briand@tekig1.UUCP (Brian Diehm) (02/22/84)
The following is a lot of personal opinion, so take it for what it's worth.
Ilford Galerie is my single favorite paper. Its grades seem evenly spaced,
it has a definite character with rich blacks, clean whites, and good texture.
It tones beautifully in selenium, but in a strange way which I very much like.
Selenium toning does not really change the paper color so much as it deepens the
darks while not affecting the lighter tones. Thus, it doesn't expand contrast
so much as it expands the range of tones the paper can present. The result is
truly beautiful, and it takes a really good paper all the way to fantastic.
Seagull I find harsh and gritty. If you are into photos of urban blight,
Irving Penn ashtrays and cigarette butts, or super arty realism, then this is
the paper for you. For full range tonal subjects, I find I don't like it very
much, but I can't say why. I find that I don't like it for another reason as
well that has nothing to do with its quality - I don't like to see the Japanese
beginning to dominate yet another market. Once they dominate a market, they
take it in the direction they want it to go, and so we get autofocus and gee
whiz gadgets instead of quality photography. Just an opinion, but it is some-
thing to consider (perhaps this is "the ethics of consumerism"). A wierd thing
about Oriental papers is that they are a full grade more contrasty than their
numbering would indicate - their grade 2 is everybody else's grade 3, etc.
There is nothing wrong with this - until 1978 Agfa was one grade off the other
way, but you should be aware of it. Since they have a grade 5 or so, they will
provide help for some "difficult" (read "should be thrown away") negatives.
Agfa Brovira is a good paper, I find. Not distinctive, but a good paper.
It is well mannered, tones well, and has a good surface. It doesn't present the
full blacks of Galerie, so it seems they may be skimping on silver. My feeling
towards it is pretty ho-hum, but it will certainly do.
Real aficionados might recommend Zone VI Brilliant paper, available only
through mail order from Zone VI Studios, Inc., Newfane VT 05345 (that's the
full address). I have had mostly less than satisfactory dealings with Zone VI,
and I find that I really dislike their paper. The surface is rough, the paper
is impossibly thick, I have had trouble with the surface when fixed in a non-
hardening fixer, and the tones that result are not worth the bally hoo and
such that Mr. Picker is so good at. That pretty well seems to go for much of
Zone VI, while I do admire their stated goals of fine photography. Brilliant
is also impossibly expensive. In addition, tests from independent sources seem
to agree that the grades are not evenly spaced with grade 3 really being a
2.5 or so. Also, it is only available in three grades.
The above is all opinion, so you should take that as your invitation and
cue to try them all and develop (I freely admit to the pun) your own views.
All of the above papers develop well in Dektol (I use it 1:2 for 2 or 3
minutes at 68F) and also in Heico's liquid concentrate developers. They also
fix well in either brand of product. I have not used Ilford chemicals at all.
Heico fixer is approximately equivalent to Kodak Rapid Fixer in that it is an
ammonium thiosulfate, not sodium thiosulfate, fixer. I use the Ilford archival
processing methodology with either fixer, and have had good results - will let
you know in 50 years or so. :-)
It might be worth asking yourself your motive in wanting another paper for
just a B&W class. Unless this is a pretty serious class, will spending the
extra bucks really mean anything? Will anyone there (including the instructor)
have a trained enough eye to even notice? If you want to just try these papers
for yourself, then certainly go ahead. But if this is just a typical classroom
situation, probably the newest Kodak Polyfiber paper will do just fine - it is
really a pretty good product, and you don't have to buy a whole lot of paper
grades. The disadvantage is that it tones funny, if you are into toning with
selenium.
Brian Diehm
Tektronix