Kodak Tri-X
 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification.(June 2013) |
| Tri-X | |
|---|---|
 A box of a 2002 version of Tri-X film | |
| Maker | Kodak |
| Speed | 400/27° |
| Type | B&Wprint |
| Process | Gelatin-silver |
| Format | 35 mm,120 |
| Application | General |
| Tri-X Professional | |
|---|---|
| Maker | Kodak |
| Speed | 320/26° |
| Type | B&Wprint |
| Process | Gelatin-silver |
| Format | sheets |
| Application | General |
Tri-Xis ablack and whitephotographic filmproduced by theEastman Kodak Company.Since 2013, it is distributed byKodak Alariswhich controls theKodak Professionalproduct line under which it is grouped.[1]The combination of hand-held cameras and high-speed Tri-X film was transformative forphotojournalism[2]and for cinema.[3]
Overview
[edit]Introduced around 1940, insheetsrated atASAdaylight200 and tungsten 160, it was one of Kodak's first high-speed (for the time) black and white films. Tri-X was released in35 mmand120formats in 1954. Currently it is available in two speeds, ISO 320/26° (320TXP) and 400/27° (400TX). Tri-X 400 is the more common of the two, available in 24- and 36-exposure rolls of 35 mm and rolls of 120 as well as 50 and 100 ft bulk rolls of 35 mm. Tri-X 320 is available in 4×5 ", 5×7", and 8×10 "sheets.
Tri-X 400 is usually rated at ISO 400 when processed in standard developers and remains among the fastest black and white films today.Push processingTri-X to a higher "exposure index" ofEI800 in a standard developer yields very good results, while further pushing to EI 1600 requires more sophisticated processing.[4]A popular method for pushing Tri-X film is using highly diluted developers with little or no agitation and extended development times.[4]This method which is referred to as"stand" or "semi-stand" development,can allow the film to be pushed to speeds up to EI 3200[4]or 6400.[citation needed]
Tri-Xpanchromatic filmwas once one of the most popular films used byphotojournalists[5]and many amateurs. It was manufactured by Eastman Kodak in the U.S., Kodak Canada, and Kodak Ltd in the UK. Kodak data-sheets once recommended different processing times depending on where the film was manufactured. Its sales declined in the 1970s and 1980s due to the falling price and increasing popularity of color film. Since the advent of digital photography, Tri-X has all but fallen out of use in newspaper journalism, though it remains popular in documentary journalism.
Tri-X has undergone a number of minor engineering changes during its long history. An early change in ASA (ISO) speed from 200 to 400, around 1960, was due to a change in the ASA standard rather than the film. In 2007[citation needed],Tri-X was extensively re-engineered, receiving the new designation 400TX in place of TX or TX400, and became finer-grained. The amount of silver in the film stock was reduced.[6][7]
Tri-X also exists as a reversal film for the 16 mm and Super-8 cine film formats. The speed for tungsten lighting (3200 K) is ISO 160 and for daylight ISO 200 when processed as reversal. It can also be processed as a negative at a small loss of speed while the grain will be slightly increased.
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Kodak Tri-X 120 Film (Expired: March 1959) -
Tri-X 6x9 Sheet Film Expired in 1967 -
A Tri-X 35mm (135) film canister, version 2002. -
Tri-X box, circa 1986
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^"Kodak Professional Films".Kodak Alaris.Retrieved28 November2017.
- ^"Life without Tri-X".Absolute Photo.Archived fromthe originalon 22 July 2017.Retrieved25 December2014.
- ^Thirlwell, Adam (17 April 2009)."Adam Thirlwell on the Nouvelle Vague cinema movement".The Guardian.Retrieved2018-11-26.
- ^abc"Camera".The New York Times.6 May 1979.Retrieved2018-11-26.
- ^Tooth, Roger (19 January 2012)."Kodak: a fond farewell".The Guardian.Retrieved2018-11-26.
- ^McCabe, Eamonn (5 October 2011)."Don't take my Kodak away".The Guardian.Retrieved2018-11-26.
- ^"Shortcuts".The Guardian.15 January 2004.Retrieved2018-11-26.
External links
[edit]
- Kodak Alaris Tri-X data sheet
- 'Photo Op: Devoted to Kodak's Tri-X Film Stock'– National Public Radio's Alex Chadwick talks with National Geographic Society photographer Chris Rainier about Tri-X
- 'Kodak Tri-X Reversal Film 7266 product information brochure PDF'