KodakT-Max 400

Kodak T-Max 400 is an ISO 400 panchromatic black-and-white negative film with tabular T-Grain crystals, which Kodak sells as the world’s finest-grained and sharpest 400-speed black-and-white film [1]. Since March 2026, Eastman Kodak also sells a film called Ektapan 400, which the photo press describes as T-Max 400 in a new box; Kodak has not said that the two are identical [5] [6]. Kodak Alaris, which owns the T-Max name, still sells T-Max 400 [3] [7].

Look and color

T-Max turns colors into grays according to its own spectral sensitivity, closer to the eye than most black-and-white films:

• Less blue-sensitive than other Kodak films. Kodak writes that T-Max’s blue sensitivity is “slightly less” than that of its other panchromatic films, bringing it closer to the eye, so blues may come out slightly darker, “a more natural rendition” [1]. Its daylight filter factor for a No. 8 yellow filter is 1.6, against 2 for Tri-X [1] [19].
• Measured on our test RAW files. Converting with the T-Max curve instead of plain luminance made a sky 2.7 L* lighter (Tri-X: 3.2), skin 3.0 L* darker (Tri-X: 3.8) and a pink shirt 0.7 L* darker (Tri-X: 1.2): the same direction as Tri-X, but milder [21].
• What readers and testers say. A reader of Shoot It With Film finds T-Max needs a yellow filter less often, being less sensitive to blue [16], while a reader of 35mmc found T-Max “more blue-biased” than HP5 Plus, “hence the lighter skies” [12]. In a 2010 test in XTOL, 125px found T-Max less sensitive to red than Tri-X [18]; computed from Kodak’s curves, our weights give the opposite, by a small margin [21].
• Reviews describe “a cleaner image with smoother highlights and more controlled shadows” than Tri-X [14] and a “smooth tonality” [15].

Tonality

• Curve. On the datasheet’s D-76 curves (8 minutes), base plus fog sits near 0.22. The toe is short, about half a log unit against about one for Tri-X. The straight section steepens slightly, from a slope of about 0.5 to 0.73, and there is no shoulder, only a slight flattening at the top (our reading of the graph) [1].
• Contrast index. At Kodak’s normal time in D-76, the datasheet’s contrast index curve reads about 0.59 [1]; Kodak’s Tri-X times target 0.56 [19]. Development, not the film alone, sets the contrast.
• Reviews disagree on contrast.
  • Higher: “more inherent contrast than other ISO 400 speed stocks”, with the deepest shadows going “straight to black” [12]; “fairly high contrast (in the highlights and shadows)” [13]; “beautiful contrast right off the negative” [11].
  • Lower: Tri-X is the pick “if I wanted more contrast or a ‘punchier’ look”, while T-Max “retains more shadow detail and showcases a wider tonal range” [16]; “smooth tonal transitions and controlled contrast” [17].
• Highlights: “very good at retaining details in the highlights” [11].
• Latitude. Kodak cites “great latitude” [1]:
  • at EI 800 with normal development, a slight loss of shadow detail and about half a paper grade less contrast;
  • at EI 1600 and 3200, push development, with more contrast and grain and less shadow detail;
  • for high-contrast scenes, one or two stops more exposure and normal development.
• Long exposures: no correction from 1/10,000 to 1 s, then +⅓ stop at 10 s and +1½ stops at 100 s [1].

Grain and sharpness

• The 2007 and 2016 editions of the datasheet give the same RMS and resolving power [2] [1]. Values measured in different developers are only roughly comparable.
• Resolving power: 50 lines/mm at a 1.6:1 test-object contrast, 200 lines/mm at 1000:1 [1]. The modulation transfer curve stays at or above 100 % from about 2.5 to 30 cycles/mm (our reading of the graph) [1].
• Reviews: grain “more noticeable than its 100 speed counterpart, but still very fine for a 400 ISO film” [14]; “note how smooth its pattern is” [15]. In 125px’s test, the scans of T-Max and Tri-X looked “very similar” for grain, but in prints Tri-X “looks grainier all across the board” [18].

Spectral sensitivity

On an equal-energy basis, the response is nearly flat from 380 to 590 nm, with shallow dips near 485 and 560 nm. It falls to about 1.62 log near 612 nm, shows a small peak near 628 nm and drops to 1.33 at 640 nm, where the plotted curve ends [1]. In practice, skies turn a little lighter and skin a little darker than in a luminance conversion, less than with Tri-X [21].

Names, status and history

• 1986 and 2007. Kodak introduced T-Max in 1986 [10]. In October 2007, the 400 was revised with new “multi-zone” T-Grain emulsions, finer grain and higher sharpness, slightly different processing times and the code 400TMY-2 [2] [10].
• Kodak Alaris. For more than a decade, Kodak Alaris sold Eastman Kodak’s still films, and it owns the T-Max trademark [6] [7]. It publishes the current datasheet, F-4043 from February 2016 [1]. On September 29, 2026, it still listed T-Max 400 in 135-24, 135-36, 100 ft bulk, 120 and sheets from 4×5 to 20×24 [3].
• Ektapan 400 (March 2026). On March 24, 2026, Eastman Kodak launched Ektapan 100, 400 and P3200, at the same speeds as the T-Max range [6].
  • PetaPixel: “There is no indication that the new Kodak Ektapan 100, 400, and P3200 films are fundamentally ‘new’” [5]. Digital Camera World, citing a lab, writes that the emulsions remain the same [8].
  • Kodak’s page describes Ektapan 400 as “the world’s sharpest and finest grain 400 speed black-and-white film” and lists 135-36, 35 mm × 100 ft, 120 and 4×5, without mentioning T-Max [4]. Sheets and bulk rolls were added in May 2026 [9].
  • We found no Kodak statement that the emulsions are identical, and no Ektapan datasheet: treat the rename as reported, not confirmed.
• The old Ektapan. Kodak had used the name before, for a film discontinued nearly 25 years earlier; Kodak then recommended T-Max instead [5].