NEW T-MAX 400 film

[rubenkok]

Dear forum members,
In the latest LFI International
special attention for this new film
KODAK PROFESSIONAL Black-and-White Films
Now the sharpest, finest-grained 400-speed black-and-white film in the world.
KODAK PROFESSIONAL T-MAX 400 Film
I'm looking forward to see some NEW T-MAX 400 images on this forum
All the best
Ruben

[boilerdoc]

I tried a roll of this when i was attanding the LHSA Meetings in Rochester in October. Kodak introduced it early just for us and gave each a roll. I shot it in and around the Geo Eastman House (seemed approprite somehow). It is indeed a superb performer. I need to scan a couple of shots and post but take my word that it is super fine grained and tons of latitude. Looks very similar to Tmax 100! We had a retired chemist from Kodak who was in charge of the original TMax films present it to us and talk about it. We were pumped. I have had it on order ever since - due in January. John Sexton helped in the development of this 'improved' version. Check out his website as I think he has a link to his review of it.
Thanks Kodak!!!!!
The designation is 400-2TMY.
Steve

[ErikFive]

Nice.

[rubenkok]

Thanks for the information Steve
Nice site John Sexton.com
regards,
Ruben

[Kent10D]

I'm waiting for this one too.
Really looking forward to getting my hands on some.

I assume it will become available in 120 as well as 35 mm format ... all it says on the Kodak website is "Catalog numbers and packaging may differ from country to country. See your dealer who supplies KODAK PROFESSIONAL Products." How very cryptic.

[R.Morrison]

Having used T-Max and Tri-X I've always preferred Tri-X for skin tones though I've often wished Tri-X could be finer grained like T-Max.
I too would like to see some comment and some examples from members that have used this new film. Of interest would be:
Tonality as compared to Tri-X
Latitude as compared to Tri-X
Graininess as compared to regular T-Max
How does it respond to D76 ? (I've found that T-Max developer produces a finer grain in T-Max than does D76 ).

Thanks All,
Robert Morrison, M4=P, etc.

[robsteve]

I just processed my first roll of the new Tmax-400. I think I may need to decrease my developing time a bit and work on my scanning skills, but here is a scan from the first roll. It seems to have much finer grain than the old Tmax 400. It is also very sharp, with smooth tones.

I developed this film in Xtol 1:1 for 9 1/4 minutes at 20 degrees using a Jobo ATL-1000. The negatives a a bit dense compared to my old Tmax negatives. Their density seem more like Tri-X or HP5. On the next roll I may try a shorter developing time.

This was shot with a M7 and 50mm Summicron at f2 or f2.5.

[LeonardT]

Originally Posted by robsteve

I just processed my first roll of the new Tmax-400. I think I may need to decrease my developing time a bit and work on my scanning skills, but here is a scan from the first roll. It seems to have much finer grain than the old Tmax 400. It is also very sharp, with smooth tones.

I developed this film in Xtol 1:1 for 9 1/4 minutes at 20 degrees using a Jobo ATL-1000. The negatives a a bit dense compared to my old Tmax negatives. Their density seem more like Tri-X or HP5. On the next roll I may try a shorter developing time.

This was shot with a M7 and 50mm Summicron at f2 or f2.5.

Hi Robert,

Nice photo. Smooth and clean like Tmax100 but not quite as contrasty. Very nice tonal range. I can't wait to try it. I use Xtol 1:1 for just about everything but find Tmax100 a little too contrasty. I prefer Acros100. The new film reminds me of that (from your photo). I don't know where you found yours but I can't find it anywhere.

Thanks for posting the photo.
Len

[robsteve]

Originally Posted by LeonardT

Hi Robert,

I don't know where you found yours but I can't find it anywhere.

Thanks for posting the photo.
Len

I called Vistek, a large Canadian retailer and they had some sample rolls Kodak had shipped them. The sample rolls were free. They didn't expect to have any for retail sale until sometime next month.

