Mike this is fascinating. "Hold time" has never been a factor I have
considered let alone worried about. However, now that you mention it, I
have noticed an improvement in my b&w images when I develop them immediately
after the shoot (usually within a few hours). I just chalked this up to
more care (meaning that the images that are developed immediately are
usually more valuable--both in terms of intention (pre-dev) and effect
(post-dev)) and/or better technique (working at home in my own darkroom is
allowing for to develop more precision and control over materials (of which
film is obviously one of the most important).
Thanks
Glen
-----Original Message-----
From: Mike Johnston <michaeljohnston@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: olympus@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx <olympus@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: December 30, 1999 12:21 PM
Subject: [OM] Tri-X
>I just made this post to the Leica list and thought I would repeat it
>here in case anyone's interested.
>
>--Mike
>
>
>
>>>>
>In my experience Tri-X seems to last forever. I've used MUCH older stuff
>
>with no problem.
>
>Ken Wilcox
><<<
>
>
>And, in our experience, it's not much subject to heat damage, either.
>Long ago I read a test report by a photographer who was worried about
>heat. He left some Tri-X, exposed and unexposed, in his trunk in the
>Nevada desert at the peak of summer for several weeks, along with a
>recording weather thermometer. Temps got up to 180 degrees F. Neither
>the exposed roll, when developed, or the unexposed roll, once shot and
>developed, showed any adverse effects.
>
>He stopped worrying about heat after that, and so did I.
>
>One of the very great advantages of Tri-X is its toughness. It is not
>very susceptible to age, not very susceptible to heat, prints fine even
>when showing high levels of fb+f (even chemical fog), and is not
>affected by long hold times.
>
>A "hold time" is the amount of time that elapses between exposure and
>development. If you want to see something interesting, shoot a roll of
>your favorite b&w film and develop it immediately--within the first
>hour. Keep an identically-shot test roll hanging around the house for a
>year. Develop it, than make comparison prints. Your eyebrows will
>probably go up! Most films show slight hold-time deterioration within
>the first six hours after exposure, and then stabilize for relatively
>long periods before beginning a gradual process of image deterioration.
>Tri-X is relatively immune to this--it looks virtually the same whether
>processed at six hours or at six months (although it does look slightly
>better when processed immediately).
>
>To name two films of which this this not true, try developing a roll of
>Agfa 400 or Kodak T-Max P3200 at one hour, and at one year. They look
>like entirely different films. The grain gets much larger and mealy,
>sharpness is much worse, and tonality suffers. It's so bad with P3200
>that if I find on old, unprocessed roll, I don't even bother to process
>it. (P3200, more than any other film, should be purchased fresh and
>processed promptly for best results. Many photographers who have
>"tested" P3200 have come to WRONG conclusions because they're not even
>aware of what a "hold time is, and they've kept the film hanging around
>for months before using it and then wait weeks or months before
>processing it. Then they get on the internet and spout off about what
>they're "sure" it looks like. Bad test, big no-no.)
>
>This is a hidden reason why pros often get better-looking results than
>amateurs--they tend to use films closer to optimum emulsion ripeness,
>and then process immediately, no matter what film they are using. It
>helps.
>
>I'll say one thing. The more you know about film, the easier it is to
>love Tri-X.
>
>--Mike J. / _PHOTO Techniques_ magazine
>
>
>
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