Tmax 100 and XTOL

[raathistle]

I've been thinking about trying to get back into B&W again, as all I've shot for some time is colour neg. My old choices tended towards the old technology style films, but I'm wondering about TMAX and XTOL. I've been doing some perusing for a while before biting the bullet and wondered if anyone here has used this combo and can give any hints, or hints on using XTOL in general in the different dilutions. I've never used a powder developer before, using mostly Rodinal in stand development before so my experience in the world of conventional black and white development is pretty rusty and not terribly expansive

 

[ChrisR]

I think Peak use XTOL, perhaps @RumpFace has an opinion?

 

[joxby]

I'm using Xtol for everything, but not Tmax and only at 1-1.
Not much to add to that besides how good it is at smoothing grain on Delta 400, it seems to be the equal of other fine grain developers I've used on FP4, Delta 100, acros 100 and AGFA APX 100.
Once its mixed stock its supposed to be ok for 6 months kept in the right conditions, its clear in colour and you can't tell by looking at it that its busted, it doesn't discolour.....that's about all I know.
Got a roll of 35mm HP5 to do in it soon......that'll be a test..

 

[raathistle]

Cheers chaps, being used to Rodinal back in the day I was a bit spoiled with never going off effectively, the only other things I've used have basically gone off within about 2 minutes of opening

 

[FujiLove]

Another option if you want to give one of the more modern films a go is to try Ilford Delta 100 and/or 400 with HC110. They are meant to work really well together and you have the benefit of a developer which lasts years.

 

[Carl Hall]

Another option if you want to give one of the more modern films a go is to try Ilford Delta 100 and/or 400 with HC110. They are meant to work really well together and you have the benefit of a developer which lasts years.

I'm going to be using HC-110 with Delta 100 I used Rodinal with my Delta 100 in 120 format and I loved it, but it gave me too much grain in 35mm so it was time to swap. Picked HC-110 because it lasts forever. Previously I've used Ilfosol 3 and D-76 with FP4 and HP5 but they went off before I could use them, hence the Rodinal.

 

[s162216]

T-Max and XTOL were developed to complement one another, and are probably a good all around combination quality wise.

Regarding dilutions, it's usually not recommended going beyond 1:1 (if I remember) as they found early in XTOL's life that higher dilutions were unreliable (aside from the fact that the packaging for the 1 litre bags was flawed, which caused it to oxidise in the bag. When Kodak discovered this they simply discontinued the 1 litre size as it would have cost too much to re-design and most of their sales were the larger bags for commercial labs). There is an older datasheet around on the internet though that gives dilutions up to 1:5 or something if you want to try.

I have used T-Max films many times though, usually developed in XTOL (as it's one of the most popular B&W developers for labs), and found it to give great results.

 

[raathistle]

I might have a look at Delta as well before making any rash purchases. The stuff I've been looking at has all been 1:1 dilution so if I go tmax/xtol I'll stick at that I think

 

[FujiLove]

I might have a look at Delta as well before making any rash purchases. The stuff I've been looking at has all been 1:1 dilution so if I go tmax/xtol I'll stick at that I think

You will find a few comments out there saying that tmax is less forgiving if your exposure is a touch off than the Delta films. I don't have any practical experience of this, but as Delta looks almost identical and it's made in the UK, I've decided to stick to that emulsion. If you shoot a ton of film, then the Ilford films also have the advantage of being available in bulk rolls at sensible prices (135 only).

 

[raathistle]

Sadly (I don't think that's the right word) I only really shoot 5x4 or 120 nowadays, so bulk film doesn't really offer anything to me, although the prospect of supporting the UK company does matter. I'll have another look through examples and maybe give Delta a go first

 

[ChrisR]

I was given a roll of expired Delta 100 by Suz at the Llandudno meet, shot it at 80 I think, and absolutely loved it. Just shot a roll of Delta 400 (at 250), devved it myself in Ilfosol 3, and it's OK. Doesn't give me the goosebumps that first roll did. This could well be my processing and scanning skills! But for now I'm sticking with it over Tmax 400. I'm giving TriX a rest for a while!

 

[simon ess]

My two pen'th.

I've shot one roll of 35mm Delta. Dev'd it in HC-110.

Once I've worked through my load of T-Max I'll be getting more Delta.

I've just ordered a roll in 120 to see how that goes.

 

[RumpFace]

We do indeed use XTol, ours a well seasoned, replenished full strength brew. I can't pass comment on dilutions or stand processing though because i don't do that sort of thing.

 

[s162216]

You will find a few comments out there saying that tmax is less forgiving if your exposure is a touch off than the Delta films. I don't have any practical experience of this, but as Delta looks almost identical and it's made in the UK, I've decided to stick to that emulsion. If you shoot a ton of film, then the Ilford films also have the advantage of being available in bulk rolls at sensible prices (135 only).

It's unfortunate that some people still think T-Max emulsions are less forgiving than other films regarding exposure. Whilst it is true that when Kodak released the first B&W T-grain emulsions in about 1986 they did have much reduced overexposure latitude compared to traditional cubic grained films, but the technology has improved massively in the past 30 years (on the internet a few years ago I remember reading a 1986 article by one landscape photographer who tested the original T-Max emulsions for Kodak before general release, and he actually said that you practically had to treat them like slide film, but if you shot them right the results were definitely worth it from the reduction in grain).

In my experience modern T-Max has about the same or (very slightly less) overexpose latitude as Tri-X; I've overexposed it by a good few stops before, and never really had a problem with it. If anything it's overall latitude is excellent as you can push it one stop without having to compensate in the development (if using XTOL, T-Max dev or a similar type). T-Max 400 is one of my favourites, and I've used it quite extensively in the past few years.