If you have a large photo dealer near you, you might want to call them and see if they have any sample rolls from Kodak.

Robert

[robsteve]

Here is another shot from the same roll. This was inside, but the lady was sitting partially in the sun. This film is sharp, like Kodak says, but also seems to have a great dynamic range.

This is just straight out of the scanner, cropped slightly to straighten it and a resize to web size.



If you have a quick Internet connection, here is the full size scan of this negative, saved as a quality 8 jpeg. It is about 3mb.

http://www.robsteve.com/LUF/AgnesLRG.jpg

[Mark Antony]

Looks really good, I downloaded the full size version and I think its as fine grained as a 100 speed, tonally excellent, possibly even getting close to MF.
Mark

[LeonardT]

Originally Posted by robsteve

I called Vistek, a large Canadian retailer and they had some sample rolls Kodak had shipped them. The sample rolls were free. They didn't expect to have any for retail sale until sometime next month.

If you have a large photo dealer near you, you might want to call them and see if they have any sample rolls from Kodak.

Robert

I guess Kodak's reps aren't on the ball. The two large dealers I called didn't even know there was a new TMax400. But I was promised I'd get a call if they got in any samples or new stock.

Len

[robsteve]

Originally Posted by LeonardT

I guess Kodak's reps aren't on the ball. The two large dealers I called didn't even know there was a new TMax400. But I was promised I'd get a call if they got in any samples or new stock.

Len

Len:

I think the problem is that a lot of the dealers now buy through buying groups or third party distributors rather than direct from Kodak.

When I checked at the local dealer, the largest camera store in this part of the country, his Tmax 400 the older stock. I asked were they got their film and the clerk said from a buying group.

Vistek, where I got my samples is a large store in Toronto, probably Canada's equivalent to B&H. They probably deal directly with the Canadian Kodak distributor.

Robert

[dspeltz]

i downloaded the 3meg file. It is clearly not even close to MF, however, not bad. I would like to see a comparison with Ilford's products, and of course TriX.

[robsteve]

Don't look to me to do any comparison shooting. This is my first roll of film in two years and I am not an expert on B&W processing or scanning .

[octo]

I ordered 5 new Tmax from a bulk dealer whose website did show the proper new box: got 5 normal Tmax... I called him up and he apologized and will send me the new ones when they come to France, next month according to him. It isn't worth mailing them back to him, so I'll just shoot old Tmax for a while. They weren't too bad anyway (probably better than my skills)

[robsteve]

While searching for some chemicals I noticed Freestyle Photographic has both the old and the new Tmax 400 listed on their site.

Freestyle Photographic Supplies

[octo]

My dealer suspects it could be a promotional gimmick by Kodak; his question: has someone tested it against the 'normal' TMax?
Fair enough, I said I would ask the Forum members. I am looking forward to your opinions.

[Mark Antony]

Your dealer sound like a daft fool.
Does he think that it's impossible to improve on the T-Max introduced in the 1980's?
Many people John Sexton, Sandy King etc have published their thoughts, most feel its a lot better than the old emulsion.
here is a discussion.
View Camera article on TMY versus TMY-2 - APUG

Mark

[ndjambrose]

Originally Posted by octo

My dealer suspects it could be a promotional gimmick by Kodak; his question: has someone tested it against the 'normal' TMax?
Fair enough, I said I would ask the Forum members. I am looking forward to your opinions.

If anyone reads Black & White Photography (British version by GMC Publications) there's an article in this month's edition that looks at the new version of TMax. There's reasonably detailed coverage of how the new version performs compared to the old, and its EI at different speeds and developers.

The abridged version is that it has smoother tonality, less visible grain, is very sharp and performs particularly well with over exposure. It seems to require approx. 10% less development time than the old version in all developers because it has a slight tendency to run away with highlights.

The reviewer seemed mightily impressed with it and concluded that (in her opinion) it is quite an improvement over the old version.

Of course there's nothing like trying it out for yourself ...