Ilford HP5 Plus 400 Review (With Sample Photos)

Updated September 2026. This review was first published in 2021. I revisited the technical details around pushing HP5, updated the buying and lab information, and cleaned up a few explanations. All of the sample photos below are still from the original rolls I shot myself.

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Ilford HP5 Plus 400 is still the black and white film I reach for most often. I like it because it gives me a classic B&W look without feeling overly harsh, it handles a wide range of lighting, and it gives me the option to shoot at box speed or push the roll when I need more flexibility.

For this review, I shot HP5 Plus in both my Nikon F3 and Yashica-A. The examples below include film shot at ISO 400, pushed one stop to EI 800, and pushed two stops to EI 1600, so you can see how the look changes across different lighting conditions and formats.

Since my schedule at the time revolved around our Shih Tzu, Sushi, you’ll see a lot of her in the sample photos 🙂

Ilford HP5 Plus 400 at a glance

• Film type: Panchromatic black and white negative film
• Box speed: ISO 400
• Formats: 35mm, 120, and sheet film
• What I like it for: Everyday life, portraits, pets, mixed light, cloudy days, and low-light situations when I plan to push
• Push examples in this review: EI 800 and EI 1600
• Current price snapshot: Around $10 for a 36-exposure 35mm roll at B&H in September 2026; film prices change often

ILFORD’s own technical data describes HP5 Plus as a medium-contrast, wide-latitude film and supports meter settings up to EI 3200 when paired with extended development in compatible developers. That flexibility lines up with why I’ve liked it so much in actual use.

Why HP5 Plus is still my favorite black and white film

I usually shoot color, but when I want black and white, HP5 Plus is the film I come back to.

The biggest reason is flexibility. At box speed, it works well as a general-purpose ISO 400 film. If I know I’m going to be shooting in lower light, I can rate the whole roll at EI 800 or 1600 and have the lab push-process it accordingly.

I also like the way it renders the middle tones. In my own scans, HP5 usually feels less immediately punchy than Tri-X and gives me a little more room in the grays before the image jumps from bright highlight to deep shadow. That’s a look I especially like for portraits, everyday documentary photos, and scenes with a lot of soft natural light.

PROS

• ISO 400 is flexible enough for a lot of everyday shooting.
• Very push-friendly; ILFORD officially provides guidance through EI 3200 with extended development.
• Wide exposure latitude makes it forgiving when light isn’t perfectly controlled.
• Available in both 35mm and 120, which made it easy for me to compare it across my Nikon F3 and Yashica-A.
• Distinct grain without feeling too aggressive for the kind of photos I like to make.

CONS

• Pushing increases contrast and usually makes grain more noticeable, so the pushed look isn’t always what you want.
• If you specifically want a very punchy, gritty B&W look straight away, you may prefer something like Tri-X.
• Black and white processing is different from C-41 color processing, so make sure your lab actually handles traditional B&W film and accepts push instructions.

Ilford HP5 Plus 400 sample photos and features

Contrast and tonal range

One of the things I like most about HP5 Plus is how it handles the transition between highlights, midtones, and shadows.

In my scans, it tends to give me a medium-contrast look rather than immediately crushing the shadows or making the highlights feel harsh. Of course, the final contrast also depends on exposure, development, scanning, and editing, so I wouldn’t treat any film stock as having one fixed look.

Sample #1 — 35mm, pushed to EI 800

Sushi was sitting in a patch of window light while most of the room fell into shadow. What I like about this frame is that I still got visible detail in the darker parts of the room while the lit fur on her head held texture rather than turning into a featureless white patch.

This is the kind of scene that made me appreciate HP5. The light was contrasty, but the negative still gave me enough information in both ends of the frame to work with.

Sample #2 — 120, pushed to EI 1600

This was taken on a cloudy day with Melissa and Sushi on the bed, using the Yashica-A at f/3.2. There wasn’t much natural light in the room, so I rated the roll at EI 1600 and had it pushed two stops in development.

What stands out to me here is the tonal rendering on Melissa’s skin and the softer transitions through the darker parts of the frame. The pushed roll is definitely contrastier than box-speed HP5, but it still feels usable rather than falling apart in the low light.

Film speed

HP5 Plus is an ISO 400 film. At box speed, that makes it a practical choice for daylight, cloudy weather, and plenty of indoor situations where you have decent window light.

The real advantage for me is that I can decide before a roll whether I want to rate it higher and push it in development. A one-stop push means metering the roll at EI 800. Two stops means EI 1600. Three stops means EI 3200.

That doesn’t literally turn the emulsion into a different ISO film. You’re giving the film less exposure and then compensating during development. The tradeoff is usually more contrast and more visible grain, but the higher exposure index can let you use a faster shutter speed when the light is low.

For pet photography, EI 800 has been a sweet spot for me because it gives me a little more shutter-speed flexibility for Sushi without pushing the look as far as 1600.

Pushing Ilford HP5 Plus 400

If you’re new to pushing film, the simplest way to think about it is this: you meter the entire roll at a higher exposure index than box speed, then tell your lab how many stops you pushed it so they can adjust development.

