Kodak T-MAX 400 Speed 36 Exposure Professional Black & White 35mm Film

I couldn't believe this price... and it's "clearance"?! Shop around for 5 minutes and you'll find it easily for under $4.

As a long term Ilford user, I was reluctant to even try the Kodak TMax and determined not to like it. After 2 rolls it became my favorite film. The latitude is great.It was highly versatile even when over or under exposed.The contrast is like nothing I've ever seen in an amateur film. My negatives looked great from the get go, reducing the need for contrast corrections during print processing. I've never used a fi;m (as a serious student, not a professional) with better contrast and clarity. I found it has much better contrast and finer grain structure than the Ilford HP5, which was the film I used previously. It's versatility makes it a good film for point and shoot, but it's also a great film for the more advanced amateur or serious student. I LOVE it! The only negative is that it seems ot be a higher contrast film and you on't get as wide a range of grays as you would get with other fi;ms, but for an amteur, this fi;m is usually sufficient, and it more than makes up for it with ease of use. If I get more grays, but have to make the print grainy because I need a 4+ filter, then it cancels out any impact getting more grays would give me, in my experience.

Traditional black and white films are still around (Kodak Tri-X and Ilford HP5+) at least for the time being. Either choice has better latitude and produces better results--dependent on the processing, of course. There is a learning curve to T-Max film to make good-looking pictures. Be forewarned.

I hate this film. Yes, the grain is fine, but Kodak Tri-X grain just looks better to my eyes. Either film is fine for 8x10" prints, but the grain gets a little large if you blow it up more than that. T-Max is definately easier to find at places like Wal-Mart, but do yourself a favor and find some Tri-X.

Kodak T-MAX 400 black and white film is a versatile, fine grain high speed black and white film still widely used by professional and amateur photographers. Although there are other films in its speed and price range that may be better, most notably the new Ilford Delta 400, T-MAX 400 still holds its own because of its fine grain and rich contrast. I will occasionally use it, and am still quite impressed by the fine negatives it produces, especially when it is developed in T-MAX developer. If one wishes to buy a high speed black and white Kodak film, and is not interested in pushing it to ISO 800 or higher, then T-MAX 400 should be your first choice.