Foggy T-Max film what to do with it

[mllanos1111]

I was given about 30+ rolls of T-Max 400 and 100 from a friend.
I shot a couple of rolls to see how it was and processed it in Rodinol.
The look to be foggy and now I'm wondering if they are usable in any way.
If they are not I may just have to toss them.
Would another developer work better at keeping the fog down or am I wasting my time.

 

[charjohncarter]

HC-110 is supposed to be good for reducing fog. I found this roll in a 127 Kodak camera and used HC-110. This was exposed fifty years earlier.

 

[Noll]

just in case you didn't, make sure your fixer is fresh...

 

[charjohncarter]

just in case you didn't, make sure your fixer is fresh...

Excellent point!

 

[adam satushek]

Could just shoot it when its foggy out...may add some nice character

 

[semilog]

Down-rate by a stop and cut development by 10%.

 

[alienmeatsack]

I like to do experiments with fogged films. I'll do multiple exposures, long exposures well past the proper time required, test cameras I buy, use the fog as part of the experience and so forth.

If it's not super bad, you should be able to work around it and maybe adjust some post development. Worst case, you use it for test rolls and playing, which is still not bad.

 

[RandyB]

I also have many rolls of tmax 400 that is very out of date and foggy. I just print thur the fog by upping the contrast filtration to pc 3-3 1/2 when I print the negs. I don't use the foggy film for anything serious. I use it mainly for tests, (shutter, focus).

 

[jammcat]

If it was given to you, and you're developing at home then just have fun with it.
Free film-- even if fogged-- is still free film.

I just recently shot a couple of rolls of the temperamental original TMY400 that were improperly kept (expired in 1995). The results were usable and fun for image making-- just not for anything that requires clinical precision.

 

[mllanos1111]

Those are all very good ideas. I guess I wasn't really thinking out of the box.
I could just shoot it and have fun with it. I'll try another roll and see if I can get past the fog.
I suppose I could shoot some moody shots with it.

 

[mllanos1111]

Its interesting to me that these rolls are so fogged up. I have about 6 rolls left of a 24 pack of Panatomic-X that expired in 1988 that I have been shooting and it's perfect.
No fogging and it looks wonderful when processed.

 

[Dwig]

Its interesting to me that these rolls are so fogged up. I have about 6 rolls left of a 24 pack of Panatomic-X that expired in 1988 that I have been shooting and it's perfect.
No fogging and it looks wonderful when processed.

Faster films fog easier. After all, they are more sensitive to exposure, whether light or heat.

 

[_goodtimez]

For sure !

For sure !

just in case you didn't, make sure your fixer is fresh...

I second this opinion big time. You may even try to wash the film one more time in fresh fixer. I did this once and it worked for me.

 

[kyonthinh]

I use TMY expired in 1993 with no fogging, strange...
Try to expose it a stop faster, and if it still has, don't toss it and let me do the job. 😉

 

[Pirate]

Zombie shots!!!

 

[JPSuisse]

Ok, this is only kind of off topic...

But what causes fog on these faster films? Could that give an indication on how to work around it? And what does fixer have to do with this??

 

[Mark C]

I think the fixer comments were just to make sure that the op wasn't seeing the cloudiness of underfixed film and thinking it was base fog. TMax is a bit harder on fixer, so not an unreasonable concern.

 

[mllanos1111]

I always use fresh fixer, but thats a thought maybe I should give longer time in the fixer.
I think 7 minutes is what I was using.

 

[Tijmendal]

I've had some issues with fogged T-Max films, but it turned out I just didn't wash the film well enough. There's a ton of purple dye in the T-Max films that need a proper wash to get off.

 

[michaelwj]

I've had some issues with fogged T-Max films, but it turned out I just didn't wash the film well enough. There's a ton of purple dye in the T-Max films that need a proper wash to get off.

This is my main peeve with T-Max, it takes ages to get that purple gone, 4 times as long as other films.

Michael