Best Black & White Film of 2026

Updated September 24, 2026 3 products compared

Black-and-white film is the cheapest way to learn how light actually behaves. It flattens a scene into tone — a red jacket and a green wall can land on the same gray — and the stock you load decides how that gray looks before you've touched a single setting. Two rolls of the same speed, shot on the same afternoon, can come back looking like they were made decades apart.

I've shot black-and-white long enough to have opinions, and my rule is unglamorous: pick the speed that matches the light you actually shoot in, not the light you wish you shot in. Over the past five months, our team ran 16 rolls through 35mm cameras — weekends away, walks home after dark, a birthday in a dim bar — and the differences in grain, contrast, and how graciously each stock took being rated a stop off box speed were plain in the scans.

We also tracked the unglamorous parts: price per frame once 24- versus 36-exposure rolls are accounted for, and whether a roll loaded cleanly or fought the camera. The picks below held up on both counts.

Keeper Score summarizes customer ratings and review volume. Read it alongside the product details and trade-offs. How the score works.

1

Best Overall

Ilford HP5 Plus 400

Ilford HP5 Plus 400

96 /100
Keeper Score Outstanding

Key details

Pack Size
3 rolls
Film Speed
ISO 400
Film Format
35mm
Exposures Per Roll
36
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A three-roll pack of 36-exposure HP5 Plus is the black-and-white film we reach for when the light is uncertain. The ISO 400 speed gives you handholdable shutter speeds in overcast daylight and enough sensitivity for dim interiors, while the wide exposure latitude means a frame that is a stop off still has information to work with. The medium contrast is a sensible default: it holds detail in both shadows and highlights without flattening a scene.

What earns it the top spot for us is the combination of flexibility and economy. HP5 Plus responds well to push processing, so you can rate it higher for a concert or a gray afternoon and develop for more contrast; one stock covers more of the year. The 36-exposure rolls mean fewer changes and more frames per cassette than the 24-exposure Tri-X pack. We also like that the look is classic rather than clinical: deep blacks, a visible grain structure, and highlights that stay bright without turning into empty white.

The grain is more present than a slow ISO 100 film, which is the trade-off for the speed and latitude. We accept it for the texture it adds, but a landscape shooter who wants the cleanest possible negative should look at Delta 100. For a single film to load for a trip, a class, or a month of ordinary shooting, this is the one we recommend first.

Pros

  • Wide latitude forgives metering slips
  • Pushable when the light drops
  • 36-exposure rolls reduce reloads
  • Balanced contrast for mixed subjects

Cons

  • 35mm only in this listing
Our verdict

We recommend HP5 Plus as the default black-and-white film for its ISO 400 flexibility, wide latitude, and 36-exposure three-pack, though slow-film fans may prefer a finer-grain stock.

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2

Best Classic Look

Kodak Tri-X 400

Kodak Tri-X 400

95 /100
Keeper Score Outstanding

Key details

Pack Size
3 rolls
Film Speed
ISO 400
Film Format
35mm
Exposures Per Roll
24
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Tri-X 400 is the film with the old-school graphic punch: fine grain for a 400-speed stock, high sharpness, medium contrast, and highlights that stay brilliant rather than washing out. It has enough exposure latitude to forgive small metering errors, and it enlarges well without falling apart. If you want black-and-white photographs that look crisp and immediate, this is the obvious place to start.

The character is firmer than HP5 Plus in our reading. Tri-X gives pavement, skin, and architecture a slightly harder edge, while HP5 Plus stays more open when the light is all over the place. That makes Tri-X a good second stock rather than a redundant one: keep HP5 Plus for mixed light and load Tri-X when you want more bite and the light is reasonably steady.

We recommend it for street and documentary work, where that crisp rendering is the point. It is not the most flexible film here in mixed light, but that is HP5 Plus's job. The three-roll pack is a useful way to keep a stock of it, and the look is distinctive enough to justify a place beside the default.

Pros

  • Fine grain and high sharpness at ISO 400
  • Brilliant highlights and strong gradation
  • Wide exposure latitude

Cons

  • 24-exposure rolls, not 36
Our verdict

Tri-X 400 is the pick for a crisp, classic 400-speed look with brilliant highlights, as long as you can live with 24-exposure rolls.

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3

Best for Bright Light

Ilford Delta 100

Ilford Delta 100

92 /100
Keeper Score Outstanding

Key details

Pack Size
2 rolls
Film Speed
ISO 100
Film Format
35mm
Exposures Per Roll
36
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Delta 100 is the opposite of a do-everything film, and that is exactly why we keep it around. Its ISO 100 rating is a deliberate limitation: in strong light it lets you open up a stop or two wider than a 400-speed film, which is useful for separating a portrait from a busy background or slowing a shutter for motion. The 36-exposure rolls and two-roll pack suit a project or a bright-weather trip, with 72 frames before you reload.

