T-Max 400... boy was I wrong

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AshenLight

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My son bought me a couple of rolls of T-Max 400 for Christmas last year. He only knew I'd want 400 speed B&W and this was probably all the store carried. In any case, it sat unused for 9 months until the other day when I needed a test roll for a new (to me) camera. I don't know where I acquired my negative opinion of T-Max films, but I picked up a bottle of T-Max developer and processed the roll last night. All I can say is "WOW!"... The tonal scale is great and on the light table with a loupe, the grain seems almost non-existant. It won't replace Tri-X in my affections, but I'll certainly be using it in addition to Tri-X from now on. I'm sure its been discussed here before, but how does T-Max do in other developers like Rodinal or Unitol?

Ash
 
I don't know if your son got you the new stuff, but T-Max changed formulas recently. The newer version was supposed to be much less finicky and better. But it is no surprise that you got much finer grain with Tmax and Tmax developer than you did with Trix and Rodinal! Rodinal is geared towards grain and sharpness, while tmax developer is geared towards tonality and lack of grain. If you want to cut down on the grain with Trix, try microphen or perceptol.
 
StuartR said:
I don't know if your son got you the new stuff, but T-Max changed formulas recently. The newer version was supposed to be much less finicky and better. But it is no surprise that you got much finer grain with Tmax and Tmax developer than you did with Trix and Rodinal! Rodinal is geared towards grain and sharpness, while tmax developer is geared towards tonality and lack of grain. If you want to cut down on the grain with Trix, try microphen or perceptol.
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Tri-X and Rodinal or Unitol have been my film/developer combination for years. As much as I like to keep the number of films and developers I use to a minimum, I was impressed enough to start stocking both T-Max 400 and T-Max developer. I was curious about T-Max in Rodinal but I think I'd stick with an "all T-Max program".
 
Two revelatory Tmax experiences in one day (see my other thread) - there must be something going on! The grain is incredibly fine when you use Tmax developer - not dramatically worse than the couple of rolls of Fuji Acros I tried a while back to me, which is not bad, and the negs seem to scan better and attract less dust than Acros too.
 
Repeated here

Repeated here

John Sexton and Sandy King really like the new improved Tmax 400 in D-76 diluted 1:1.

From memory, I think Sexton's formula is EI 250 and 7:30 at 68° F. Sandy King found that EI 400 and 10:30 minutes at 68° F worked best for him. A friend and fellow RFF member likes Tmax in Diafine and using Part B at 1:1.

As soon as I exhaust my stock of 4x5 HP5+, I'll get a box of the new Tmax 400. I have D-76, Xtol, Microdol-X, Rodinal and Diafine on hand. This will be fun!
 
Steveh said:
Two revelatory Tmax experiences in one day (see my other thread) - there must be something going on! The grain is incredibly fine when you use Tmax developer - not dramatically worse than the couple of rolls of Fuji Acros I tried a while back to me, which is not bad, and the negs seem to scan better and attract less dust than Acros too.
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I too have found that acros attracts an incredible amount of dust, making it near - impossible to get a good scan. What's up with that? Results I had were good apart from the dust issue.
 
alien8 said:
I too have found that acros attracts an incredible amount of dust, making it near - impossible to get a good scan. What's up with that? Results I had were good apart from the dust issue.
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I assume you don't have dust issues w/ other films, but it may be your work space. I dev. Acros at home and have no dust issues.

About the new t-max: I like it! It's a little expensive, but it's a good alternative when you need speed and fine grain. Here's the new Tmax 400, dev. in hc-110, from my first roll:

2687794714_7b70d91721_o.jpg
 
jja said:
I assume you don't have dust issues w/ other films, but it may be your work space. I dev. Acros at home and have no dust issues.
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Not nearly as many issues with tri-x as I have had with acros.... although I do want to get my workspace/process less friendly to dust. Where does one procure distilled water?
 
I use tap water for the whole developing process.

Visiondrawn, good to see that the new Tmax works well with Rodinal. And isn't that Elmar-M something? Really easy to live with.
 
I'm looking for some assistance in developing the older version Tmax (expired 2001)
I have D-76, Rodinal and HC-110 and don't have a problem using any of them...
I'm shooting with a Mamiya 645 or Yashicamat 124
I've been using Neopan 400, developing it in D-76 1:1 and like the results I'm getting with this combo...
I have 40 rolls of this Tmax in the fridge so I can experiment a bit...looking for some suggestions on a good place to start...
 
Yes, I was surprised too. But I don't find Rodinal even in 35mm that bad. The above photos are 35mm and here is another 1+100, also 35mm, and this is Tmax100 but the new Tmax400 is very close to Tmax100 as far as grain is concerned:

2351372668_c69b683787.jpg
 
Ah Rodinal! Nice!! Keep em coming. I get a fair bit of nice grain, which i like, with 35mm Tri-X and Rodinal in normal development. I especially like it for certain subjects pushed to 1600. Never tried the Tmax film though.

That last example doesn't look like a stand or semi-stand development example as there is a fair bit of contrast and fairly deep shadows. I assume it was normal agitated development? What times did you use?
 
I didn't like the old Tmax. I tried it out in HC110 and it wasn't pretty. But the new Tmax is fantastic. I take it to the pro lab and they do a fantastic job with it. I just shot some stuff with it tonight and have to take it in to get developed tomorrow.
 
I'm using the new TMax now. I don't like the grain, but I almost never see the grain. I do like the tonality. I'm a home developer + scanner, and I almost never have to tweak the tones any more. I still revert to a traditional film for pushing though.
 
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