[Leica] Beginner B&W Question - Indoor Available Light

[John Coan <jcoan@alumni.duke.edu>]

OK, here's my situation.  I think I might want to start playing around
with black and white available light photography.  I'm looking at indoor
family type stuff.  I would be using the M6TTL and 35 summicron, 50
summilux, and 90 skinny tele-elmarit.

I call myself a beginner in the subject line of this message.  I'm
really not.  I started with B&W when I was 15 -- a good 30 plus years
ago.  Back then I did my own darkroom work.  Now, circumstances change
and I don't have time for processing and printing.  So, I will be taking
my exposed film in to a local pro lab.

I may as well be a beginner though because there have been new films and
papers introduced during the past thirty years.  I used to use Plus-X
and Tri-X exposed at their recommended speeds, and developed in D-76 at
the recommended time and temperature.  This did fine. (And by the way, I
was also using a rangefinder camera! I had a Retina Automatic III with
Schneider Xenar 45/2.8. Still have it in fact and might even take a roll
or two with it.)

Now, there is T Max.  My questions are:

1.  Should I shoot t-max or tri-x?  What about the color film black and
white type stuff?

2.  Using the M6TTL meter, and the lenses above, if I set the film speed
at 400 and meter an average brightness level in the frame will the
exposure be on target?

3.  I figure I'll get the lab to make a contact sheet and then pick the
pictures I want to enlarge.  Any suggestions or special instructions I
should include for processing or printing?

Any other hints from the *many* fine photographers on this list?  You
guys should know that your web pages have inspired me to try this type
of photography again.  I'm not very good, but perhaps I can get some
decent family pictures from my little project.  Any help would be
appreciated.