[kbrede]

Do you have enough shadow detail for your preferences? If so, and there is too much contrast, it could be overdevelopment. Note this does not mean Kodak's recommended development times are wrong. Perhaps your subjects are high in contrast. Even if this is not the case, there are several variables involved in the amount of development that occurs given a fixed development time. How accurate and stable is the temperature? What is the agitation procedure like? How much agitation? It should not be difficult to get good results with TMax films.

Micheal, I am happy with the shadow detail, the information is there, as well as the highlights, usually. I suspect I'm dealing with overdevelopment. Some of the scenes I've shot have been very contrasty but many have not been. Even if I shoot in shade, when I go to print that negative, the blacks build up fast, but the highlights are blown and that's with a #2 filter. With T-Max 100 and 400, I spend a lot of time with the #00 filter, trying to burn in the highlights. My last set of negs were a a nightmare. Even with a strait #00 filter, the darks would build up in seconds, before the highlights, and that was stopped down to f/22 and f/32 on the enlarger.

My film development is very consistent. These are the steps:

1. Develop, continuous agitation first 30 seconds, 3 inversions in 5 seconds, every 30 seconds thereafter. Always at published times.
2. Stop bath, continuous agitation, 30 seconds.
3. Fixer, 8 minutes, same agitation scheme as step 1.
4. Fill tank with water, agitate continuously for 30 seconds, repeat.
5. Perma wash for 2 minutes, same agitation scheme as step 1.
7. Final water wash. Fill and dump tank 10 times, taking 1 minute to fill tank.
8. Photo-flo and hang.

I fill two pans with 20c water and place all chemicals used in the bath. All chemicals are brought to 20c, just before I start. Water rinses are also temperature controlled to 20c.

I've got a glass calibration thermometer that I use to make sure my dial thermometer is accurate.

Chemicals in the darkroom start at 20c and may drift to 21c.

My light meter is a Sekonic L-508, calibrated by Quality Light Metric. I almost always use incident metering, pointed away from the subject, to the camera.