Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1999/10/11

[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]

Subject: RE: [Leica] B&W film: Ilford vs. TMax
From: "Lee, Jonathan" <Jonathan.Lee@hrcc.on.ca>
Date: Mon, 11 Oct 1999 14:05:46 -0400

In my opinion, there is no such thing as a best b+w film, unless maybe its
Tech Pan.  The important criterion for film is not the film itself, but the
film/E.I/developer/time/agitatioin combo. If you stick with one film, be it
Tri-X, TMX, or Neopan, and optimize it for a single E.I., and one developer,
be that Rodinal, Xtol or HC110, the results (tone, acutance, contrast, grain
etc) will be more or less comparable for all films with a given film speed
rating. The important thing is that you and not someone else must do the
optimizing.  If you fail to do this yourself, you will be forever bouncing
from one recommended film/developer to antoher like a biblical Rachel
searching for her children. Invest the time and effort into optimizing your
own film and developer.  The importance of this cannot be overstated!

Jonathan Lee
Who uses TMX and HC110 and Tri-X,D76 1:1