Kodak T Max 400

Kodak TMax film is the newest black and white film in Kodak's range, which is odd to say as it was first released on sale to the public back in 1986. Kodak's T Grain emulsion was designed to give fine grain and increased sharpness at a time when film camera and lens manufacturers were upping their game to help us mere mortals make beautiful images. In the 1980's film was king and still rising. Film companies were striving to make the best that the technology allowed and the new T Grain emulsion brought a level of sharpness into film photography that was showcased by professional photographers around the world. This probably didn't affect the large and medium format community as much as it did the happy snappers like yours truly. Those formats had always enjoyed superb quality images and would revel in the new T Grain films. It was the ordinary person who enjoyed using a compact point and shoot that would benefit the most from using this 'new' film.

My memories of photography from this time was full of grain. Holiday snaps taken on a Kodak Instamatic in the 70's and then on a 110 format camera in the 1980's were always grainy. Some would say it was down to cheap film, but film was expensive back then. Professional level film was just out of reach for us mere mortals, but Kodak T Max would address that with 100, 400 and 3200 speed film that everyone could enjoy. The perception from folk like myself was that if the film had professional in it's name, it would be much better than the cheap film you got from your local Chemist/Drug Store. We weren't wrong about that.
 
Kodak continued to refine T Max film in the face of the digital revolution and in 2007 gave us their highest resolution 400 speed film that was on a par with it's 100 speed offering. My Nikon D700 was being tested before going on sale at this time and the writing was definitely on the wall for film as digital camera's began taking over the world by storm. In 2012 Kodak discontinued T Max 3200 based on falling sales and the cost of manufacturing small production runs made it uneconomical. Thankfully, film photography has a loyal and dedicated band of followers that enjoy their chosen format. The film photography community fought back and in 2018 Kodak once again began production of T Max 3200. It's good to see a manufacturer listen to it's customers.

Here are a few images I shot recently in Wigan with my Nikon F801 and 24-120mm lens. Kodak T Max 400 is no longer the pro grade film stock just out of reach, it's the great affordable all rounder we can all enjoy. I bought mine from Analogue Wonderland here in the UK, but it's available in all good camera stores worldwide. Kodak make a dedicated T Max developer, but I developed mine in Kodak HC-110 and I'm happy with them.

I am not paid to promote any company in my blog, I do it because I use them and am happy with their service. You can visit Analogue Wonderland via the link below.
Analogue Wonderland