Chromogenic Film: XP2 Super Experience

A while back I was reminded of chromogenic film such as Ilford's XP2 Super and Kodak's BW400CN No longer available) and Fuji Neopan 400CN. These are based on C41 color film principles except that they only have dyes for black rather than Cyan, Magenta and Yellow. They also lack the orange mask layer found in color c41 films. (Kodak retained the orange mask in their version intended to make black and white prints on color paper.) The rest are meant to be printed on black and white paper generally and so can offer C41 benefits with the ability to print on black and white paper. 

Printing C41 color negatives on black and white paper can be done however the colors and mask limits the effectiveness of variable contrast filters. Because the film has color in it you get different amounts of contrast filtration inherent in the image negative colors. This ultimately influences the amount of contrast control achievable. Another limitation is that most black and white paper is insensitive to red light. This means any red component in the negative (not the original image) will not exhibit any tone. (I attempt to analyze and explain this to myself in this blog post on printing C41 on black and white paper.)   

Kodak used to make a panchromatic paper called Panalure. Panalure was specifically recommended for black and white prints from color negatives. By most reports the results were not great. The paper was discontinued in 2005. I bought some expired Panalure paper a few years ago but it was badly fogged so the results was not very good. I also tried some Ilford Digital Silver paper that is panchromatic. 

In any case I finally purchased some XP2 Super film last February and went to Monk's Wood to shot a test roll.  I loaded up my Fuji GSW 690  it only takes 8 images to a roll so I wouldn't need to be out all day. The day was not special in any way, bright sun and leafless trees meant for bright highlights and deep shadows. These conditions did not phase the film at all. I metered it like color negative film so aimed for the shadows to be in zones III or IV or higher and let the highlights lay where they will. 

The range of the film is fantastic and I dare say wider than black and white film. Without a lot of care I was able to get the full range of the images. Here the shadows in on the tree limb can be left black for effect and the sky shows a good range of tones... But in the second image from the same scan I can bring up the shadow detail if desired. 

High Contrast Version

More shadow detail shown

Crop showing shadow detail

Other photos came out similarly... 

Overall I was very pleased with the films ability to capture the dynamic range. Another benefit or drawback is the grain is less apparent as the silver grain is bleached and only the dye remains. This can make for a smoother creamier texture. 

I have yet to try these image in the darkroom. I anticipate trouble with these high contrast negatives as photo paper has perhaps 6-7 stops of dynamic range while this film could be as high as 12 to 14 stops. Typically you aim to compress the tonal range in a negative to more closely match the paper.