To see Kodak Tri-X exposure tested and compared with other B&W film, follow this link.
It took me far too long to give Tri-X the attention it deserves. I shot through several rolls of T-Max 400 and moved into high-speed B&W film stocks like Ilford’s Delta 3200 and Kodak’s TMax P3200. Prior to a trip to NYC in late 2018, I picked up a pro pack of Tri-X 120 and shot it exclusively in my Mamiya 645.
All it took for me was that trip and I’m sold. It has just the right amount of grit and the gradient is so unique; the shadows aren’t harsh but much more pronounced than a lot of other films and the brights are unmistakably bright.
I’m still shocked at how gorgeous some of these turned out. =Having started using Tri-X, I’ve realized so much of what I looked for and wanted in B&W photography was here. It was then that I started making my home with this film. Before long, I expect to start experimenting with it by way of pushing and pulling. From other articles I’ve read and friends I’ve talked to, I have high hopes for what I’ll get.
Since NYC, I got to play in a friend’s studio and while I would have rather been shooting some TMax 100 for the sharpness and lack of grain, I had Tri-X loaded and I made the best of it. I think the results are pretty spectacular. The only thing I would have reconsidered would be making accommodations for the exposure latitude. We set up all the lighting and camera settings using his Fuji mirrorless camera and in multiple shots, we expected complete silhouettes but I got a fair amount of shadow detail in the film.
FILM PHOTOGRAPHY 