ILFORD Delta 3200: Let There Be Grain
WHY SHOOT IT DURING THE DAY?
Delta 3200 took me a while to track down, and a little longer to decide how to use. I eventually loaded it for Tutto Bene. Rain, faces, cars and a slightly surreal atmosphere felt like the right place to start.
The results won me over: enough sharpness to hold the details, with grain everywhere. Deep blacks, strong whites and beautiful shades of grey in between. There’s something of an old newspaper photograph about them.
SPEED & TEXTURE
A high exposure index gives you room for fast shutter speeds and smaller apertures, especially when the light turns grey. In bright sunshine, check your camera’s shutter and aperture limits — you may need an ND filter.
Choose your exposure index before shooting and tell your lab, so development matches the way you exposed the roll.
MORE GENTLE THAN YOU’D EXPECT
Despite the grain, I really like it for portraits. In these scans, faces retain a softness that balances the stronger blacks and whites.
Bright lights have a gentle glow, too. I enjoy the effect, although the lens and the wet, misty conditions may contribute to it. I wouldn’t put it down to the film alone.
VERY LITTLE EDITING
I usually do very little to the TIFF scans. The tonal transitions already give me most of what I want.
Several frames also show an issue in the lower-right corner, which I suspect comes from the lens. I’m still investigating it, so don’t mistake it for part of Delta’s character.
Like the look? My film is scanned at Speed Photo Bovisa in Milan — it’s also where I buy my rolls.
Give daylight some grain.
