T Max user questions

[ernie gec]

Hello all:

I've been working with T max 100 film for a while now & have 2 questions to put to experienced users:

1. It appears to me that the traditional advice about using yellow filtration to improve contrast between clouds & sky is not as valid with this film. Even wit hout filtration I get good separation of densities. This would suggest that the film is much less blue light sensitive than older emulsions. Any thoughts?

2. The difference in print highlight separation comparing condenser to cold lig ht sources is not nearly as dramatic as one would assume. Is this because thin emulsion films don't have as much "calier" effect sensitivity or because the col d light advantage is overblown?

Thanks in advance.

[Pete Andrews]

Your guess about the blue sensitivity of T-Max is correct. See what Kodak say about it.As for a reduced callier effect with T grain films, well maybe, it's feasible, but I think the more likely explanation is your expectation of a drastic difference between a diffuser enlarger and a condenser enlarger. Most condenser enlargers don't use a bare filament bulb, but an 'opal' lamp and so don't have a truly collimated light source anyway. The difference between a semi-diffuse enlarger (condenser and opal lamp), and one with a diffuse source, is not that great.

[Walter Glover]

Ernie,

It is a reasonably well promoted idiosyncrasy of T-Max stock that has a higher red sensitivty which may translate to lower values for blue. T-Max, for example, is noticeably different to other stocks in skin-tone rendering. Technical Pan even more so.

Pete is right about the enlarger light-sources but I suspect that what you are experiencing may also be influenced by the 'straight-line' characteristic curve of T-Max.

WG