Ilford Delta Film 35mm B&W ISO 400
Description
Delta is a modern emulsion from Ilford - created with finer grain to provide sharp black and white images with excellent contrast. While this means the 35mm film is slightly less forgiving of wide exposure latitudes, the professional results when you nail the exposure will blow you away!
| Format: | 35mm |
| Colour: | B&W |
| Type: | Negative |
| ISO: | 400 |
| Exposures: | 36 |
| Pack size: | 1 |
To understand more about the details above you can check out our film guide or if you want some inspiration then head over to our page on choosing your next film. And if you want the full details about the film, including technical information, read about Ilford Delta over on EMULSIVE.
Ilford was founded in 1879 in the English town of the same name. They are B&W royalty in the photography industry thanks to their 140-year heritage and their support for photographers with chemicals and development as well as film. In the mid-20th Century they produced several well-regarded camera lines (including one given to Princess Elizabeth that was later stolen!) but today they are focused on producing the best films and development processes that they can.
For more information about the brand check out our bio of Ilford
Where we ship
When you buy your camera film from us we can ship it across the UK, Europe, USA, New Zealand, Australia and Canada (more countries planned soon!) So buy your Ilford Delta Film 35mm B&W ISO 400 today and dive back into the fun of 35mm film photography!
I love Delta 400. The soft contrast and cleaner grain is perfect for family photos and portraits. It pushes and pulls very well and looks good no matter what ISO your shooting at, making it super versatile. It's now my go to for family holidays and weddings. The grain and contrast don't pack as much punch as other grittier black and whites so it wouldn't be my first choice for Street photography or any shoots where I'm looking for a distinctive grainy film look. But definitely one to keep in the bag at all times for some documentary family shots on my point and shoot.
Used this film for night and day photography. The results came out great both ways. This film is perfect for pushing and pulling and is very flexible in every situation. When I received my first scans of this film, I realised that it will be my go-to film for B&W for a long time.
It is one of those films that has the special "something" to it. It is not only technically good but at the same time it gives a nice, grainy, soft look to your photos. It has a slightly lower contrast so might not be the best if you are after more punchy images.
Somehow, the Delta range by Ilford doesn't have the best of reputations: fans of classic emulsions don't like it because of the t-grain, while those who prefer a more modern look tend to find Tmax films sharper and more versatile. And even among the Delta films, the 400 version possibly gets the least attention - and I ignored it for quite some time too! But it is a beautiful and versatile film with its own character that takes a while to understand but ultimately delivers excellent results. It is on par with Tmax 400 when it comes to pushing (the dog shot is at EI 3200!) and you can make it look rather 'classic' by pulling a little (to EI 250-320) and developing in an acutance developer to bring out the grain a bit (the plant shot is at EI 320 and developed in Moersch Eco). And of course, it does really well at box speed with a fine-grain developer like Xtol - beautiful tonality, just the right amount of contrast for most situations, subtle grain. Just make sure to meter properly! You have to know what you are doing with this film and not hope to fix everything 'in post'.
Controversial statement maybe, but I always raise an eyebrow when I hear a lens or film (examples include Zeiss lenses and the Delta/TMax range of BnW films) described as "too clinical" – a phrase you hear quite often in the film-photography corner of the internet where I spend rather more time than is good for me. I understand that's not what many people look for when they shoot film, but "clinical" is not inherently bad, and for some subjects and photographic styles, such a look can work really well, and that's why we need films like Ilford's Delta 400. For most purposes, I personally prefer HP5+ for its higher latitude (given my slapdash approach to metering) and lovely grain, but I can see myself occasionally shooting Delta 400 if I want finer grain, or simply to experiment with a different look.
(Sample image shot with a Minolta SLR, developed at home in Ilford ID-11 1+1)
