ORWO N74 Plus in TMax

ORWO is a trade name for a range of film products from Germany, from the company named Filmotec. I the 70s, I use to shoot ORWO slide film (UT 18). Recently, in my search for an affordable B&W 400 ISO film to replace Arista (aka cheap Tri-X) I came across ORWO NP74 plus, a movie stock said to be around 400 ISO. I bought one 100ft can of it from http://orwona.com and tried it in my daily shooting. Here are my findings:

- it has nice traditional type grain, very different from Tri-X's.
- it is pushable to 1600 in TMax, but it is better at 400.
- the times are 25% longer in TMax developer compared to Tri-X.
- it has less contrast in TMax developer compared to Tri-X.

Examples

E.I.1600(TMax developer 1+4, 9 min at 75F/24C) :







E.I.400(TMax developer 1+9, 12 min at 75F/24C)

Bottom line:

The can I bought was $55 + shipping. Not overly expensive, but not too cheap either since the same size can of Ilford HP5 will cost the same at B&H or Adorama with free shipping.
So, I'll probably buy the HP5 insted next time, unless I will be able to buy ORWO NP74+ cheaper. It is out of stock at http://orwona.com anyway...