RE: [Leica] All hail Tri-X

["Jonathan Borden" <jborden@mediaone.net>]

Bernard wrote:
>
> Ruralmopics@aol.com wrote:
>
> > I feel like the lone ranger. Maybe I should do this like an AA meeting
> > . . .
> >
> > My name is Bob and I use T-Max . . .
>
> And I use Delta. Tri-X is a nice film to hide one's incompetence at
> exposing the film correctly. And then it hides one's inability at
> correctly processing the film. If one would be capable of work within
> tighter tolerances, one could and should use some more modern emulsions.
> TriX is a joke on medium format, and on 35mm....... well, when I'm in a
> mucho-grainy mood, I might think it's fun. But it beats me how people
> can go out to a "serious shoot", and load their cameras with TX. Perhaps
> living without auto exposure forces the less adept among us to resort to
> the easy way out with tolerant, yet inferior film: it takes a little
> time to get the red dot to light up.....
>

	The issue that was being discussed was not Tri-X's graininess, or
relatively low resolution, nor latitude but tonality.

	Good tonality to me, is akin to the sound produced by vinyl record through
a tube amplifier, in contrast to that produced via CD though transistors.
Such an amplified recording displays excellent depth and individual
instruments and singers are well resolved in the three dimensional space of
the stage. In contrast a CD through (cheap) transistors lacks 'depth' though
the S/N ratio remains high, that is though the phonograph has a higher
background noise level, the signal itself remains smoother. I would expect
that the audiographic equivalent to an 'MTF' would display a smoother fallof
at higher frequencies and less phase distortion.

	A classic example of photographic tonality is displayed in outstanding
photographs with fog in the original scene (not on the film!). The
'airiness' and three dimensionality is often difficult to properly
reproduce.

	Is there a more objective way to describe tonality? Is there a way to
predict this from film curves. What characteristics of Tri-X facilitate
tonal reproduction?

Jonathan Borden