Why shoot Kodak Tri-X 400 Film
Kodak Tri-X 400 is known for its slight contrasty look and it’s one of the most popular rolls in film photography.
Among film photographers, Kodak Tri-X is your go-to roll when doing black and white portraits. I myself swear to this film stock as a mostly black and white photographer.
By the way, Kodak released a statement saying they will raise their prices, across the board, for all of their film stocks, due to high demand.
So if I were you, I’d pick up some Kodak Tri-X on Amazon or BH photo, before the price increase.
Video of me doing street street photography in LA on film using Kodak Tri-X 400
Is Kodak Tri-X 400 better than Ilford HP5?
I myself do a ton of street portraits, and while I love the tones of the Ilford HP5 Plus 400, I think the Tri-X is a better roll for portraits. In terms of the best all-around black-and-white film roll for 35mm and medium-format film photography, I think it’s a toss-up between Ilford HP5 and Tri-X—you can’t really go wrong with either.
Kodak Tri-X 400 Portrait (ISO 800)
Push & Pull
Kodak Tri-X is rated at 400 ISO. But because of the versatility and high speed of this black and white film, you see many people pulling this roll to 100 ISO and pushing it to 800 ISO – even 1600 ISO for low light situations.
Image Quality
If you know the basics of metering and focusing in film photography, most shots will come out great, especially if you shoot Kodak Tri-X 400.
Kodak Professional Tri-X 400 Black and White Negative Film
This film stock is a bit darker and has more contrast than Ilford HP5 and Fujifilm Acros, but I love that about this film; Mostly because I do a lot of black-and-white photography and street portraits.
Of all black and white films for medium format and 35mm photography, the Kodak Tri-X is the most popular.
On my Street Photography Channel on Youtube, I test different kinds of film rolls.
Street photography on Film: Ilford HP5
Watch how I shoot Ilford HP5 on the streets of Mexico City.
Compared to the Kodak TRI-X, The Ilford HP5 Plus 400 gives you:
Less contrast
Subtle grain
Pleasant tones
When I do my film photography, and I know I want to shoot black and white, my two options are always Ilford HP5 or Kodak Tri-X 400.
If I know I’ll do a lot of different shots, I pick the Ilford HP5 Plus 40. If I know I’ll mostly do portrait photography, then I go for the Kodak Tri-X 400 film roll. Get some Portra 400 while you’re at it as well.
All the photos you see in the post, are shot with the Ilford HP5 Plus 400
Amazon has some 3-packs and 10-packs of Ilford HP5 on sale here.