Tmax is overly reactive in my opinion. It responds a lot to a little
change. I haven't used it enough to know how consistent it may be, but I
did a full series of exposure/development tests using HC110. I suppose
it's ok, but I really prefer something that allows a leasurely 20-25%
time change for a unit expansion/contraction and also something that
doesn't skate out of control when the temperature goes a bit off. I find
that most of our film problems at school, when we look into them, turn
out to be with tmax. These range from simple unmanageable contrast to
faint ghost images on otherwise clear film. I have put in my syllabus NO
TMAX, and discussed it with the owner of the local camera store. Still,
the students go in there and are told that tmax is what they really want
despite their teacher's request. One told me today that she was told "he
doesn't know what he's talking about". So, I'm specifically
UN-recommending the store.
I have used tri-x for about 35 years already and yes, it is easy to move
around. Even better were some of the older films Kodak has discontinued.
I'm glad they haven't been able to get rid of Tri-x. It seems to me
they'd probably like to.
Pyro--
Tri x also has worked well for me in pyro. BTW, once I shot a roll of
tri-x inadvertently with the meter set at ISO 64. Using pyro acetone,
which produces overwhelming shadow detail at the expense of several stops
in speed, I processed the film (after a quick test to find that diluting
the developer was necessary) and the resultant negatives were incredible.
Very fine grain, very sharp, and the tones were simply gorgeous. To
dream about. It was so good.
By the way, it is possible, given extreme, impossibly overexposed
negatives, to remove the silver entirely using Farmer's Reducer and print
from the stain alone. The stain image is grainless.
I was kind of surprised that somebody else had a PROBLEM with the
response of vc papers to pyro. In my work, I had decided that it was a
distinct advantage. The yellow stain, with the lower filters, produces
very little change between grades. With the higher filters, the yellow
becomes much more effective and the higher the grade the greater the
difference since those grades depend on the paper's blue sensitivity.
This enables a monstrous range of contrast possibilities. For me this is
totally manageable because I print with Beers in two trays. I can almost
always hit exactly what I want. Also, the increase in yellow toward the
highlights compresses the tones, making it perfect for night photography.
It is possible to stretch out the tones in the shadows while compressing
in the highlights; usually just what is called for. As with so many
things it is important not so much to avoid limitations but to turn them
to your advantage.
Larry Bullis
Skagit Valley College