Tri-X 400 S.o.S - Questions of a 35mm "Returnee"

[stormbytes]

Being an avid street photographer, I'm finally returning to 35mm as I've found after years of shooting the Bronica Sq that my eyes simply aren't what they used to be. I came across a minty F100 body at a decent price, and a 50mm/1.4. A nice AF combo - but it's been years since I've done any 35mm work!

My film of choice is Kodak Tri-x (400) - but it's been so long since I've shot any in 35mm (much less souped any!) that I'm not sure where I'd start my processing tests.

I know that with 35mm grain is a major consideration - I take it Rodinal's out. What's that leave me with? I'm thinking maybe X-tol or Microdol-X? Or the age-old D-76? But at what cost to film speed & sharpness?

I use a Jobo CPP-2 for most of my work (rodinal's fussy nature with constant agitation being the only exception), and enlarge to sizes ranging from 5x7 to 11x14, depending on the subject of course.

Any thoughts would be appreciated. I know this should be like riding a bike, but I'd rather have my knees & elbows well padded!

Cheers
Daniel

 

[David Brown]

Everyone's going to tell you use what they use, so I'll start:

Tri-X (@400) in D-76.

Cheers,

David

 

[stormbytes]

That's probably all too true!

I should point out that the emphasis of my street shots are people! (spontaneous portraiture). Ideally, I'd like to aim for rich, milky skin tones, and good shadow detail (so that eyes don't appear dull). Obviously, highlights should be nicely separated as is to be expected of the revered Tri-x emulsion.

 

[fred]

Actually: 400TX 35mm as 200 iso/250iso
in ID-11 1+1 20°C 10' in a every 30sec, 5 seconds agitation

 

[Tach]

Tri-x@200, Perceptol 1+3, 13', 24° Celsius, 5 inversions every minute, 30 secs initial agitation. My all around combination.

Tri-x@250, Rodinal 1+50, 11', 20° Celsius, 5 inversions every minute, 30 secs initial agitation, when I want the 'rodinal look'.

Tri-x@1600, rodinal 1+50, 25', 20° Celsius, 5 inversions every 5 minutes, 30 secs initial agitation for a graphic pushed look.

 

[stormbytes]

Tri-x@200, Perceptol 1+3, 13', 24° Celsius, 5 inversions every minute, 30 secs initial agitation. My all around combination.

Tri-x@250, Rodinal 1+50, 11', 20° Celsius, 5 inversions every minute, 30 secs initial agitation, when I want the 'rodinal look'.

Tri-x@1600, rodinal 1+50, 25', 20° Celsius, 5 inversions every 5 minutes, 30 secs initial agitation for a graphic pushed look.

I've heard of the so called "Rodinal Look" but I've yet to hear or see what that refers to. Any hints there?

Also - Tri-X@1600 ?? Wow.. I think I'll try that out if only so I can say I did What do you mean by "graphic pushed look" ?

 

[Thomas Bertilsson]

Xtol, definitely, for fine grain and sharpness. If you like grain, go with the Rodinal. 5x7 is as large as I'll go with that combination. I've had some luck with using Fine Art Photo Supply FA-1027 developer and Tri-X at 400. Fine grain and very sharp.

- Thom

 

[stormbytes]

Xtol, definitely, for fine grain and sharpness. If you like grain, go with the Rodinal. 5x7 is as large as I'll go with that combination. I've had some luck with using Fine Art Photo Supply FA-1027 developer and Tri-X at 400. Fine grain and very sharp.

- Thom

Xtol would've been my guess as well. The fine-grain, relative-sharpness (word has it D76 does better on the edges) and - it's Jobo-friendly (Our dear friend Rodi isn't know for that

However... everything comes at a price. Xtol probably wouldn't produce anything I'd consider acceptable shadow detail when rated above ISO 250 - I could be wrong, it's certainly worth a test batch. Here's another advantage of using 35mm film! Bulk loading = test almost any number of combinations to your heart's content for $30 bucks!

Will certainly put that on my list.

PS - Spending the extra 200% on the 50mm/1.4 was worth it! The 2 stops over my initial choice - the 60mm/2.8 will lend themselves well to Xtol if I decide to standardize on it.

 

[m_liddell]

I use tri-x (400TX now?) for street photography. I have only used it with xtol so far, but I don't think I will try any other dev's since the results have been so good. The grain in much smaller and sharper than I was expecting, I really like the look.

I shoot it at EI250ish in xtol 1:1.

 

[htmlguru4242]

I use Tri-X (400) for almost all of my work. I expose at ISO 400, and develop in D-76 according to the reccomended time. I have no problems; the film is sharp and has fine enough grain for me.

Tri-X pushes well, though not too high with D-76. I've gotten good results at ISO 800 to ISO 1000, but beyond that the shots don't look too good.

 

[stormbytes]

Tri-X pushes well, though not too high with D-76. I've gotten good results at ISO 800 to ISO 1000, but beyond that the shots don't look too good.

What do you notice as you keep pushing it?

 

[Donald Qualls]

If you've been using 400TX in 120, expose and process it the same way in 35 mm as a starting point.

FWIW, I use HC-110 Dilution F (1:79 from syrup) at EI 400 or 800 and get negatives I like a lot, even with film that expired 4-5 years ago. I shoot so little 35 mm these days, however, that this bulk roll might well last me another couple years.

 

[gnashings]

I am sure all these combos are wonderful choices (and will probably try some of them if I ever have any TriX on hand!) - so this is very much just another opinion to throw in the hat and see how it grabs you
I have shot TriX in 35mm using two developers: Rodinal (of course!) and Acufine.
With Rodinal 1:50, I have kept to rating it at 400, and frankly, I love the results. But... I like the "look", I like the grain - it will be very much there. So unless you are "seeing" the grain working with your image, you probably won't like it.
With Acufine, I have rated the film at 1000 (as per instructions on the can), threw it in the camera and was blown away with the results. I love the look of it, I love the speed it gives me and the small (apparent) loss of quality in terms of grain and shadow detail (while it obviously is there).

But - opinons are like... well, you get the point. I have a couple of shots (there was a url link here which no longer exists) done with TriX in 35mm. The first is the picture of the little girl (Jordan). That is Rodinal 1:50, and the image is scanned from a 5x7 print which is actually a portrait crop of the middle third of the frame taken horizontally (composition becomes a little "relative" when trying to catch a six year old!). I suppose that is the Rodinal "look".
The other shot is the one with the cowboy - that is scanned from a 8x10 print (both are, the first is a little more of the full frame), and it was developed in Acufine.
My questionable skill level aside, it should give you an idea of what they look like

Best of luck,

Peter.

 

[Poptart]

You can routinely shoot TX at 1250 if you develop in Diafine.

 

[Tach]

Also - Tri-X@1600 ?? Wow.. I think I'll try that out if only so I can say I did What do you mean by "graphic pushed look" ?

Tri-X@3200, Rodinal 1+50, for an extreme example. Same parameters as 1600, but development time expanded to 30':

Lights on!

Tri-x@1600, Rodinal 1+50, as in my first post:

Caught in the act