Kodak T-Max 400 Black-and-White Film - Press Release

[Photo-John]

My favorite black and white films are Plus-X and the Ilford equivalent. I never liked T-Max because, like other mentioned, it looked muddy to me. But I've been told that it is a very finnicky film to process and that may be why some of us don't like it. Maybe we never got the processing right or had it done at the wrong labs. Anyway, I think it's cool that a new black-and-white emulsion has been introdude and that Kodak is affirming their commitment to black-and-white.

[reverberation]

T-Max is my favorite B&W film. I develop it with dektol. I never used those dial thermometers and used a mercury based thermometer (way harder to read) to check my temps. Fixer is crucial with this film. I have some old T-Max negs that I recieved recently that have yellow bands. These negatives were subjected to extreme heat, and taken out of their sleeves. When processing T-Max rolls I had thought that I always used fresh chemicals but perhaps I used old fixer on some.

I used plus -x and tri-x as film meant for alternative processing. The large grain in these films is perfect for recticulation, as well as other effects. I bulk loaded them and there is no doubt this led to my willingness to risk ruining some rolls. I ruined plenty of them. You can over or under expose rolls and then develop them with alterred processes and get dramatic results. They can deliver results like ortho film. A drastic black and white graphic image is the result. Plus-X and Tri-X are films you can play with.

T-Max is a film that requires you to learn how to develop and fix it and then (after you have ruined a couple of rolls) you can only get good results from a narrow band of exposure. It is a film that is more aperture sensitive than other films. I thought it was the worst film I had ever encountered. My personality is bullish and confrontational, so I just bought T-Max and went through alot of rolls. I don't know how many I threw out, but I honed in on the shots that worked. I recorded the aperture and shutter speed. This is important with film, as some films require specific conditions to record light optimally. I started using Dektol with T-max and stayed with the same fixer. I don't remember my temps and times as I had that info on notebooks and only recieved a shoebox full of negatives. T-Max delivers an image that is unrivaled.