Does anyone have experience with these two films? I'm currently using HP5+ but would like to get finer grain and more sharpness. I'd also like to stick with ID-11 from Ilford. Does anyone have experience using TMY w/ ID11? How dows TMY compare w/ Delta400?

Thanks,

Stephen

-- Stephen Wang (ender@raining.net), June 06, 1998

Answers

The t-grain films certainly have finer grain than the older films, and hence better tonality. "Sharpness" is more subjective, and depends more on the development than the film, but the finer grain does give a "sharper" impression.

On the down side, I find the t-grain films have less of a toe, so they are less tolerant of underexposure.

TMY is pretty much the same as Delta 400, but it is more sensitive to changes in temperature or time of development.

-- Alan Gibson (gibson.al@mail.dec.com), June 06, 1998.

i use ilford delta 100 & 400 w/ ID-11 and get good results. so much so that i stick with this combo when possible. i haven't tried TMY because it is a little too finicky on temp controls. the delta films aren't that sensitive to temp variations. easier to develop.

-- (moschika@yahoo.com), June 07, 1998.

As the others say TMY is more sensitive to development variations than Delta 400, Tri-X and HP-5. TMY has smoother (not really finer) grain than Delta 400. Delta 400 has more of a shoulder than TMY, so highlights don't go real dense so easily. TMY is less finicky when developed in Xtol. In fact, I hated Tmax until I tried it in Xtol. Developed in Microphen I get 1/2-1 stop more speed with Delta 400 and TMY and very slight grain increase.

-- Tim Brown (brownt@ase.com), June 09, 1998.

TMY in Xtol

I didn't like TMY until I tried it in dilute Xtol. Now it is one of my favorite emulsions. Funny how things go sometimes, eh?

Dana K6JQ Dana@Source.Net

-- Dana H. Myers (Dana@Source.Net), June 10, 1998.

I'd disagree with the notion that finer grain equals better tonality and sharpness. Most photographers know that there is a trade-off of some sort. "Fine grain film" developed in "fine grain developers" can lead to mushy-looking negatives with poor tones AND lower acutance. If that were not the case, we'd all be using Microphen or Microdol-X.

-- michael heath (mgheath@erols.com), July 29, 1998.

"we'd all be using Microphen or Microdol-X."

Surely you must have ment Perceptol or Microdol-X. These both reduce speed, grain and sharpness when used undiluted. I get a speed and (slight) grain increase with Microphen.

-- Tim Brown (brownt@ase.com), August 04, 1998.