Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2003/04/24
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]> This is sure to be splitting hairs but what is the point of having less > grain in Tri X? As someone already pointed out - maybe BD, it is the > film's 'signature' grain that makes it TriX - otherwise call it non - T > Grain Tmax. Does anyone on the list know Kodak's reason for this new > TriX? Is it just that this is what they can produce in their new > plant and > they are trying to dupe us into thinking this is an improved TriX - what > was wrong with the old TriX. Sorry for the rant. > > Ernie HP5+ Nitka My understanding (mainly from discussions on the LF list and info from some people who are based in Rochester who have various links to Kodak) is that it's basically a "side" effect of the new modern coating/film making facility. I'm not a film techie, but what I've been told is, it's the same old film formulations we know and love - i.e. the emulsion coating, but when it's applied to the new base (or maybe the way it's applied in the new facility) you get a somewhat different resulting end product. The testing in Photo Techniques seemed to show that one or two films remained almost identical, while others changed (and in the testers opinion, some for the better and some for the worse). So - IT IS Tri-X emulsion - but the new base gives it a different characteristic. (and my understand is that changes like this have happened before over the life of Tri-X and other films - it's just the changes were not as obvious. Ilford, for example, renamed HP5 as HP5 Plus when a big change took place. But I remember talking to them at the time and they pointed out that HP5 just before it changed to "Plus" and HP5 when it first came out were somewhat different anyway - the changes had just been more gradual). And, of course, Kodak have changed the name of the product slightly to reflect this, though not as obviously as putting a "Plus" after it. Now I'd better seen if I haven't thrown that magazine out to make sure I'm not completely mistaken... tim - -- To unsubscribe, see http://mejac.palo-alto.ca.us/leica-users/unsub.html