I have just switched to using TMax 400. Unfortunately at present I am not able to get an extremely fine grain image from my negs. I know its possible as I have seen some beautifully grainless (large) prints from a 35mm Neg.

Some have told me underexpose by one stop (Rate at 800asa and Dev Normaly)

Some have told me to expose at 320ASA and pull 1/2 to 1 stop in developing

Can anyone offer some advise?

Daniel Linet

-- Daniel Linet (ufm@accsoft.com.au), April 23, 1998

Answers

You didn't mention the developer that you are using. T-Max 400 is a high speed film and some developers that work well for T-Max 100 don't work well for the 400, Rodinal and HC-110 for example. T-Max Developer is one possible choice, I use it diluted 9 parts water to 1 part developer concentrate for 10 1/2 minutes at 75f agitating 5 seconds every 30 seconds. My personal choice for developing T-Max 400 is to use PMK developer, I think that T-Max 400 roll film looks its best with this developer. I use an EI of 200 and develop for 16 minutes at 68f agitating 1 inversion every 15 seconds.

-- Jeff White (zonie@computer-concepts.com), April 23, 1998.

Take some pictures on a bright sunny day. Bracket exposure in 1/2 stops and take notes. Process the film and pick exposures where the shadows are just slightly more dense than the film base. Print these exposures on #2 paper if you have a condensor enlarger, #2.5-3 paper with a diffuse enlarger. If contrast is off reshoot and change film development time 10-20%. If you give minimum exposure for good shadow detail and fine tune development time you'll get the finest grain and highest sharpness. I prefer Xtol for TMY @ EI400 and Microphen to push it to EI800. These developers give the best speed/grain ratio in my darkroom.

-- Tim Brown (brownt@ase.com), April 27, 1998.

Response to TMax 400 Problem

TMax films are extremely sensitive to temperature changes before they have been hardened in the fixer. If you are careful to have developer, stop (I use water, not acid stop) and fixer ALL at 75 degrees, you should get truly beautiful negatives with almost invisible grain from full frame 35 negs blown up to fill an 11x14 print. I use TMax RS developer, diluted 1:9, BTW. Keep all solutions in a bath of water at 75-76 degrees Fahrenheit. You'll be amazed.

-- Joe Cantrell (agiyo@cnnw.net), May 12, 1998.

I recently started using Photographer's Formulary BW-2 T-Max developer, and am stunned by the results. I printed some T-Max 400 last night that I shot in my son's Yashica Mat 124G and developed in BW-2. Their claims are true. The grain is negligible, not TechPan certainly, but much better than any other developer I have tried. The highlights are creamy smooth and the shadow detail rivals 4x5 film. Check out there web site at http://www.montana.com/formulary/Index.html.

-- Darron Spohn (sspohn@concentric.net), April 29, 1998.

Daniel,

Do you routinely go through exposure and development tests? Your choice of developer will have a tremendous effect on not only grain but other factors like film speed and acutance. T-Max 400 is an extremely fine-grained film. Here are a few things to consider: -Try going through exposure and development tests with your favorite developer. -Try a sharp, fine-grained developer like XTOL--it also yields excellent emulsion speed and really benefits the T-Max Films. -Give us a call at the KODAK Information Center and we can discuss your situation further.

Thank you,

Michael D. D'Avignon - KODAK Professional

-- Michael D. D'Avignon - KODAK Professional (l638708@mso.kodak.com), May 05, 1998.

Daniel,

you did't mantion you are getting unsatisfactory result on TMAX 400. What I do is - I process it 5 minute 10 second at 26 degree C. First I wash the film with fresh water at 26 degree-and dilute (TMAX camichel 58 + water 242=300)mix it at 26 degree C. Agitation 4 times every 30 seconds. If you push the film 400-*800* ISO you can convert time by increasing 20%.(Every push process is 20%). Another thing check your fixer with neopan ss lead-take a film container with fixer put a neopan ss film lead and shake it 30 seconds continiously,watch the film is clear transparent.

Please give me a mail if your problem is solved.

Thank You Mohammad Irfanul Islam. Darkroom Section. Drik Picture Library Ltd. Dhaka,Bangladesh. E-mail:darkroom@drik.net ##URL: http://www1.drik.net

-- Mohammad Irfanul Islam (darkroom@drik.net), May 12, 1998.

I have just started to use T-Max 400 (135 size) after a 15 year hiatus from photography. I pulled up some very good information from the Kodak website. I develop my T-Max 400 at 68 deg in T-Max dev. for 5 min 10 sec. The film is rated at 320 EI. All temperatures are kept within 2 degrees of developer via a in line temperature control device. I use stop bath diluted to half of Kodak's recommendation and fix in a hardening fixer for at least 5 min. I am printing on an Omega B8XL with a 50mm lens. I have done a few full magnification blowups and the grain and sharpness are unbelieveable. After I perfect T-Max 400 I am going to try the 100 speed material.

-- Robert Orofino (www.rorofino@uscgelc.gov), June 12, 1998.