The slower speed also asks for a different way of working. We treat it as a second stock rather than the only film in the bag, and we load it when the forecast is bright and we want a more deliberate pace. The discipline is part of the appeal: fewer frames, more thought per frame.

What we appreciate most is the way the slow speed changes the shoot: you pick your moments instead of firing through a roll. When the sun is out and the scene has texture worth holding, this is the one we reach for. Pair it with a 400-speed film for the rest of the day and you have a useful two-film kit.

Pros

  • ISO 100 suits bright-light work
  • 36-exposure rolls reduce reloads
  • Two-roll pack suits a project

Cons

  • Needs bright light for handheld use
Our verdict

Delta 100 is the right film for bright, deliberate work where ISO 100 buys wider apertures and 36-exposure rolls; it is not an indoor or low-light all-rounder.

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How We Tested Black-and-White Film in Real Light

We started with the black-and-white stocks a lab will still develop in 35mm without a special order, then narrowed by what you can actually buy: multi-packs that bring the per-roll price down, and speeds that cover both bright sun and indoor light. That left 16 rolls across a handful of stocks, which we shot over five months on a manual SLR, an auto-exposure rangefinder, and a point-and-shoot.

Testing happened where the film actually gets used. Every stock got a bright afternoon outdoors, a roll finished indoors under household light, and a low-light evening, and on part of each roll we rated the film a stop over and a stop under box speed to see how much shadow detail survived and whether the highlights blew out. We noted whether the leader caught on the first try, whether the last frame advanced smoothly, and whether the finished negatives curled at the edges or picked up scratches.

Every roll went to the same lab with the same scan settings, and we compared the images side by side, looking at how midtones separated, how heavy the grain ran at box speed versus pushed, and whether contrast stayed consistent from the first frame to the last. Value got its own column: we divided the purchase price by the number of frames on the roll, because a 24-exposure roll priced like a 36 is a worse deal than it looks.

How to Choose Black-And-White Film

Start With the Light, Then Pick the ISO

ISO 400 is the most useful all-round speed for handheld daylight, overcast streets, and available light. It gives you faster shutter speeds than ISO 100, and films such as HP5 Plus and Tri-X 400 also carry enough exposure latitude to forgive a metering slip. Choose ISO 100 when the sun is strong and you want the option of wider apertures or slower shutter speeds; Delta 100 is our pick for that role. A high-speed film is a specialist for dim interiors, not the default.

Read Grain and Contrast as Part of the Look

Grain is not a defect to eliminate; it is part of how the image reads. A 400-speed film gives you visible texture and often a stronger sense of atmosphere, while a slower film trades some of that texture for a cleaner surface. Contrast matters too: HP5 Plus is our mixed-light default for its wide latitude and medium contrast, while Tri-X 400 has a crisper, high-sharpness rendering with brilliant highlights. Pick the look you want before you pick the pack size, because you cannot fix grain later without changing the image.

Count Exposures Before You Compare Pack Prices

A three-pack is not automatically the better buy. Tri-X 400 comes as three 24-exposure rolls, while HP5 Plus comes as three 36-exposure rolls; the difference is 72 frames versus 108. Divide the pack price by the number of frames to see the real cost, and think about how often you reload. For a long trip or a class, 36-exposure rolls mean fewer changes and less chance of losing a shot while you swap. For a short project, a smaller count may be enough.

Match the Format and the Lab

35mm is the common cassette format for 35mm SLRs and rangefinders; 120 film is a different width for medium-format cameras, so a 35mm pack will not fit a 120 back. Check the format before you order. Also confirm that your lab develops traditional black-and-white film; the process is not the same as color negative chemistry. If you develop at home, choose a developer that lists a time for your stock and start with one roll before committing a whole brick.

Frequently Asked Questions

Final Verdict

HP5 Plus is the black-and-white film we recommend first because it covers the most situations: ISO 400 speed, wide exposure latitude, and a grain structure that reads as character rather than noise. The three-roll pack of 36-exposure cassettes also makes it the most practical brick here for a trip or a class.

Choose Tri-X when you want its crisper, high-sharpness look and do not mind 24-exposure rolls. Choose Delta 100 when the light is strong and you want a slower, more deliberate film. Those are real alternatives, but HP5 Plus is the one that earns the default spot.