Ilford HP5 Plus 400 vs Kodak T-Max 400 | Which To Buy?

Hunter Lacey @hunterfolacey

August 15, 2024

Two gorgeously famous black and white film stocks — but which one is ultimately for you?

Key Differences

These portraits show the slight differences between these two stocks. If you’d like to see more of the portraits and read more of my thoughts on these stocks, you can view the Ilford article here and the Kodak article here.

With HP5, you’ll have a slightly grainier, lower-contrast outcome. I appreciate a lower contrast from an aesthetic perspective but also because the subjects within the photo usually are equally pronounced despite differences in color. You’ll have a stronger dynamic range with TMax and a very fine grain. The fine grain makes the photo crisper and sharper than it might be otherwise. The tonal range gives you deep blacks and bright whites.

As mentioned earlier, pushing or pulling HP5 in development won’t detract from the details in the shadows or highlights because this is a lower-contrast film. That is an advantage HP5 has over TMax. However, TMax’s fine grain helps it be a solid film for pushing or pulling. Though pushing this film might lead to too much (depends on your preference) contrast, the presence of too much grain will not be a problem in a pushed roll of TMax.

These differences are noticeable and important to take into account when finding your favorite film stock, but there’s no wrong answer. HP5 is not better than TMax, and TMax is not better than HP5 – it just comes down to what you prefer. That’s one of the best parts of film: each photographer gets to develop their own unique style. And part of that is selecting your film stock.

Ilford

Kodak

Conclusions

I used both film stocks for a portrait shoot to round out this comparison fully. I photographed my sister Annabelle wearing a sweater vest I had just finished knitting. My sister is such a good sport. As discussed in a past article, I have been working on a photo project about family for almost a year. And before that, I did test shoots with Annabelle all the time. I have photographed her SO many times that I don’t know how she isn’t sick of it yet. Or maybe she is, which makes her such a good sister. She still lets me photograph her basically whenever I ask. (Thank you, Annabelle!)

Happy shooting!