Ilford Delta 400 Film Review

Here is our Ilford Delta 400 Film Review. We shot a roll on our Yashica T4. So, have a look at our film test and see what you think.

Delta is Ilford’s range of T-Grain films, which give finer and more even grain when compared to classic emulsions like HP5 and FP4. We really liked the smooth, even tones when we shot some 120 back in 2019 and wanted to try it out in 35mm. So, we put a roll of Ilford Delta 400 35mm in our Yashica T4 and took it out around Peckham in South London.

As mentioned in our review of the medium format of this film, it has impressively sharp detail and very minimal grain. This is consistent in 35mm version. All the images have a very smooth look. This is down to the more even distribution of the film grain.

This film has captures the shadows, mid-tones and highlights equally well. And, does a good job of capturing subtle differences in tone. Despite it being a bright sunny day, there is no loss of detail in the highlights or shadows.

We mentioned in our previous review that Delta doesn’t have as much leeway for over or underexposure as traditional emulsions. As this roll was shot on a point and shoot, we didn’t have any control over the metering, but all the frames came out well exposed. If you’re shooting with a manual meter you might need to be more precise than usual.

Overall, we were impressed with the amount of detail and smooth tones we got for our Ilford Delta 400 Film Review. We would recommend this film if you want that extra amount of detail and gradation of greys. If you are going for a more gritty black and white look though, you might find Delta 400 to be too smooth.

Film: Ilford Delta 400
Format: 35mm
Rated at: 400 ISO
Shot on: Yashica T4
Location: Peckham, South London
Developed: Home developed in CineStill DF96 Monobath

We review the most popular films in the shop, as well as some new and lesser-known ones to see how they compare. Have a look at the full list of our Film Reviews.

Explore

News • Guides • Community • Film Reviews • Film Developing Times • Choose Your Film