Black-and-white negative · Black & white
Kodak T-Max 400
Fine-grained 400 speed for dim light and action.
Kodak T-Max 400 printed on Kodak 2302: a 400-speed T-grain film. Original vs Ashigrain.
At a glance
- Exposure index
- 400
- Introduced
- 2007
- In production
- Process
- KODAK PROFESSIONAL T-MAX RS Developer and Replenisher, large tank, 24 C (75 F)
About the film
Kodak T-Max 400, code 400TMY, is a continuous-tone panchromatic black-and-white negative rated ISO 400, made with high-efficiency multi-zone T-Grain emulsions.
Kodak dates this improved film to 2007: its sheet of October that year introduced the new emulsions and said the film bettered its predecessor in both grain and sharpness, with slightly adjusted processing times. Shutterbug relayed Kodak's announcement that November, which placed it in the black-and-white range alongside T-Max 100 and Tri-X. The name was older: Kodak's October 1999 sheet documented T-Max 400 Professional with T-Max 100 and P3200. In March 2002 Kodak said those films had been replaced by Kodak Professional T-Max films with different development times, and its 2004 sheet put that down to a move to a more advanced coating facility. Kodak recommends the current film for dim light, fast action, longer flash range and depth of field at fast shutter speeds, and for scientific and biomedical work including fluorescence photography. Kodak Alaris publishes the current sheet, of February 2016, and lists the film in 135, 120, sheet and long-roll sizes.
Sources for this history
- KODAK PROFESSIONAL T-MAX 400 Film Technical Data (F-4043, February 2016), Kodak Alaris Inc.
- KODAK PROFESSIONAL T-MAX 400 Film Technical Data (F-4043, October 2007), Eastman Kodak Company
- New Kodak Professional T-MAX 400 Black-and-White Film, Eastman Kodak Company
- KODAK T-MAX Professional Films Technical Data (F-32, October 1999), Eastman Kodak Company
- KODAK T-MAX Professional Films Technical Data, Eastman Kodak Company
- KODAK PROFESSIONAL T-MAX 400 Film, Kodak Alaris Inc.
- KODAK PROFESSIONAL T-MAX Films Technical Data (F-4016, February 2004), Eastman Kodak Company
The look
Kodak T-Max 400 is a fast panchromatic black-and-white negative whose multi-zone T-Grain emulsions aim for fine grain and sharpness at 400 speed, with slightly darker blues. It prints on Kodak B&W Print Film 2302 by default, or on a colour print film for a near-neutral image with the print's own tint.






Best for
- Available-light interiors
- Sport and fast action
- Flash work at longer range
Compare camera films
Science & sources


A fast panchromatic black-and-white negative rated at EI 400. Its curves, spectral sensitivity and MTF are digitised from Kodak Alaris's 2016 sheet, and its grain is built from the sheet's single RMS granularity value. The EI 1600 push uses the sheet's charted 7 minute curve. It prints on Kodak B&W Print Film 2302 by default.
Response curves and the evidence behind the model
Compare manufacturer data with Ashigrain’s response on the same axes. These curves show how the model is calibrated to its sources; they do not establish a match to photographed film.
Characteristic response
RMS granularity
Density variation (σD) measured through a 48 µm aperture. Where the datasheet gives a single grain value, the response away from that point is an approximation.
| Channel | Density | Datasheet-based σD | Model σD |
|---|---|---|---|
| N | 0.3 | 0.005477 | 0.005373 |
| N | 0.6 | 0.007746 | 0.007599 |
| N | 1 | 0.01 | 0.00981 |
| N | 1.5 | 0.012247 | 0.012015 |
| N | 2 | 0.014142 | 0.013873 |
Model limits
These images show the film model in use. Spectral response, lighting and viewing conditions include approximations. Halation, bloom, grain size, weave and flicker are not fully measured for each film. The look of real film also depends on development and print timing.
- Custom lighting spectra, camera metering and the spectral reflectance inferred from fixed-white-balance footage are assumptions used by the model, not measurements of this film.
- The source gives a daylight exposure index but no colour balance. Daylight calibration and spectrally neutral silver density are assumptions.
- The source gives only diffuse RMS granularity 10 × 10⁻³ at net density 1.0 (D-76). The response away from that point and the silver-clump size are modelled.
- The EI 1600 push uses the chart's 7 minute curve, which matches the development table; EI 800 is normal processing, and other push amounts use a generic model.
- The printed MTF rises above 100 %, which the model renders as a development adjacency effect. Its width, amplitude and dependence on density and development are not published and are approximated.
- The sheet prints reciprocity corrections at a few exposure times; the correction between them is interpolated.
- The sheet names no antihalation layer; an undercoat is assumed, and the single-layer halation response is not measured.
- The characteristic response beyond log H −3.49 to 0.33 is extrapolated.
- In the print branch it prints on Kodak B&W Print Film 2302 by default. Black-and-white print timing is modelled.
Reciprocity: modelled from 1/10000 s to 100 s, following the datasheet's corrections for long and short exposures. Exposure time stops at the ends of that range.
Film guide: assumptions and practical choices
Sources
- Exposure index: KODAK PROFESSIONAL T-MAX 400 Film Technical Data, F-4043, Revised 2-16, p. 1
- Process: KODAK PROFESSIONAL T-MAX 400 Film Technical Data, F-4043, Revised 2-16, p. 3
- Diffuse RMS granularity: KODAK PROFESSIONAL T-MAX 400 Film Technical Data, F-4043, Revised 2-16, p. 7
- Characteristic curves: KODAK PROFESSIONAL T-MAX 400 Film Technical Data, F-4043, Revised 2-16, p. 8