When moveed from Tri-X to T-Max, I had lousy results--thin negatives, mostly, but even those of normal density lacked anything close to character/presence of Tri-X. Local shop suggested D76 developer instead of TMax. Great results, much finer gradations, tonality, etc. expected from 4x5

-- Jeff Siddens (jeff.siddens@mdconsult.com), November 04, 1997

Answers

Response to TMax developer with TMax 400

... so the moral is, if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

I personally use and like TMY and Delta100. But these are very different to the "older" B&W films. By all means experiment with new films, but don't feel you *have* to use them. Many other photographers don't like them.

T-grain films are less forgiving than the older sort, especially for under-exposure, but also for under-development.

-- Alan Gibson (gibson.al@mail.dec.com), November 04, 1997.

Response to TMax developer with TMax 400

I have had good success with TMax 400, 5x7, developed in Ilford ID11(D76 equivalent) at 1:3. It looks very good. When switching from Tri-X, don't expect the negs to look the same. Also don't expect the development to act the same. TMax films react very quickly to small development changes. That is in time, temp and agitation. If you use a jobo or rotary processor you will get repeatability and very clean results. The stuff really likes sloshing around in the chemistry, but not if the times and temps aren't very, very consistent. Sloppy processing with this film means lousy results(at least in comparison to careful and very consistent processing). It is a pro film. Don't go crazy or get neurotic over a second or two, but keep everything consistent and you will get really nice results. I also use TMax 100 and find it excellent. In big part due to its reciprocity characteristics. Get exposures of 10-20 seconds or so & it becomes one of the fastest films on the market. Very sharp, good contrast and good tonal separation in the middle & low areas. You will have so much info in your negatives you might be surprised. Good luck

-- dan smith (shooter@brigham.net), November 05, 1997.