Film comparison
Ilford Delta 400 vs Kodak T-Max 400
- T-Max 400 has finer grain.
- T-Max 400 is more forgiving of exposure errors.
- Delta 400 is cheaper in 35mm (about £8.50 vs £12.50).
Side by side
| Delta 400 | T-Max 400 | |
|---|---|---|
| Manufacturer | Ilford | Kodak |
| Type | Black & white | Black & white |
| Box speed | ISO 400 | ISO 400 |
| Process | B&W | B&W |
| Formats | 35mm, 120, 4x5, 8x10 | 35mm, 120, 4x5, 8x10 |
| Grain | Fine | Very fine |
| Contrast | Medium high | Medium |
| Latitude | Good | Excellent |
| Saturation | — | — |
| Price, 35mm | about £8.50 | about £12.50 |
| Price, 120 | about £7.50 | about £10.50 |
| Availability | Current | Current |
Rows that differ are in bold. Prices are typical UK prices and change often.
How they look
- Delta 400
- Modern T-grain film with fine grain and high sharpness. Core-shell crystal technology provides excellent detail. More contrast than HP5 with less pushability.
- T-Max 400
- Known for exceptionally fine grain among 400-speed B&W films. Tabular grain technology offers high sharpness and resolving power.
Which suits what
Better pick: Delta 400
Landscapes
Both work well
Studio, Architecture
Better pick: T-Max 400
High detail
Long exposures (reciprocity)
| Metered | Delta 400 | T-Max 400 |
|---|---|---|
| 1s | 1s | 1s |
| 10s | 26s | 17s |
| 30s | 2m 1s | 1m 8s |
| 2m | 14m 14s | 6m 19s |
Corrected exposure from each film’s published reciprocity data. Reciprocity calculator
Developing both
Developers with published times for both films: