Kodak Tri-X 400 is a fast black-and-white negative film with wide exposure latitude. Kodak recommends it for pushing: it takes one stop of underexposure with normal developing, and two or three stops with longer developing.
Kodak Tri-X 400
ISO 400 black-and-white negative film
Updated
Quick facts
- Brand
- Kodak
- Type
- ISO 400 black-and-white negative film
- Speed
- ISO 400
- Process
- Black-and-white
Specs
- Type
- Black-and-white negative (panchromatic)
- Speed
- ISO 400
- Formats
- 35mm, 120, and a single-use camera
- Push
- To EI 1600 or 3200 with longer developing
- Storage
- At 24 °C (75 °F) or below, in the sealed package
How to expose it
Latitude: Wide: 1 stop under with normal developing, up to 3 stops under when pushed.
In daylight, at 1/500 s
For front-lit subjects, from 2 hours after sunrise to 2 hours before sunset.
| Bright or hazy sun on light sand or snow | f/22 |
| Bright or hazy sun, distinct shadows | f/16 (f/8 for backlit close-ups) |
| Weak, hazy sun, soft shadows | f/11 |
| Cloudy bright, no shadows | f/8 |
| Heavy overcast or open shade | f/5.6 |
In low light, at ISO 250–400
Kodak’s trial exposures for when a meter struggles with lights and reflections. Use a tripod below 1/30 s, and bracket.
| At home | |
|---|---|
| Home interiors at night, average lighting | 1/30 s f/2 |
| Home interiors at night, bright lighting | 1/30 s f/2.8 |
| Candle-lit close-ups | 1/15 s f/2 |
| Indoor holiday lights and Christmas trees | 1/15 s f/2 |
| Outdoors at night | |
|---|---|
| Outdoor holiday lights and Christmas trees | 1/15 s f/2 |
| Brightly lit street scenes | 1/60 s f/2.8 |
| Neon signs and other lit signs | 1/125 s f/4 |
| Shop windows | 1/60 s f/4 |
| People lit by street lights | 1/15 s f/2 |
| Floodlit buildings, fountains and monuments | 1/15 s f/2 |
| A distant skyline of lit buildings | 1 s f/2.8 |
| A skyline 10 minutes after sunset | 1/60 s f/5.6 |
| A skyline just after sunset | 1/125 s f/5.6 |
| Light trails from traffic | 10 s f/22 |
| Fairs and amusement parks | 1/30 s f/2.8 |
| Fireworks on the ground | 1/60 s f/4 |
| Campfires and bonfires | 1/60 s f/4 |
| People lit by a campfire | 1/30 s f/2 |
| Night football, tennis or a race track | 1/125 s f/2.8 |
| Landscapes under a full moon | 8 s f/2 |
| Snow under a full moon | 4 s f/2 |
| Indoors in public places | |
|---|---|
| Basketball, bowling and ice hockey | 1/125 s f/2 |
| Boxing and wrestling | 1/250 s f/2 |
| Floodlit stage and ice shows | 1/60 s f/2.8 |
| Rooms with bright fluorescent light | 1/60 s f/4 |
| School plays and auditoriums | 1/30 s f/2 |
| Indoor pools under tungsten light | 1/60 s f/2 |
| Hospital rooms | 1/60 s f/2.8 |
| Church interiors under tungsten light | 1/30 s f/2 |
For moonlit scenes, leave the moon out of the frame: it moves during the exposure.
Long exposures
Film gets less sensitive in very long exposures, so a metered 30 seconds can come out underexposed. This is called reciprocity failure. Pick your meter reading to see what to set.
Your meter says
Expose for
37 s
Or keep 8 s and open the aperture 2 stops.
Then develop 20% shorter than normal.
Estimated between Kodak’s published times. Bracket if the shot matters.
Kodak’s figures stop at 100 s. For anything longer, bracket a stop or more either side.
How to develop it
Develop for 6:45 min:sec
- Develop in D-76 for 6:45. Tap the tank to knock off air bubbles, then invert it 5 to 7 times in the first 5 seconds. Repeat that every 30 seconds.
- Stop bath, with agitation · 0:30
- Fixer (Kodak Fixer), with frequent agitation · 5:00 to 10:00
- Or rapid fixer · 2:00 to 4:00
- Wash in running water · 20:00 to 30:00
- Or rinse 0:30, hypo clearing agent 1:00 to 2:00, then wash · 5:00
- Wetting agent (Photo-Flo) · 0:30
- Dry somewhere free of dust
Small tank (8 or 16 oz), one or two reels. Times are in minutes and seconds.
External links
Sources
- Kodak Tri-X 320 and 400 technical data (F-4017, October 2021), Kodak Alaris
- Suggested Trial Exposures for KODAK Film for Existing-Light (Low-Light) Conditions, Kodak