I disagree with Peter's last post.(posted 8837 days ago)1. TMax films seem more "jumpy" to me and many others, that is they lack a smooth tonal scale. This is caused by their high micro- contrast. There is, however, no question that they provide a finer grain pattern.
2. TMax films require greater development care. The provide a bigger density change than traditional emulsions for a given change in development time (as a % of normal).Not only is this clearly documented in the magazine articles over the past decade, Kodak claims it was a design goal. In any case, the shape of the T-grain easily explains this phenomenon.
My point is that is faster and easier for a student just learning photographic processes to start getting decent results with the traditional film. The sooner this happens, the greater the chances of continuing their photographic endeavors.