KodakT-Max 100

Kodak T-Max 100 is an ISO 100 panchromatic black-and-white negative film with T-Grain crystals, which Kodak markets as the finest-grained 100-speed black-and-white film in the world [1]. Since March 2026, Eastman Kodak also sells a film called Ektapan 100, which the photo press describes as T-Max under a new name; Kodak has not said the two are identical [3] [4] [5]. Kodak Alaris still lists T-Max 100 [2].

Look and color

T-Max 100 turns colors into grays according to its own spectral sensitivity, which leans further toward blue than T-Max 400:

• Blue renders light. Fstoppers writes that T-Max 100 responds strongly to blue and cyan, so skies wash out without a filter, and that orange and yellow filters help while red filters were less flattering [10]. Kodak’s daylight filter factors point the same way: a No. 8 yellow needs ×1.5, against ×1.6 for T-Max 400 and ×2 for Tri-X, so less yellow is needed to lift blues [1] [13] [14].
• Skin and reds render darker. Converting our test RAW files with the T-Max 100 curve instead of plain luminance made a sky 4.0 L* lighter, skin 5.4 L* darker and a pink shirt 2.4 L* darker: the same direction as Tri-X, with a larger effect [16].
• Reviews describe “rich tonality” and a “modern contemporary look” rather than a vintage one [7] [8]. Reviewers hardly discuss color rendering; the datasheet curve and one review are the only sources on this point.

Tonality

• Curve. On the datasheet’s D-76 characteristic curves (6, 7.5 and 10 minutes), base plus fog sits near 0.22 density on the 7.5 minute curve. The toe is long and gradual, about 0.8 log unit, the straight section is nearly straight, and there is no visible shoulder on the plotted range (our reading of the graph, roughly ±0.05) [1].
• Development sets the contrast. Kodak advises adding or removing 10 to 15 percent of development time if negatives come out too flat or too contrasty [1].
• Reviews. “The smooth tonality, from the highlights to the shadows can only be described as gentle and gradual” [8]. “TMax shadows are remarkably smooth and even” compared with Tri-X [11]. One tester found the opposite in a three-film test, a “lack of contrast” that looked like “a more gray overcast” than Acros or Delta 100 [12]: reviews disagree, and developer and scene matter.
• Latitude. Kodak cites “good latitude” and greater forgiveness with overexposure [1]:
  • for high-contrast scenes, expose one or two stops more and develop normally [1];
  • reviewers report that the film tolerates one stop under and two stops over [7], and Blue Moon Camera says it can be shot at EI 200 without adjusting development [11];
  • pushing to EI 200, 400 or 800 costs shadow detail and adds grain and contrast; Kodak calls results usually excellent at one and two stops and acceptable at three [1].
• Long exposures: no correction from 1/1,000 to 1/10 s; add ⅓ stop at 1 s, ½ stop at 10 s and 1 stop at 100 s [1].

Grain and sharpness

• RMS values measured in different developers are only roughly comparable.
• Resolving power: 63 lines/mm at a test-object contrast of 1.6:1 and 200 lines/mm at 1000:1, against 50 and 200 for T-Max 400 [1] [13]. Wikipedia notes the film’s resolution is high enough that it is often used to test lens sharpness [6].
• Reviews: “smooth images with little to no grain” [7]; Beau Photo describes the grain as smooth rather than muddy [8]. A reader’s comment reports 16×20 prints from 120 and 8×10 from 35 mm without visible grain [9]. The Shoot It With Film tester described T-Max 100 as “very grainy” [12], which contradicts the datasheet and the other reviews; no developer or scanner is given.

Spectral sensitivity

On an equal-energy basis, sensitivity is highest at the violet end (about 0.50 log at 400 nm), falls to about 0.01 near 500 nm, shows a small bump near 545 nm and a shoulder near 595 nm, then drops gradually to about −0.40 at 640 nm and steeply past 650 nm, where the plotted curve ends near 671 nm [1]. In practice, blue skies turn lighter and skin and reds darker than in a luminance conversion, more than with T-Max 400 [16].

Names, status and history

• 1986. Kodak has made the T-Max range since 1986; edge marking TMX identifies the ISO 100 film [6].
• Kodak Alaris. For years, Kodak Alaris distributed T-Max, and it publishes the current datasheet, F-4016, revised June 2018 [1] [4]. On September 30, 2026, it listed T-Max 100 in 135-24, 135-36, 120, sheets in 4×5, 5×7 and 8×10, and 35 mm bulk, with no discontinuation notice [2].
• Ektapan 100 (March 2026). On March 24, 2026, Eastman Kodak launched Ektapan 100, 400 and P3200, matching the T-Max speeds [5].
  • PetaPixel: the new Ektapan “bears more than a passing resemblance” to T-Max, at the same price at B&H [4]. Kosmo Foto calls them “new branding” for the T-Max series [5].
  • Kodak’s Ektapan 100 page lists 135-36, 35 mm bulk, 120 and 4×5, describes “high sharpness, fine grain, and impressive resolving power”, mentions no T-Max and links no datasheet [3].
  • We found no Kodak statement that the emulsions are identical. Treat the rename as reported, not confirmed; the T-Max 100 datasheet is the only one we found for this film.