Help required, please.

faris

faris

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I just got myself a zi and finished one roll of t-max 400. had it developed
at a lab. i am very disappointed with the results. bad/low contrast, very very grainy. overexposed, but that could be due to the camera. had it on aperture priority.

i have not used film for over 30 years, but have been using dslr for about
4 years. while not a professional, i am not a newcomer to photography.

the t-max 400/100 is the only bw available here easily.

converting to bw from digital, i am getting very good results.

could you please suggest what i should try next and point me to links
that would provide me with samples of t-max 400 so that i know what to
expect.

thank you.
 
You haven't said if you want to scan or to print in a wet darkroom.

If you want to scan, to begin with shoot Ilford XP2 or Kodak BW 400 CN, and expose at ISO 200.

The secret to good results in scanning silver B&W is to overexpose (1 stop on average) and underdevelop to get thin and low contrast negatives ( you will get smaller grain this way too).

Here's an example of a decent result from Tmax 400, if you follow my flickr gallery, almost everything has been shot on XP2.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/59177039@N00/1065097998/
 
I do not develope or print. When I bring black and white into a prof. photo. lab I make them write down print with high contrast. If I do not the prints come out bland or low contrast. One suggestion is to have the lab process the film with just a contact sheet. Then if you have a scanner at home you could print them yourself.
 
mfogiel, thanks for your response. i looked at your link ( not the whole gallery ),
beautiful image! superb tonal range and lovely contrast.

i want to scan all my images. cannot find xp2 or bw 400 cn here. we have very basic labs here as everything has gone digital. one hour processing has all
but vanished. self develop is not an option either.

would appreciate any other suggestion you might have. if color and scan, what
c41 film would you recommend.

thanks for your help.


mfogiel said:
You haven't said if you want to scan or to print in a wet darkroom.

If you want to scan, to begin with shoot Ilford XP2 or Kodak BW 400 CN, and expose at ISO 200.

The secret to good results in scanning silver B&W is to overexpose (1 stop on average) and underdevelop to get thin and low contrast negatives ( you will get smaller grain this way too).

Here's an example of a decent result from Tmax 400, if you follow my flickr gallery, almost everything has been shot on XP2.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/59177039@N00/1065097998/
Click to expand...
 
I suspect it is probably the lab, but you can easily determine this by shooting a roll of color or C41 b&w, and having it processed by a one-hour lab. Shoot the roll on aperture priority in similar light conditions. If you're going to shoot black and white film, do yourself a BIG favor and develop it yourself. It's very easy and very rewarding. All the controls are in your hands.

good luck!
 
faris,
Ypu will find that in today's economy almost any specialized item has to be bought on line, photography is no different. Since you have bought a fantastic camera, which will shine in B&W, as Wobbly suggested, look into the developing threads to learn how to do it yourself, you don't even need a darkroom. You can use C41 colour film, but you will not get the same sharpness or tonality as from XP2 and especially traditional silver film. If you want to shoot portraits Kodak Portra 400NC is great, but the best of all for desaturating is Fujicolor Reala. Remember to expose any C41 film at half the box speed. Above all buy the best scanner and printer you can afford, and start learning the art... Here are a few of good links to look at:

http://www.filmlives.net/community/viewtopic.php?t=594

http://www.photo-i.co.uk/Reviews/printers/Pigs/page_1.html

http://www.nhartmann.com/photography/Default.htm

http://www.cjcom.net/digiprnarts.htm
 
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Im not quiet sure what your problem was but if the film was overexsposed it will be something you did, perhaps the dx didnt read and the iso was set at 100? that would explain it being overexsposed and very grainy perhaps, but overexsposure would give you higher than desired contrast not lower ! if the film is correctly exsposed and developed you will get great results from t-max films. perhaps you have underdeveloped film, that would explain the excessive grain and low contrast, check to see if the frame numbers and kodak words on the edges of the film are developed ok or do they appear dull, if they are dull the film is underdevoped.
 
folks, thanks a lot for your suggestions. i shall read each of them multiple times
so as to select one of the excellent options mentioned to try..or test the quick to
do ones.

thanks once again. growing pains, i guess.
 
I would second mfogiel's suggestion to try out Ilford XP2 and Kodak BW400CN. These are more forgiving and records amazing amounts of details. If your shots are still weird looking even with these, most likely there's something wrong with the camera's meter.
 
mfogiel said:
The secret to good results in scanning silver B&W is to overexpose (1 stop on average) and underdevelop to get thin and low contrast negatives ( you will get smaller grain this way too).
Click to expand...
When you talk about overexpose and underdevolping are you talking about for an example. shooting a 100iso film at iso200 and than devolpe for a few minutes longer than you would at 100?
 
totifoto said:
When you talk about overexpose and underdevolping are you talking about for an example. shooting a 100iso film at iso200 and than devolpe for a few minutes longer than you would at 100?
Click to expand...

That's underexposing and overdeveloping (or pushing). What you'd need to reduce contrast is to shoot your ISO100 film at EI50 and develop for about 20% less time (or pulling). This will control contrast on a sunny day (when you don't need the speed anyway) and will also give slightly finer grain.

XP2 is best at 200-250 for my tastes as well, it gets normal development by the photolab, no adjustment needed.
 
image attached. small jpg

image attached. small jpg

this is my second t-max400. i went to the optician, just to make sure! all are
like this or worse. very over-exposed, grainy, focus!!.

http://umdah.zenfolio.com/img/v2/p94949654.jpg;

i am now trying -ev and see. right now i am very discouraged.
any help will be appreciated.

thanks.
 
Hola Faris,

I need to go to the optician too: picture looks to me in focus, sharp, contrasty and well composed, may be we are seeing different images!
(ok, just a little of tweaking of levels and contrast in PS, but not sharpening..)


optician-1.jpg
http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g117/zorroflores/optician-1.jpg
 
Thanks for looking. i think a bigger image would highlight my issue better.

zorroflores said:
Hola Faris,

I need to go to the optician too: picture looks to me in focus, sharp, contrasty and well composed, may be we are seeing different images!
(ok, just a little of tweaking of levels and contrast in PS, but not sharpening..)

snip.....
Click to expand...
 
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