For HP5 Plus:

• Box speed: ISO 400
• Push +1: meter at EI 800
• Push +2: meter at EI 1600
• Push +3: meter at EI 3200

ILFORD specifically publishes extended-development guidance for HP5 Plus at higher exposure indexes, including EI 3200 with several of its developers. If you’re developing at home, use the manufacturer’s development chart for the developer and EI you’re actually using rather than applying a generic extra-time or temperature rule.

If you’re using a lab, mark the push clearly on the roll/order. Labs handle push fees and limits differently, so check before mailing anything in.

One important thing: once I’ve committed to pushing a roll, I meter that whole roll at the same EI. I don’t shoot frame one at 400, frame two at 800, and frame three at 1600 and expect one push-processing instruction to compensate perfectly for all three.

What HP5 looks like at different exposure indexes

ISO 400 / box speed: the smoothest and most open-toned of the examples here, with the least added push contrast.

EI 800 / pushed +1: my favorite compromise for everyday low-light and pet photos. There’s more contrast and grain, but it still keeps the character I like about HP5.

EI 1600 / pushed +2: noticeably punchier and grainier, but useful when I need more shutter speed in genuinely dim conditions.

How I meter Ilford HP5 Plus 400

At box speed, I start at ISO 400 and generally avoid starving the shadows of light. In mixed or contrasty scenes, I’d rather give the negative a little more exposure than end up with thin, empty shadows.

When I’m pushing, I meter consistently at the EI I’ve chosen for that roll:

• +1 EI 800
• +2 → EI 1600
• +3 → EI 3200

The exact exposure still depends on the scene. I usually pay the most attention to the shadows and important midtones rather than blindly following a rule that every frame should be overexposed by a fixed amount.

Grain

HP5 has visible grain, and pushing makes that grain more obvious. I actually like that about it.

In the low-light frames, especially in the out-of-focus shadows, the grain becomes part of the photograph. In brighter scenes it can look much more restrained.

This frame is a good example of the grain becoming more noticeable in the darker, out-of-focus background while the brighter detail on Sushi’s face feels cleaner.

And in bright daylight, the grain is much less distracting. This is one reason I wouldn’t describe HP5’s grain with one universal adjective. Exposure, push processing, format, developer, and scan all affect how prominent it looks.

Compared with the Tri-X 400 and Fomapan 400 rolls I’ve personally shot, HP5 gives me the balance I prefer. That’s a personal preference based on my own negatives, not a claim that it is objectively finer or better in every developer and workflow.

Alternative black and white films to consider

Kodak Tri-X 400

Tri-X 400 is the alternative I’d look at if you want a classic 400-speed black and white film with a punchier look. In the rolls I’ve shot, Tri-X felt more contrasty and gritty than HP5, which can be exactly what you want depending on the subject.

Like HP5, it’s also commonly pushed. If you’re deciding between the two, I’d choose based more on the look you want than on a simple “better vs worse” ranking.

Fomapan 400

Fomapan 400 is another film I’ve used when I wanted an inexpensive way to shoot traditional black and white. My experience pushing it hasn’t been as consistent as HP5 or Tri-X, so I’d start at box speed if you’re trying it for the first time and experiment from there.

Where to develop HP5 Plus

Traditional HP5 Plus needs standard black and white processing, not C-41 processing.

If you’re new to film, using a good lab is the easiest way to get started. If you’re pushing the roll, tell the lab the EI you shot it at or how many stops you pushed it before they process it.

A few labs from the original article are still operating and accept mail-in film:

• The Shot on Film Store / Seattle Film Lab in Seattle
• The Darkroom in San Clemente, California
• Blue Moon Camera & Machine in Portland

Lab pricing changes often, so rather than hard-coding old 2021 prices into this guide, check the current develop-and-scan rate (and any push fees) before mailing your film in.

If you develop at home, use ILFORD’s current HP5 Plus processing chart for your specific developer and exposure index.

Where to buy HP5 Plus

HP5 Plus is still widely available. For a reference point, B&H listed a single 35mm 36-exposure roll at about $9.99 when this article was refreshed in September 2026.

Places I usually check include:

• Amazon
• Freestyle Photographic Supply
• Adorama
• B&H Photo
• The Shot on Film Store

Who is Ilford HP5 Plus for?

HP5 Plus is still the black and white film I’d recommend first to someone who wants one stock they can learn deeply.

At ISO 400, it’s easy to use as an everyday film. Once you know how it behaves, you can start experimenting at EI 800 or 1600 and see how your developer or lab changes the look. That’s what makes it fun: the same film can feel fairly open and gentle at box speed or become much more contrasty and grainy when pushed.

For me, it’s close to the ideal all-around black and white stock because it fits the way I shoot: everyday life, window light, cloudy PNW days, and a lot of photos of a dog who rarely stayed still.

If you want something punchier, I’d look at Tri-X. If you want to compare what I’ve been shooting on the color side, see our refreshed reviews of Kodak Gold 200, Kodak ColorPlus 200, and Kodak Ultramax 400.

But when I feel like loading black and white film, HP5 is still the roll I reach for first.