composition plays a role in color photography, too, of course, but black and white strips you of the ability to distract the viewer from a messy composition. If your composition is off in a black and white photo, it’s obvious. Perhaps that’s part of the thrill of black and white photography?

This stock works wonders for both landscapes and portraits. Its forgiving nature allows me to feel confident that my exposures will almost always come out how they should, so instead of worrying about if the film is going to do its job, I can just focus on the task at hand: nailing the composition. It is especially helpful to have a reliable film when you’re a portrait photographer. There are so many moving parts in a portrait shoot, and perhaps the most distracting element is the social aspect. You want your subject to feel comfortable, you want your rapport to be natural, you don’t have time to think about if your film stock is one you can trust! HP5 to the rescue.

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Results

As usual, I was stoked with the results of my Ilford HP5 Plus 400 rolls. I developed them in Ilfotec HC developer – I did not push or pull the dev time – and I scanned using silverfast software. I did minimal editing to my photos – just dust correction, and they came out just as I wanted them to. Even after comparing the photos to the lovely results from the TMax 400 rolls, I think I’ll stick to shooting HP5 Plus.