All,

When I first started lurking the list, there was a discussion about TMax films. Someone said that they were able to pick out prints made from TMax negatives and that 'so will you when you know what to look for'. What exactly should I look for?

Also, I have noticed that TMax negatives are a little less contrasty than normal old-grain negatives. I'm sure it would require a higher grade paper/filter for printing. Is this right? Am I doing something wrong?

Thanks in advance,

-- Johnny Motown (johnny.motown@att.net), June 07, 2001

Answers

I tend to think of T-Max 400 as pretty contrasty stuff. In fact, I prefer to use it in situations where I want to boost contrast, and I tend to avoid using it in full sun. I think it's a much maligned film that has some wonderful qualities. For one, I can get a true EI of 400 out of it with PMK.

I don't use T-Max 100 very much, so I won't comment on it.

-- Ed Buffaloe (edb@unblinkingeye.com), June 07, 2001.

If you wan't more contrast just increase development time.

-- Tim Brown (brownt@flash.net), June 07, 2001.

Johnny, somebody on this forum suggested TMX 100 [at an EI of 75] in Rodinal 1:100, "20 minutes at 70 degrees with constant agitation for the first 2-minutes and then 5-seconds of gentle agitation once a minute after that." I tried that with TMX and Neopan 400 with excellent results. Nice crisp, sparkling negatives with great detail, etc...

chris

-- Christian Harkness (chris.harkness@eudoramail.com), June 08, 2001.

I may have said something similar, or at least I believe the statement. TMax 400 looks pretty normal to me and I couldn't pick it out of a crowd. TMax 100, OTOH, has a unique tonal signature in common developers. A smooth appearance, with visual sharpness less than what you'd expect from the lack of grain. Highlights tend to lack separation of values. I got much better results using Rodinal, but the increase in grain gave the combination no real advantage over similar speed conventional films. Remember, all this is MHO, and you have to match the film to what you're trying to accomplish. If the look of TMax and Rodinal was what I thought I needed for a particular shot, that's what I'd use. I don't find TMax films any less contrasty than conventional, in fact keeping the contrast under control is the more common problem.

-- Conrad Hoffman (choffman@rpa.net), June 08, 2001.

Thank you all for your answers. I will definitely try it out more and see if I really like it! Right now, I'm concentrating on using Tri-X and learning that particular film.

-- Johnny Motown (johnny.motown@att.net), June 11, 2001.