Fuji Acros 100 + T-Max 100 compared...

I've been shooting (120 format) rolls of T-Max 100 and Fuji Acros 100 recently on my Rollei T and Hasselblad 500 C/M and here are my comments....I'm not scientifically inclined like a lot of you around here...my comments are based on visual analysis.
First the techniques used.....
a) Both were developed using T-Max Developer and T-Max fixer.
b) Both were scanned on my Scanmate 5000 drum scanner.
c) I scan as if it were a greyscale transparency and then invert in Photoshop.
d) I save the file as a jpeg greyscale to keep the file sizes small.

So, first of all the impression of the negatives as i develop them.....

......the Acros has like a blue cast on the film...the T-Max is clearer. No idea what this means when faced with enlargers or scanners....

The Acros seems to have less of a tendency to form Newton rings when scanning. I think T-Max is more prone to newton rings....

The results of the scans, to me, look very similar in terms of grain and look about them. I couldn't honestly prove i've used a different film when looking at the final shots. Both have loads of latitude when manipulating curves and both can give me different feels to the image depending on these curves as I've said.

QUESTION 1: IS THE FACT I'M USING THE SAME DEVELOPER GIVING ME A SIMILAR LOOK TO BOTH THESE FILMS OR ARE BOTH THESE FILMS SIMILAR LOOKING AS A MATTER OF FACT....I seem to remember the curves for the film being similar?????

QUESTION 2: DOES ANYONE HAVE A DEFINITE ACROS + DEVELOPER COMBO THEY'D LIKE TO SHARE WITH ME THAT MAKES THE FILM GO TO ANOTHER LEVEL.

I realize these are subjective questions but I hope some people can come into this thread and share their views....

You should see some differences between the films. Tmax is a fully panchromatic film. Acros is somewhere between panchromatic and orthochromatic. IOW, Acros has less sensitivity to red and more for blue. In prints you should see darker tones for reds and lighter tones for blues than you would from Tmax. If I got that tonal relationship right. And you'll probably have to look for it. I suspect the difference is subtle.

The blue tint you see on the Acros is probably some left over sensitizing dye. Wash it more; it will come out. Since you aren't printing in the darkroom it won't much matter. It won't have any effect on scanning. I find that my TMY-2 sometimes comes out a little pink. I've tested my process for residual hypo -- the fixer is washed out long before the last of the sensitizing dye. When I get pink film I just let it wash a little longer.

BTW, using anti-Newton fluid and an overlay with your drum scanner will get rid of Newton's rings. But you already knew that didn't you?

Finally, many people find the Tmax developer to be rather, um, harsh? Maybe rough is a better word. Too contrasty and grainy maybe. You might want to try XTOL -- it'll be smoother, give grain that's smaller and (to me at least) somewhat more pleasing in shape, and yet give you a real film speed that matches the box rating. I think it gives better results diluted at least 1:1. I like XTOL at 1:3 for TMY-2. But then, I'm using TMY-2 in 5x4 sheets. But if you use XTOL, do mix it using steam distilled water -- it's sensitive to disolved minerals in the water, especially iron.

Of course you could always use the old standby D-76. It should be available anywhere, or you can make it up yourself since there are recipes for it all over the 'net. D-76 is an "oldie but a goodie" as we sometimes say in the USA.

thanks Bruce...I appreciate feeding off all your experience on this forum....I WILL get into other developers as you say....Xtol was definately on my radar....I actually have some Perceptol too so...

I ask some of the same questions a while back and XTOL, for me, gave the look I wanted. I don't know the scientific reasons, only that I like the results I get.
Now if I could only get my creative/composition thing working!