OK, I really do like Tri-X. It gives me tones that no other B&W film gives, even though HP5 is not bad. But until I started doing my own developing I never realized how good Tri-X really is. Recently I wanted to shoot a couple of lenses at wide apertures on 35mm cameras that had shutter speeds of only 1/1000 on the top end. In bright sun, a 400 ISO film and wide open don't work when you're limited to 1/1000. After trying various filters to give me the extra stops, I went another route on the next roll. I normally shoot at 200 ISO w/ a yellow filter, which means I'm effectively rating the film at box speed. This time I decided to shoot it at 100 ISO, so I set my meter to 50 ISO w/ the yellow filter. After dithering on how to develop it (some people said subtract 10% to the time, some said 20%, etc), I decided what the heck, I'll just develop it as I always do. D76, full strength, 70 degrees. Many people seem to prefer using this combination w/ the D76 mixed 1+1, I don't. Full strength gives me consistently better results.
So how did it come out? It came out perfect! The negs look fantastic, and the grain is as tight as can be, w/ deep, luscious blacks and bright highlights. Even better, when I went inside to shoot I was having trouble w/ the film rated at 100 ISO due to the slow shutter speeds needed (camera shake, even w/ the yellow filter off for inside), so I uprated it back up to 200 ISO for the inside pics. I couldn't see any relevant difference in the negs or the scans. At 200 ISO or 100 ISO, it looked pretty much the same either way.
I actually shoot the rebadged Tri-X when I shoot 35mm as it's so cheap. Freestyle's Arista Premium is under $3 a roll for 36 exposure. Really, really great film, and from now on I'm going to rate it at 200 or 100 when I shoot it.
So how did it come out? It came out perfect! The negs look fantastic, and the grain is as tight as can be, w/ deep, luscious blacks and bright highlights. Even better, when I went inside to shoot I was having trouble w/ the film rated at 100 ISO due to the slow shutter speeds needed (camera shake, even w/ the yellow filter off for inside), so I uprated it back up to 200 ISO for the inside pics. I couldn't see any relevant difference in the negs or the scans. At 200 ISO or 100 ISO, it looked pretty much the same either way.
I actually shoot the rebadged Tri-X when I shoot 35mm as it's so cheap. Freestyle's Arista Premium is under $3 a roll for 36 exposure. Really, really great film, and from now on I'm going to rate it at 200 or 100 when I shoot it.
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