Thinking about it again, I do see the point that Tri-X might be considered
"more forgiving." Maybe TMax can be considered "beautiful" only when processed
and exposed in a carefully controlled situation.
What I would like to know is what exactly people mean when they say that Tri-X
is more forgiving while TMax is not. Are you talking about exposure or
development or both? When you say TMax is less forgiving, what kind of
problem(s) have you encountered?
The reason is after knowing that, I will try to come up with a solution to
make TMax also more forgiving. Then I will also explain the thinking /
studying / testing process that I go through. This will illustrate the point
that I mentioned: by understanding films / developmentin general and by
carefully studying the characteristics of a film in particular, you can use a
film almost any way you want. For those of you who are teaching, you can give
the students the starting point of using TMax, but more importantly, the
approach.
If interested, please respond with the questions (maybe *offline* is more
appropriate) that I have mentioned earlier:
1. Why do you say Tri-X is more forgiving? (Please be as descriptive as
possible)
2. What problem(s) have you had with TMax?
3. If you do keep records, it would be helpful if you give the EI, developer,
development temperatures and times for TMax and Tri-X.
Thanks!
Dave