Shooting with the Ilford Delta 3200 for the First Time

I only started picking up black and white film photography recently so I don’t have much experience with B&W film stocks. The only B&W film that I’ve ever tried was the Ilford HP5. The HP5 has been my go-to. I loved the film so much that I even tried their disposable camera.

Read: Ilford HP5 Disposable Camera

I wanted to branch out and try new things of course, so I picked the Ilford Delta 3200.

Because of my limited knowledge and use of this film, this will not be a full review. This article will focus more on first impressions and my personal experience with this film.

My assumptions of the Delta 3200

I really didn’t know what I was getting into when I bought this film. I was at a camera store looking to buy films and then the 3200 ISO film just caught my eye. At first I thought, “wow, this would be great for indoor photography”. However, I also thought that 3200 was a bit excessive and I was afraid of how grainy it would turn out.

I obviously bought the film even if it was a little bit daunting because I really wanted to start using my films when I went to concerts or parties.

Basically, my assumptions of this film were:

• Good for indoor photography and night shots
• I might not be able to use this when it’s too bright outside
• 3200 ISO will be extremely grainy
• My point and shoot cameras can handle this film

What I learned about the Delta 3200

I did my research before I loaded this film onto my camera. Like I said, I really didn’t know what I was getting into and bought the film out of impulse. I’m not a real film photographer; I just do this as a hobby and only know the basics. If you’re a beginner, there will be more technical terms than usual but I will try to link some reliable sources for you.

• To get best results, shoot at 1000 ISO, develop normally
• Use fast lenses (big aperture)
• You can “push” this film (advanced terms, I still don’t understand this very well). Basically, you can shoot photos with 6400 ISO setting and have the lab develop it as 6400 ISO.
• Do not put this in a basic point-and-shoot (with minimal control of settings)
• It can be used in the daytime

Important Resources:

• How to Shoot with the Delta 3200 (The Find Lab)
• Ilford Delta 3200 (The Find Lab)
• Pushing Black and White (The Find Lab)
• Pushing and Pulling Film (The Darkroom Lab)

Sample Photos

I used a Zorki 4 Rangefinder to take these photos. The Zorki does not have an ISO setting but I took photos with 1000 ISO (in forums you will see them say “shoot at 1000”). What I did was to set the ISO of my light meter app to 1000 with an aperture to f2.0 (most of the time), and let the light meter decide on the shutter speed.

I have to be honest, I was really afraid of using this film. I thought I was going to overexpose my shots or come up with a blank film roll. The Zorki did not have a dial for ISO so I did not know what to expect, really.

To my surprise, my first roll of Ilford Delta 3200 turned out great and somehow even better than expected. Some shots here are blurry but that’s just because my eyesight is bad.

Camera settings were mostly at f/2.0 with 1/60 shutter speed. Film was rated at 1000 ISO. These were shot at a well-lighted (indoor) restaurant at nighttime.

I had the lab develop these normally (no pushing or pulling) and these were the results.

Overall Thoughts

I am really glad that I was able to conduct researching before loading this film on any of my cameras – that would have probably been a disaster. I am pretty pleased with this film. I guess I was expecting it to have more contrast, like some black and white films.

This film might be best for those “bright” indoor scenes, if you know what I mean, like a wedding. In fact, I bought a second roll of Ilford Delta 3200 because I will be attending a wedding soon. My fingers are crossed again because I will be using a different camera which ISO only goes up to 800.

Usually compared with: Kodak T-Max 3200