Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1995/11/02
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]** Reply to note from hisashi@lpd.sj.nec.com 11/01/95 08:34am PST > Hi-light detail is vice versa. Combination with > TMAX400 was the worst. Leica lenses are normally low contrast compared > with Nikon/Canon and have beautiful tone rendering especially for shadow > details and that what I like. Have you tried Press Maxx developer with TMax films? It is really significantly better than anything else. Except with P3200, which is better with T-Max Developer, especially at higher speeds (6400+). Press Maxx gives TMax 400 the tonal rendering of Tri-X in D-76 with much finer grain. And TMax 100 is really amazing! As for contrast of a lens, in realtion to highlight and shadow, that's different than the local contrast you get in shadow detail. Sometimes I see people are afraid to reduce development times to less than what's recommended in the directions that come with the film. For example, TMax 400 with Tmax developer at 75 degrees I believe is recommended to be developed for 6 or 6.5 minutes. I have used 5.5 minutes for so long that I can't remember the recommended time. And 4.5 minutes at ISO 200 to pull the film in contrasty light. At the University of Missouri, I used to shoot football games in very bright contrasty light and pull it one stop. The sports editor would hold up my pictures out of the 20-30 the students in the Journalism School would offer, and ask why my pictures were so much better. I would, of course, say "Leica glass" to which the whole room would groan (only two of us used Leica SLRs) and then I would say - I'm the only one who pulls my film. Funny, nobody else caught on even so. But they all wanted me to make their portfolio slides for them, because I was the only one who really had the processing of film under control. I had "studied" the Zone system for several years before going to j-school. Regards, Eric Welch Grants Pass, OR