----- Original Message ----- From: "J. C. O'Connell"
Subject: RE: B&W developers and Tri-x ??
Nope, I shoot mostly LF and they all look pretty good and virtually the same with respect to grain or lack thereof.
I shot HP5+ for many years on 4x5. It's a nice film and in the sizes I print, shows no grain either. I decided one time to give Delta 400 a try. Delta is the tab grain version from Ilford. I didn't like the look at all, too much edge effect, and very harsh tonal transitions. On the surface, it should be a better film, it has a better granulairy RMS, and a straighter slope. On paper, where it matters, HP-5 is the better film though.
I found the same thing when T-Max first hit the market. I can make it work just fine, I just don't like the look of it.
For the small format shooter (I realize this won't apply to you), grain structure all of a sudden matters, since it is an unavoidable part of making enlargements from small negatives (Tech Pan excepted). Since grain is unavoidable, it becomes a picture element, one to be chosen the same way we choose a lens or developer.
William Robb
