Film stocks

A field guide to every emulsion worth shooting, from HP5 to Portra.

Know your emulsion

Film is a recipe, and every stock bakes in its own contrast, grain, and color. Learn one deeply before you chase all of them.

The classics

HP5+    400 · classic, forgiving, flat mids
Tri-X   400 · crunchy grain, deep blacks
Portra  400 · warm, soft, the skin-tone king
Ektar   100 · saturated, fine-grained color
T-Max   400 · smooth, modern, clean

Start here

Shoot HP5+ at box speed, develop it in D-76 1+1, and don't change a thing for five rolls. Then break one variable at a time.