ILFORD XP2 400 - Film Gallery

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4.7
Rated 4.7 out of 5
4.7 out of 5 stars (based on 12 reviews)
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Very good33%
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Easily the world’s most versatile monochrome film.

Rated 5 out of 5
May 12, 2023

Never mind splashing out on a Leica Monochrom, just get your ancient 1950’s Leica M3 out of the cupboard and load it up with a roll of Ilford XP2. The sheer latitude of the amazing British product will astound you. It’s very difficult to gat a bad exposure when estimating the light or using a handheld meter.
And the bonus point is that you take it to your High Street D&P facility – Boots/Max etc and it gets processed alongside the regular happy snaps from returnees from Malaga et al.
I take the easy way and load up my pair of Leica R8 bodies and 35mm f2 Summicron. Film runs out? I just swap lenses with theccap on 2nd body. That way I have the luxury of Program for the shooting mode and Matrix for the exposure metering. Just very sophisticated point-and-shoots. Who needs digital. What the €¥<£ is a “pixel”? Oh dear.

Dave Murray

Can be scanned with ICE dust removal system

Rated 5 out of 5
November 23, 2021

The most important aspect for me is that unlike other B&W films, XP2 is left with no silver halide particles after development. This means that you can use infrared dust removal systems like ICE during scanning. No more retouching to get rid of dust and scratches!

Ralph Gonzalez

Very versatile film

Rated 5 out of 5
November 10, 2021

XP2 is easily one of my favorite black and white films. Sharpness is excellent. Grain seems unnoticeable in most conditions. Contrast is excellent. All around wonderful film for landscapes and cityscapes.

Tom

Convenient BnW film for 120.

Rated 5 out of 5
February 1, 2020

Contrasty, flexible, and can be dropped off at a local lab because it’s a C-41 film. I don’t develop the films myself (I wish I know how), but I want to shoot black and white without paying extra for black and white development process, it’s a convenient film to shoot with and just drop it off at a lab, and a great starter for people who wants to shoot black and white. It’s more expensive than conventional black and white films because it’s a C-41 I believe.

Joshua Andrei Rivera

Great contrast and grain.

Rated 5 out of 5
January 31, 2020

I started using this film due to the ability to process it at my local colour lab. I then discovered is can be developed using black and white chemistry at home too. The results are always on the contrasty side with a nice visable grain. I love the look for street photography and fashion. Be prepared for really purple negatives though – that can be confused for expired fixer…..

Paul Petch

Easiest out there.

Rated 4 out of 5
December 5, 2019

I’m not a negative film person for the most part, but every once in awhile I’ll use this to test cameras. I think it does a really excellent job. It isn’t Ilford’s best film for black and white, but as far as black and white convenience I can’t think of anything better. It won’t blow your mind with dynamic range but it has kind of a comfortable look to it.

Randy Jiner

Great all around B&W film

Rated 5 out of 5
November 13, 2019

I have used 35mm Ilford XP2 for for decades – since the mid 1980s. Hundreds of rolls of film. And I have been consistently happy with the results. I would argue that the grain may be a little finer than Darkroom’s assessment, but I agree with them about saturation and latitude as well as excellent sharpness. While the negatives may look a bit strange compared to traditional (non-C41 processed) B&W film, the negatives print and scan well; and the negatives from the mid 1980s have held up over time. It is a great all-around B&W film. If you are curious, check out www.garysmintz.com. All of the images were shot on Ilford XP2.

Gary Mintz

Excellent for C-41.

Rated 4 out of 5
November 12, 2019

This is a really nice film for people who don’t want to get into the complicated aspects of other films. I recommend it absolutely to anyone who wants to enjoy black and white photography without the occasional hassles. The results might not blow you away, but they will please you.

Randy Jiner

Convenient

Rated 4 out of 5
November 12, 2019

Smooth, high quality with a bit higher contrast. Despite really liking the IQ of the shots with this film, I only use it for convenience. I can drop it off with all my color film and have it processed quickly. With that said, I prefer the grain of B&W film. I am more apt to buy a color film now and convert to B&W after I scan.

Ron

A fun twist on B&W

Rated 4 out of 5
October 27, 2019

This film was quite fun to shoot, and made me want to shoot B&W more often. I don’t develop my own film, so I wasn’t able to experience the convenience, but it would be handy for people who do that. However, the thing that caught my eye is the unique grain. I like it a lot, but I could see how that could definitely turn some photogs off from this film. I’ll admit, the negatives looks super strange (in a good way), but other than that, this felt exactly like shooting black and white film. I hope to shoot it again, but I don’t know yet if it will be my go-to B&W.

Colin Stevenson

Great value, convenience, and results

Rated 5 out of 5
September 29, 2019

Ilford XP2 Super 400 is a C-41 process black and white film. It is affordable, and has wonderful latitude and sharpness (especially in 120 film-search online popular photography vendors for low $ offerings).
This is a film I love to use since it gives my a very flexible option in nearly any condition. It can be easily shot at 50 through 800 iso and give beautiful and punchy contrast.

Justin Connaher

Tones for days!

Rated 5 out of 5
September 28, 2019

XP2 has quickly become my favourite film and ill try and push anyone I know who shoots film into trying it! It has tones for days and can be overexposed by a lot and it just keeps on giving! I wish I shot more of it on a recent trip to Europe.
Its a bit more expensive than normal black and white but you save so much money developing it as its c-41!

Paul