I have been using Tri X since 1957!!!! My first camera was a DS M3 with a rater ratty looking 50f2 collapsible Summicron. The camera came with a brown paper bag of "un-canned" Tri X and the comment from the press photographer who handed it to me "This some new kind of film from Kodak - they say shoot it at 200 asa. That cant be any good!". I was 14 at the time and took to Tri X like a fish to water. Never once wavered either. So there has been some changes t it over the years, they raised the speed to 400/27 DIN (remember that designation). I have no idea how many rolls of the stuff i have shot, most likely in the 10 000's and I cant really say that the film ever let me down. Any foul-ups were mine. It is about as tolerant an emulsion one can wish for. Soup it in anything and it still works, zap it in airport X rays and it just shrugs it off. Find some old TriX that has been sitting for for 20-25 years in an attic, throw in some benzo and process it.
Oh yes, we all wailed and wrung our hands every time Kodak"improved" it - but somehow, dunk it in D76 1:1 for 10-11 minutes and it still works.
It ranks right up there with other photographic icons like the Gralab 300 timers, Leica M2's, Focomat 1C, Nikon F as a product that was perfect for what it was designed to do.
It is not the finest grain or longest tonal range - but it does exactly what i want it to do (or possibly it taught me to use it in such way that I got the result I wanted). I still feel nervous if i don't have a stash of a couple of 100 rolls of it my freezer ( and 10 rolls in my bag or jacket pockets).
Long may it live.
