Modern black and white films

[brian steinberger]

I'm pretty new to film processing. I've been doing it for about a half a year now and I enjoy it greatly. I've been using TMAX 100 and have been getting good results with it in TMAX RS developer using hangers and tanks for 4x5. I've been reading forums in here, and saw alot of stuff about how fussy Tmax is with temperature and agitation. I don't have the greatest advanced darkroom, and I'm not too precise with my temperature or even replenishment with my developer. But I wouldn't know if I wasn't getting good results. All I know is what I'm seeing. Is there another film in the slow speed range that will give me equivelant results as TMAX without the fuss? There is no other Kodak film in the 100 speed range. I shoot Tri-x in medium format and develop it in D-76, I love it. Why don't they make another Tri-x film in the 100 speed range? Thanks for your help!

[Jorge Gasteazoro]

You might want to try Ilford Delta 100. It is made like Tmax with tabular grains but I found it was not as fuzzy as Tmax. Having said that, if you are getting results that please you, why mess with what is working?

One thing you might want to try is using Tmax RS as a one shot developer instead of as a replenishment developer, specially if you are not developing big quantities of film. All you need to do is pour the part B envelope into the part A bottle and dilute 1+9 (one part of the concentrate to 9 parts of water) every time you want to develop a sheet. I was always very happy with this dilution and it worked pretty good for me.

Good luck.

[Jay DeFehr]

brian,

Plus-X Pan is Kodak's traditional 100 speed film (actually ISO 125), but I don't know if it's still available in 4x5. Verichrome Pan was another Kodak 100 speed, traditional emulsion film, but it was discontinued a few years ago.

If you like the look of TMX, you'll be hard pressed to find another film that gives you the same look. TMX is the least grainy pictorial film made, regardless of speed, and has a very distinctive look. Since you're shooting 4x5, grain is probably not a big issue, and if you're looking to experiment with some different films and different looks, there are few films from which to choose. Traditional 100 speed films available in 4x5 include: Ilford FP4+ (ISO125), Kodak Plus-X (ISO 125)?, Efke PL 100, J&C Pro 100, and Fomapan 100. Designer-grain films include Ilford Delta 100, Fuji Acros 100, and Kodak TMX.

Just remember the old adage, "If it aint broke, don't fix it". Good luck.

Jay

[David Luttmann]

Brian,

I've had good success with Xtol in a 1:2 or 1:3 dilution. Take a look at the Film Developing Cookbook for ideas. Stay away from Pyro type developers regardless of PMK or HD Pyrocat as Tab grain films don't stain well. Or, you could just stick with the Kodak RS.....it seems to be working for you and it's not a bad developer.

[Jorge Gasteazoro]

Tab grain films don't stain well

What you mean is Tmax 100 does not stain well with some staining developers. Both of Ilford's tabular grain films stain very well and I use Pyrocat HD with Tmax 400 exclusively, in addition Tmax 100 stains very well in ABC as well as WD2D. So you are wrong when you say tabular films dont stain well.

[Brian C. Miller]

I use Xtol with Tmax, but of course I use Xtol with everything! (but not on my salad...)

If you want to try Pyro, then just use it as a normal developer with a normal acid stop bath. Then you will get a normally developed negative with no stain. But I'd use Tri-X instead for Pyro with a water stop bath.

Anyways, like Dave, I use Xtol diluted, 1:1 or 1:2. Developed in either hangars or trays. Oh, incidentally, Techpan in 4x5 is still available from a number of suppliers. I think B&H may have the cheapest prices. Another option is J and C Imagelink film, which is a repackaged Kodak microfilm, and its cheaper than Techpan.

As for non-Kodak films, I think that Fuji Neopan Acros is good, but it's only available in the Quickload packs. Under a 22x loupe, it seems to have a similar grain size as Agfa APX 100. Comparing both of those to Tmax, Tmax has finer grain, but not as fine as Techpan.

[Mark Sawyer]

If you want to stay with a Kodak film, I'd say try Ektapan. Except they discontinued that.

Verichrome is a really nice film too. But they discontinued that.

I really liked the Royal-X. Which is probably why they discontinued that.

But you might try some Super-XX. Oops, I forgot. They discontinued that.

Well, that leaves you with Plus-X. They'll never discontinue that...

uh... right... ?

[paulr]

Of the modern emulsion films, I've only used tmax 100, so I can't comment on the others. I do think that a lot of people's experience with it being fussy and looking odd comes from it responding to developers in different ways from traditional films.

I did a lot of experimenting and found that to best exploit its capacity for sharpness and smooth grain, and to get a tonal scale that meshed well (for me) with the papers I'd been using, I had to develop it in ways different from those that work well with traditional emulsions. It seems to respond well to high concentrations of developing agents, and to high activity (alkalinity) and short developing times (5 minutes or so). Kodak's recommendation of using higher temperatures approximates this, but I don't think works as well. This same treatment makes traditional emulsion films look terrible.

Just some food for thought. If you're interested in experimenting, I'd move toward more activity and less time.

And for what it's worth, it doesn't take a high tech darkroom to keep your temperatures consistent. I've never had fancy facilities, and find it so easy to keep solutions within 1/2 a degree, that I've never bothered experimenting to find out what would happen if i didn't. You just need some kind of water bath, and a thermometer.

[Eirik Berger]

"As for non-Kodak films, I think that Fuji Neopan Acros is good, but it's only available in the Quickload packs. "

Brian, Fuji Acros is available in both 4x5" (non Quickload) and 8x10". But you have to order from Japan, i havent found it on european or US webshops. I order all my film from either USA or Japan and I have the film in my mailbox here in Norway after a week. I have used Fuji Acros (4x5 and 8x10) for some time now and have done a lot of testing to achieve the results I wanted, first I used Xtol (1:3, 14 min, 20 deg C) and were happy with my results until I tried Artdol (1:2, 4,5 min, 20 deg C). Now my Xtol negatives have a "muddish" kind of look. Dont get me wrong, I use Xtol on everything too - even my salad. But for Acros Artdol is superior. Later this week I will try Xtol undiluted with Acros, I havent tried that yet.

Maybe the best thing about Acros is its reciprocity characteristics. You can expose the film for 120 secs without adding extra time. I have tried and it works, and I find this valuable as a LF photographer often working with long shutter speeds.

[John Kasaian]

Give Efke a try! Its available in both 25 and 100 ISO, so how slow do you want to go?