tips for Tmax 100

[Todd.Hanz]

I really like the"look" of Tmax 100 and 400, there is something about the grays and the overall "roundness" to the images I can't explain.

I decided to give Tmax 100 a shot, so I bought several rolls. It was very bright yesterday so I rated it at ISO 50 to control the highlights a bit. I developed the rolls in Xtol 1:1, 8 min, 5 sec. agitation every 30 sec., water rinse, fix, rinse for 15 min, and hang to dry.

A few came out nice but most looked horrible, grainy, unevenly developed, etc. I followed the same routine I do for all my films but these were just nasty looking.

I have since bought some Tmax developer and am going to try that tonight, anyone have any tips?

here is one image that turned out allright:

thanks,
Todd

 

[Andrew Touchon]

I suggest you rate it at 100 and exactly follow the instructions posted in the data sheet on the Kodak website. I think the TMAX films are more sensitive to time, temprature and agitation than other B/W films . I use Tmax 100, 400 and 3200 and have found that if I strictly follow Kodak's directions, I have no problems.

 

[kaiyen]

Hi there,
The "look" you probably like about tmax films is the very short toe and shoulder. The curve is very, very flat throughout the middle. This is great for a lot of things, but can look a bit unnatural for other things.

First off - why would you rate at 50 to control the highlights? You underrate in order to get better shadow detail. In a way, your decision to shoot at 50 in bright sun makes sense, but in terms of shadows, not highlights.

You then need to decrease development accordingly, probably by quite a bit.

The grain could be a result of overexposure and then overdevelopment, assuming you did not reduce it at all or enough based on the EI of 50.

Finally, TMX is particularly finicky about development technique (and exposure, actually). You really have to dial things in. Start off with getting your EI right, then dialing in your development times.

allan

 

[kmack]

I had some good luck with Tmax 100 after following the tips I found here T-Max Films What Rochester Forgot to Tell Us from my limited experience Tmax does well in D76 when you agitate the heck out of it.

 

[Todd.Hanz]

Thanks for the tips guys,
Allan, I decreased the development time as well but probably not by enough. I have read about the finicky nature of Tmax and that is why I am going to try Tmax developer tonight, and yes I obviously need to get my exposures right for this film.

thanks,
Todd

 

[kaiyen]

Todd,
One more thing - from what I've seen (not experienced - just seen), you don't need to go to the Tmax RS developer to get the best results out of the film. I love TMX in D76 (that I have tried) and I have seen some terrific stuff in XTOL, too.

allan