thomas138

Overall Rating
 4 of 5

Value Rating
 4 of 5

Used product for
Less than 1 month

Price Paid:  $0.00

Summary:
I really like this film. It is fast and delivers very sharp pictures. It has great contrast and the grain is really good for 400 film even in pictures with a lot of sky in them.

Strengths:
grain contrast price

Weaknesses:
none i know

Similar Products Used:
ilford HP 400

another view

Overall Rating
 4 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Visitors rate this review
4.50 of 5,
2 votes

Price Paid:  $4.00 from B&H

Summary:
I'm going to miss this film. Both T400CN and Portra 400BW have been discontinued and replaced by the new BW400CN. I understand that the new film is very close to Portra 400BW (maybe just re-packaged) which has a different look. The big problem with T400CN was always in printing, but I found a lab that understands this film and printed it on real B&W paper, instead of C41 paper. The prints were great - smooth, sharp, contrasty, very fine grained - a lot of what you look for in a gallery print without all the work. Since I don't do my own printing, I was very happy with these results. Portra 400BW is lower in contrast and a little softer. It is a good film, but just has a different look. Even if I find some of this film left in stock somewhere, I'll never get the results again as this lab switched to a digital mini-lab. Those prints are terrible. I can get excellent results scanning and digitally printing myself though.

Strengths:
Fine grained, sharp, easy to scan. Standard C41 processing by anyone.

Weaknesses:
Has to be printed on B&W paper - or scanned. Doesn't work well with C41 paper as it was designed to.

Similar Products Used:
Kodak Portra 400BW, many "real" B&W films.

Customer Service:
Not needed.

Overall Rating
 4 of 5

Value Rating
 4 of 5

Used product for
3 Months to 1 year

Price Paid:  $4.00 from Phnom Penh

Summary:
I think the film itself is fine. As many people have pointed out the problems can be with the prints rather than with the processing. I do prefer traditional B&W film, but as this is almost impossible to process where I live, this film comes handy as I can scan the neg or get it printed afterwards on B&W paper with great results. Don't take it to a 1hour lab though, the prints will come out sepia or cyan or whatever.

Strengths:
C-41 processing, high latitude of exposure, very fine grain

Weaknesses:
Gives proper B&W results only if handled by professionals or if printed on B&W paper.

Similar Products Used:
FP4 Plus, Tmax100, Tmax400

Overall Rating
 4 of 5

Value Rating
 4 of 5

Used product for
Less than 1 month

Price Paid:  $0.00

Summary:
Perhaps the finest grain and sharpest results of any C41 film, and not just the chromogenics. Images can be enlarged more than most ISO 100 films without grain embarrassing the picture; remember the grain is only one colour. I have seen lab comparisons which bear this out. It is sharper than XP2 and less grainy, but is more oriented to colour printing and the colour of automated printing is a little more reliable. Trouble is that on colour print paper it lacks the punch of contrast compared to custom black and white prints. There are good reasons to use colour lens filters on BW films anyway and this is a good choice for experiments. You should know that this film is pitched against Ilford XP2 in being possible to print in the darkroom in BW, whereas the Porta 400BW has more reliable colour if you want to go no further than colour print paper.

Strengths:
Very fine grain. Sharp.

Weaknesses:
Black and white prints without work. Repeat the Hail Mary and flagellate yourself to feel worthy instead.

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Visitors rate this review
5.00 of 5,
1 votes

Price Paid:  $0.00

Summary:
Kodak's T400 CN is about as good as it gets if you want smooth grays, ultrafine grain, and pleasing contrast. A great film for people. People ask why it isn't offered is slower speeds. I cannot imagine the grain of the 400 ISO emulsion being any finer. Blowing it up to the point grain shows will result in your finding out that you need a tripod or better lens.

Strengths:
Excellent smooth grays, pleasing contrast, invisible grain. Seems less likely to scratch than Ilford's XP2.

Weaknesses:
None from my point of view.

Similar Products Used:
Ilford XP2

Customer Service:
Not needed