Tmax+Leica, my new love!

[totifoto]

I´m in love and I´m not talking about my amazing girlfriend 😱

I just got my first M camera few weeks ago and have been shooting a lot of rolls since and I´m loving every click. This is THE camera that has been missing in my life. I could go on and on about how amazing it is to shoot Leica but you all know already, right ? 😉

But my Leica is just my first love of this year. My second love is the TMAX film. I have always shot Tri-x and souped it in Xtol and liked the result. Sometimes a bit too grainy but that grain showed more on my scans then my prints. I love the prints I get from Tri-x.
I ordered 10 rolls of Tmax last time I ordered films just to give it a try. I had shot one roll of it on my Hasselblad and was amazed how sharp it was. So far I have but 2 rolls through my Leica and the 50mm ZM lens I have on it and I´m wowing over every image 🙄 It is very sharp, low grain and the tones are what I´ve been looking for. I souped it in xtol 1:1 just like I do with the Tri-x.

I was getting very comfty with the Tri-x, shooting it @250, 800 and 1600 and getting good result. But I still have all that left with the Tmax.

Any of you shooting the tmax in xtol and pushing and pulling?

Here are some result from my first 2 rolls. It is so fantastic to scan, a lot better that scanning tri-x. I use Canoscan 8800F flatbed.

 

[anoldsock]

I've been using Tri-X myself, but I think I may give the TMax a go. I love the contrast here, great shots!

 

[charjohncarter]

I don't know if you have tried Tmax100. It is slow but it turns a Leica into a Rolleiflex 6x6. I use it with HC-110h and it is really smooth and creamy. Some say that the sharpness suffers with this developer and that may be true by for me the look is what I like plus: no grain.

 

[helen.HH]

LOVELY....Atmospheric & Moody
so a planar on which M body ?
Wonderful results!
I will try tmax...looks Great

All the Best-h

 

[totifoto]

I've been using Tri-X myself, but I think I may give the TMax a go. I love the contrast here, great shots!

Thanx.

I added +10 contrast in PS and some levels adjustment.

I don't know if you have tried Tmax100

Not yet. I usually shoot low light but I´ll try the 100 in the summer on the bright days 😉

so a planar on which M body ?

I got the black M6 "classic", made in 1988.

 

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

Tmax 400 is nice. I used it for years then took it back up when they redesigned it as the new TMY-2.

 

[marknyc]

Tri-X fan here and gave TMax a good run but did not really like it. Trying Delta now, which is still a tab film but lots like it and it does scan well.

 

[maddoc]

Tmax (400) was my favorite BW film when I got my first Leica (and for the Hassy). Then I switched to Tri-X (and some other films) and guess what, I just bought one roll of the new Tmax400 to shoot it in my M2 again. 😀 Keen to see the results !

The first in your series is great !!

Cheers,

Gabor

 

[charjohncarter]

I use TriX and Tmax400 new, but to me the Tmax I like is the 100. I shoot it at 50 and either use Rodinal or HC-110h (these are 35mm):

Rodinal

HC-110 (9stops)

 

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

John,

I second the recommendation of Tmax 100 in Rodinal 1+50, I used it for many, many years as my main film for medium format work. I still do sometimes but use Acros a lot more because I have been doing a lot of lower light stuff and Acros has less reciprocity failure than Tmax. Tmax is very beautiful film though in both the 100 and 400 and also the 3200. I use the 3200 A LOT.

 

[wintoid]

TMY2 is my current favourite, souped in D76 1:1. The film seems to keep its character despite whatever developer is used. The only concern is keeping the grain down (which is easy). I don't generally like to see T-grain, but when TMY2 is so smooth it's not a problem 😀

 

[totifoto]

John,

I second the recommendation of Tmax 100 in Rodinal 1+50,

What about Tmax 400 in Rodinal? Ever tried that? How is Rodinal for pushing? I really wanna try that developer but so far I´ve been happy with my xtol.

 

[charjohncarter]

I've used Tmax400 (new) in Rodinal, it works just as well as it does with Tmax100. I've tried a couple of different techniques and they both have been excellent (for me).

Here is one from my Konica C35 (Leica backup) in Puerto Vallarta last week:

 

[Trius]

TMY-2 is a wonder; I never thought I would consider any film other than TX. My first roll in Rodinal 1:100 was revelatory; I immediately sent an email to Mary Jane Hellyar, President of film division at Kodak.

Olympus 35SP TMY-2 Rodinal 1:100

 

[jmcd]

totifoto,

Gorgeous tones and quality on your example photos in Xtol. Great photos, also.

 

[jmcd]

totofoto,

You mentioned you were shooting Tri-x at 250, 800 and 1600. What are you doing with the TMax?

 

[40oz]

I pretty much only use Tri-X right now, but I used a lot of Tmax 400 before I got the Tri-X. I really liked the Tmax though.

I used it in D-76 and Ilfosol, and pushed a few times and was realy happy. I never pulled it, but it looked good even pushed to 3200.

I'd be just as happy using either film. They're not the same, but it's all good.

 

[photorat]

Strange you find TMY-2 scans better than Tri-X. My experience is the other way around. TMAX undoubtedly has a finer grain and is probably sharper. But subjects in Tri-X just seem to leap at you from the light table and the contrast is always spot on when scanning. TX requires very little digital tweaking, which is why I've stuck with it over the new generation TMAX.

Having said that, the difference is minimal and you certainly seem to have gotten good contrast from your TMAX. Above all, enjoy the adventure and learn as you go along!

 

[TheHub]

Doesn't anyone use TMAX developer?

It's expensive, but I've found it makes TMAX even smoother.

 

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

Doesn't anyone use TMAX developer?

It's expensive, but I've found it makes TMAX even smoother.

I prefer Tmax Deveoper for Tmax 3200. I have not tried it for TMY-2. I used to use Tmax 1+7 for the original Tmax 400 with gorgeous results, but when Kodak reformulated the Tmax films several years ago when they built a new coating plant, Tmax 400 got really grainy compared to how it had been, and Tmax Developer accentuated that graininess. The new TMY-2 that we have now is an even newer formulation that is more like the original Tmax 400. I should try it sometime in Tmax developer. I've been using D-76 1+1 now.