Ilford Delta 100 is a black and white sheet film in 10.2×12.7 cm (4×5 inch), 25 sheets to the box, ISO 100. Delta is Ilford's flagship line, built on their Core-Shell crystal technology.
How the picture looks
This is among the sharpest black and white films money can buy. The supplier puts it plainly: in sharpness and resolution Delta 100 beats Pan F+ (which has slightly finer grain), and in edge definition it surpasses Kodak T-Max 100 and Fujifilm Acros II in many developers. Against classic cubic-grain films — FP4+, Kentmere 100, Fomapan 100 — it wins on all three counts at once: sharpness, resolution and fineness of grain.
What to shoot on it
Landscape, architecture, studio, product and technical work — anything printed large or scanned at the limit. In large format Delta 100 completes the chain: a big negative plus the most detailed emulsion available.
How to shoot it
Meter at the nominal ISO 100; the film behaves honestly. Sheet film is loaded into holders (double-sided, two sheets each) in complete darkness — you need a darkroom or a roomy changing bag. One sheet is one frame, and that changes how you shoot: exposure is worked out in advance, composition is built on the ground glass, and every frame costs time. The box holds 25 sheets — roughly €4.69 a frame.
Processing and scanning
A particular strength of Delta 100 is that its characteristic curve responds to the developer you choose. Ilford DD-X, Kodak Xtol or Tetenal Ultrafin T-Plus give a very linear curve — an even ramp from shadows to highlights with nothing clipped, ideal for scanning. Other developers let you raise or tame contrast for a given subject. Sheets are developed in trays, in a tank with hangers, or in a rotary processor.
How it compares
FP4+ at a similar speed costs less and holds more shadow detail, but gives up noticeable sharpness. T-Max 100 is its direct rival in the same class — the difference is character, not quality. If you want maximum detail on the sheet, take Delta; if you want soft tonal modelling, take a classic.
