Hi Joe ... There are way too many variables to consider besides film brand, speed, and type. I've gotten finer grain and a smoother look from TX than with slower films like Delta 100 and the Kodak Tmax 100. There's the question of which developer will be used and how the film is actually processed. Anyone here who responds by saying X film is better than Y film without going further into the exposure and processing the films in question is giving you a half-baked response and only partial information.
So, let me ask a few questions, for, in truth, your request for information cannot best be answered with the information you've provided, which is also only half the information needed. 1) Will you be making darkroom prints directly from the negs? 2) How large do you expect the largest print to be? 3) Will you process the film yourself or have a lab do it? 4) In either case, what developing technique will be used (Jobo processor, dip-n-dunk at the lab, carefully hand developed in a small tank)? 5) In either case, what developer might be used, or would you want a suggestion? 6) Will the negs be scanned? 7) What scanner and scanning resolution will be used? 8) If scanned, what editing software will be used to make the final adjustments? 9) Oh, yeah, will you be using 35mm format, 645, 6x6, 6x6, or something larger (if you can find and use a 6x9 camera you may be way ahead of the game) AS for filters, without seeing the scene and knowing which film will be used, my first suggestion would be a medium yellow, or a minus blue. But depending on the tonal qualities of the scene at the time of exposure a yellow-green, light orange, or light red may also be good. Check this site for some suggestions: http://tinyurl.com/8oum4 or http://www.schneideroptics.com/filters/filters_for_still_photography/black_& _white/ Tiffen also makes some interesting filters that will help tame a scene with low or high contrast. They are pretty amazing in some situations ;-)) http://www.tiffen.com/contrast_filters.htm Shel > [Original Message] > From: Joseph Tainter > I need to photograph, in black-and-white, some landscapes in southeast > Utah with prehistoric ruins in them. The vegetation will be mainly sage > (very pale green) and junipers (darker green). The last time I shot b/w > was about 5 years ago. I believe it was Tmax 400, and I found it > disappointing. It was grainy, and I had thought that these films were > supposed to have less grain. I've never tried the chromogenic b/w films. > > So what do b/w shooters recommend for a low-grain landscape film with > good tonal range? > > I plan to use a yellow filter as a compromise, to lighten the vegetation > just a bit and darken the sky just a bit. If I need to I'll use a split > nd filter to darken the sky further. Other filter recommendations welcome. > > Thanks, > > Joe