Development

Ilford Delta 3200 (3200 ISO)	Ilford Perceptol
Format:	35mm
Shot at:	3200 ISO
Developer dilution:	Stock
Development time:	20 minutes
Temperature:	20°C (not constant)
Agitation:	10 inversions, then 5 inversions every minute

No experimentation on my part for the development, I simply followed Ilford’s recommendations.

A fine-grain developer

According to the film’s datasheet, Ilford states that Perceptol is the powder developer that delivers the finest grain with Delta 3200.

The benefit of reducing grain

Higher-sensitivity emulsions are generally the ones that produce the most noticeable grain.

Since the 35mm format tends to emphasize grain, it makes sense to try to limit it by using a fine-grain developer.

There is, of course, no political message here.

The grain is visible even without enlargement, but it remains soft and not overwhelming.

You’ll notice the smooth transition between dense and transparent areas.

A certain softness

What stands out is the relatively soft, perhaps even dreamy quality of the images, whereas other developers with the same film tend to produce more “aggressive” or even harsh results.

The base rendering is low in contrast, but this is easy to adjust in post-processing.

Interesting results

In conclusion, I’m satisfied with the images obtained. The grain is not intrusive at all, and the overall rendering is quite appealing.

However, I do regret that it’s not possible to push the development to 6400 ISO, which would have been ideal for handheld night photography.