Long ago, Kodak’s three main black-and-white films were Verichrome Pan, Plus-X Pan, and Tri-X Pan. Only Tri-X Pan is still made, albeit improved over its original 1940 formulation. Kodak discontinued Verichrome Pan in the 1990s, and Plus-X Pan in 2011.
The thing I liked best about Plus-X was its rich, deep blacks. I didn’t shoot very much of it before Kodak discontinued it, but when I saw others’ work with it, the blacks always impressed me. I recently felt inspired to shoot some Plus-X in my Nikon F2AS, so I bought some on eBay that had always been refrigerated.
This is my home. I think I used my 35-70mm Zoom-Nikkor lens.
As you can see, Plus-X is a contrasty, low-grain film. My irises were blooming, so I photographed one of the purple-and-white flowers.
I photographed the iris using my 55mm f/2.8 Micro-Nikkor, and kept it on the camera to get close to the ants that always cover my peonies before they bloom.
I took the Nikon and my 50mm f/2 lens to the Mecum auction last month. It rained much of the day.
Plus-X is rated at ISO 125, which limits its usefulness in challenging light. The gray day really called for faster film. I had to keep my lens at or near wide open and it made the range of sharp focus teeny tiny. (Indeed, I brought some faster T-Max 400, too, and shot it when I used up the roll of Plus-X. But those photos are for another blog post.) Here’s the tailfin from a 1960 Cadillac, with an early second-generation Chevy Camaro behind it.
A 1975 Pontiac LeMans captured my attention because it had just 3,000 miles on it. I wrote about this car for Curbside Classic, an old-car blog; read it here.
This photo of the LeMans’s tail light really pleases me.
I’m very happy with the results I got from this roll of Plus-X. I have two more rolls in the fridge, waiting their turn.
I shot some expired Verichrome Pan on Route 66 last year. See the photos here.
Get more of my photography in your inbox or reader! Click here to subscribe.
