Last Updated on 03/03/2018 by Mark Beckenbach
The iconic Kodak T-MAX P3200 black and white film is back. Here’s everything you need to know before you shoot with it.
Itching to be one of the first to get your hands on the Kodak T-MAX P3200? CineStill is among the first to carry this prized and much awaited black and white emulsion for pre-order. With their listing comes some technical info from Kodak about this film. If you’re going to use it for the first time, it’s best to take note of these details before you give it a go.
If you missed our earlier report about the Kodak T-MAX P3200 announcement, allow us to give you a refresher. This black and white negative film is set to be available in March 2018, beginning with US distributors and dealers, and then other regions across the globe soon after. If you’re wondering about the “P” in its name, it stands for Push, because this film is designed to be used as a multi-speed film, and can be push-processed to EI 3200 or 6400 with good results.
What can first-time users expect with this ultra high-ISO film? Revered for its great latitude, fine grain, and superior sharpness, it can be exposed at 1600 to obtain negatives with high-quality, and without change in the grain of the final print. However, there may be some minimal loss in the details of the shadows. This versatile emulsion is perfect for very fast action shots, dimly-lit scenes where flash can’t be used, and especially when shooting with handheld telephoto lenses. It’s also recommended for scenes that require good depth of field and fast shutter speeds, and obviously, an excellent film for night photography. Street photography at night? You bet.
What happens when you expose this film to EI 3200 or 6400? According to Kodak, there will be a slight increase in contrast and grain and additional loss of shadow detail when you use higher exposure indexes. Still, it produces better shadow detail and highlight separation at these high EIs than 400 ISO films pushed by 3 stops. It’s also possible to obtain outstanding shadow details with this film when shot at EI 400.
Apart from an FAQ for us curious film snappers, Kodak has also provided a Technical Data Sheet for exposing and processing Kodak T-MAX P3200. Yep, best to bookmark or download that!