Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1995/11/02

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To: Leica List <leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us>
Subject: Re: Re: Minolta 28/2.8 M lens
From: Eric Welch <ewelch@gp.magick.net>
Date: Thu, 2 Nov 1995 08:54:15 PST

** Reply to note from hisashi@lpd.sj.nec.com 11/01/95 08:34am PST   
>  Hi-light detail is vice versa.  Combination with  
> TMAX400 was the worst.  Leica lenses are normally low contrast compared  
> with Nikon/Canon and have beautiful tone rendering especially for shadow  
> details and that what I like. 
 
Have you tried Press Maxx developer with TMax films? It is really   
significantly better than anything else. Except with P3200, which is better   
with T-Max Developer, especially at higher speeds (6400+). 
 
Press Maxx gives TMax 400 the tonal rendering of Tri-X in D-76 with much   
finer grain. And TMax 100 is really amazing! 
 
As for contrast of a lens, in realtion to highlight and shadow, that's   
different than the local contrast you get in shadow detail. Sometimes I see   
people are afraid to reduce development times to less than what's   
recommended in the directions that come with the film. For example, TMax 400   
with Tmax developer at 75 degrees I believe is recommended to be developed   
for 6 or 6.5 minutes. I have used 5.5 minutes for so long that I can't   
remember the recommended time. And 4.5 minutes at ISO 200 to pull the film   
in contrasty light. At the University of Missouri, I used to shoot football   
games in very bright contrasty light and pull it one stop. The sports editor   
would hold up my pictures out of the 20-30 the students in the Journalism   
School would offer, and ask why my pictures were so much better. 
 
I would, of course, say "Leica glass" to which the whole room would groan   
(only two of us used Leica SLRs) and then I would say - I'm the only one who   
pulls my film. Funny, nobody else caught on even so. But they all wanted me   
to make their portfolio slides for them, because I was the only one who   
really had the processing of film under control. I had "studied" the Zone   
system for several years before going to j-school. 



Regards, 
 
Eric Welch 
Grants Pass, OR



Replies: Reply from Francesco Ricci <ricci@irst.it> (Re: Re: Minolta 28/2.8 M lens)