Shootout: Kodak TriX vs Ilford HP5+

I’ve long been a Kodak guy. TriX 400 for decades has been my go-to black and white film. When I wasn’t shooting TriX, I was shooting the gamut of other Kodak B&W films. Ilford is a legendary black and white film. When I first started in the film era, the “serious” black and white only photographers generally gravitated towards Ilford. Ilford film, Ilford developer, Ilford photo paper.

Ilford in general is the anti-kodak. While TriX has that harsh grainy contrast, Ilford tends to be softer, with finer grain and stronger mid-tones. Previously having shot some FP4+ at box speed in daylight, left me unimpressed. But for April’s Beer And Cameras, I was going to give HP5+ a direct head to head shootout against TriX, both being native 400 speed films.