Film Format: 120/220 Film Colour & Type: Black & White ISO: 400 Grain: Normal Contrast: Normal and High Colour Balance: Not Applicable Exposure Latitude: Wide / Very Wide Latitude DX Coding: No Film Development Process: Black and White Perfect for: 👪 Portraits, 🏔️ Landscapes, and 🏛️ Architecture
Description
Kodak Tri-X 120 film is a truly legendary film. Kodak Tri-X emulsion was first introduced in 1940 in sheet film, making it over 80 years old!
Key to its longevity has been its flexibility - photographers can take TriX 120 into a variety of lighting situations and recover highlights and shadows or generate different grain feel through processing choices.
It has been the first choice for many top photographers over its lifespan - in fact when Kodak went through bankruptcy and restructuring in 2012 Don McCullin panic-bought 150 rolls of Kodak Tri-X in case it didn't survive the turmoil! Fortunately for Mr McCullin and every other photographer, Tri-X did survive and is still available fresh in both 35mm and 120 formats.
Kodak - properly known as Kodak Eastman - was founded in America in 1888 and dominated the "Western" world of photography for the next 100 years, constantly in fierce rivalry with the Japanese Fuji. Similarly to Fuji the advent of digital photography at the turn of the century caused significant financial problems. A late attempt to win in the compact market was hit by the rise of mobile photography and bankruptcy followed in 2012. Fortunately the photography business has survived under the Kodak Alaris name - based in Hertfordshire, England - and they have delighted the analogue industry by pledging continued support for film production and the promise of bringing back old favourite emulsions.
For more information about the brand check out our bio of Kodak
Got a bulk load of this a few years back and am still working my way through. Tri-X gives good contrast and strong grain profile. You can push it quite hard if you don’t mind the contrast and I love it for street and similar photos. What surprised me however is that it did a relatively good job of some landscapes with an orange filter. These were all shot on a 1955 Mamiya 6 so I feel it fits the camera well.
J
James B. (Chesterfield, GB)
Perfect for:Great All-Rounder, Portraits, Street Photography, Architecture, Travel
Accreditation Handles:IG: james_billings_analog
Always great results
I shoot all sorts of black and white films and have quite a few favourites I repeat-buy. HP5+ is reliable and good value, I love the look of Rollei Retro 400S.
Tri-X is another that goes in that category. In 120 you get sharp images with a grain that never overpowers the image, but is still present, adding a lovely classic tone to the images. A recent woodland shoot showed it handling some tricky lighting conditions brilliantly (at least within the bounds of my ability to expos correctly!)
M
Matthew D. (Hackney, GB)
Perfect for:Great All-Rounder, Beginners, Portraits, Landscapes, Street Photography, Architecture, Creative/Abstract, Travel, Studio Work, Low Light/Night
Accreditation Handles:Instagram
A pity I didn't try it sooner!
I hadn't had the best initial experience with Tri-X, but with some practice I've found it to be a very worthy film, and certainly one I'll be using more often! The example here is perhaps a bit overexposed or even overdeveloped, but it should print easily.
First time using TriX and what a lovely film. Lovely grain, very fine for a medium speed like this. Contrasty but still with nice shadow detail, slightly less detail in the shadows than TMax so good if you prefer a more contrasty look. This was shot at box speed on a very overcast day. No editing after scan. I bet this would push well. Would recommend.
There's a reason Tri-X 400 has been in production for eight decades and counting. It does the job time and time again. If it can cope with a grey day in Wigan, it can cope with anything.
