Tmax is fine film, just watch how you process it. I am a nut when it comes to precision processing film, and I have had excellent results with Tmax. I have processed Tmax film in Tmax, Xtol, Xtol 1:1, Xtol 1:2, and D-76 developers. I don't have a personal problem with this film at all.(posted 9072 days ago)Here's what to avoid: don't develop Techpan in Rodinal. When I first started photographing, I unwittingly bought Techpan and then had it developed by a local lab. Man, I was horrified and heart-broken. Develop Techpan in Technidol or a developer developed specifically for it. If you use Techpan then you can get some really great, grainless prints out of 35mm.
Ilford SFX 200 is good film, but what it is designed for is infrared photography. Unlike Kodak HIE, it is easy to handle and process. Use a B+W 091 or 092 filter, and you can get some really neat effects out of it. Konica is also good, here's one good shot from my first roll. I recommend that you only use IR film around vegitation, or when you want a large vista to be completely free of any haze effects.
Pick up a polarizer, and a yellow (#6) filter. One thing to remember: use just enough filtration to achieve the effect you want. If you use the #25 against red rocks, the rocks will veer towards being white instead of grey in the final print. I prefer to darken the sky with a polarizer rather than a #25.
One of the things you can do is pick up a blue filter. The #47 will bias your film towards acting like the old ortho films. You will see a special quality of light in the shadow areas. I use an 80B, and I like it.
The most important thing above all is to learn and have fun.