CPD
Hello,
Now that the new Agfa successors have been mentioned
here too, I have a curious question:
Has a definite date been set for when the launch is expected? Do we know anything yet about the film prices?
Best regards,
CP
MirkoBoeddecker
Yes, the first batch of 400 ASA 35mm film is scheduled for the end of February.
However, we won’t be able to provide precise details on its characteristics until afterwards.
It looks as though the new film will have a finer grain than the old one, but this will need to be tested in developers.
We had to replace several key ingredients as the old ones were no longer available.
Overall, this has meant a relatively high level of effort (many trial runs and test batches) to keep the film as close to the original as possible.
It’s not as complicated with the 100 ISO film, but unfortunately we can’t tackle that yet from a market perspective.
Best regards,
Mirko
michael-kielgmxnet
A finer grain is more than welcome; anyone familiar with the old APX 400 knows that it wasn’t exactly renowned for its fine grain. Otherwise, I wish you the best of luck with the launch and look forward to seeing the first units.
CPD
Hello,
That sounds promising. However, I’m only interested in roll film and sheet film.
When can we expect these? Will they be available this year?
I’m actually quite keen on the 400 now. Even though I didn’t particularly like it before. But now, after the ‘makeover’. :ph34r:
Best regards
Urnes
Hi Mirco,
How’s the backing material looking? Still as thick as ever and prone to curling inwards? Or is there something new and fancy that lies flat when scanned? And then, of course, the inevitable question about the price... well... perhaps roughly in that ballpark... Ilford has gone up quite a bit, after all.
Regards, Sven.
Rotti
So, for a properly built successor to the APX 100 and an improved APX 400 made in Germany, I’m happy to pay Kodak-level prices.
As I’ve now completely run out of 35mm film, I’m only interested in roll film.
KlausWehner
Hello everyone,
The APX 400 is/was an excellent film!
It just had a few minor specific weaknesses that made it difficult to achieve top-quality results without any trouble.
I think that’s why the film never received the attention and appreciation it actually deserved.
The APX 400 has very low contrast. If you then photograph low-contrast subjects (such as a landscape in the rain), there is (almost) no developer capable of conjuring up sufficient contrast in the film.
The result: you have to enlarge it using very hard paper – which inevitably leads to highly visible granularity.
The APX 400 does not really achieve its nominal sensitivity – (just like virtually all other films). Its actual speed is 200 to 250 ASA / 24 to 25 DIN.
If you actually expose it at its nominal speed, the detail in the shadows has already disappeared. (And in this respect, the APX400 is actually more sensitive than, for example, the HP5).
If the APX400 is handled correctly: correct exposure at 200–250 ASA and high-contrast development (possibly with a higher developer concentration), the film delivers results that almost no one would expect of it: fine grain, very high sharpness, crisp contrast, rich tonal range.
I am sure that the same can be expected from the new ADOX 400 and I would very much hope that correct exposure and development become the norm!
Regards from Paderborn
Klaus
CPD
Hi,
Do you mind if I bother you again and ask when it’ll be ready?
Bye!
CP
MirkoBoeddecker
Hello CP,
As I’ve learnt from previous projects, I find it difficult to commit to fixed deadlines.
Reissuing a film is no walk in the park, and whenever something goes wrong, you’re immediately set back by weeks or months.
We’ve carried out a lot of tests over the last six months, and the film has gradually improved – though, unfortunately, it’s also become noticeably more expensive.
The current status is as follows:
Grain: visibly much finer
Base: Clear triacetate (oh-ha)
Antihalation: Newly added (the original relied entirely on the grey tint of the base) between the emulsion and the base (AHU) – ouch, expensive!
Printing range: Same
Speed: 1 DIN too low; an improvement is promised from the next batch onwards.
Silver load: Increased by around 40% to adapt the film to the old curves (expensive!)
Maximum density at the start of the film: Lower than with the old APX (despite higher silver loading), as the film no longer develops beyond a certain density. However, the reproducible range is not affected by this, so it should have no impact on the image results. In the reproducible range, the maximum density is actually higher.
The big question now is to what extent these changes will affect the film in practice.
These tests are now due to take place; after that, we could (provided they are successfully completed) start the first series production.
Incidentally, the first batches will be launched on the market as Agfaphoto APX so that our sales channel doesn’t dry up.
As for our own packaging, we are focusing first on the other formats.
Unfortunately, we are constantly being held back by regulatory requirements during the construction of the factory.
When you first have to spend €15,000 on pointless (because they are already existing, functional but no longer compliant) rainwater infiltration ponds, you lack the funds to complete the air-conditioning system and other work.
I could go on moaning for hours about hydrants with 4% too little flow (replacement = €5,000) or rainwater collection pits or pointless fire safety regulations (replacing existing steel doors without a certification mark with inferior ones that have a seal), but what’s the point. Without a revolution, we’ll probably never get rid of these bureaucrats, but revolting isn’t in vogue at the moment – the FDP isn’t even allowed to simplify the tax system.
So, eyes shut, just get through it. Then lock the factory doors straight away and don’t let anyone else in :-)
Best regards,
Mirko
Wolf_XL
...or bludgeon the inspectors to death with the steel doors and sink them in the light oaks... ;-) Alternatively, one could also give them a ‘Swedish drink’ using the hydrants that are 4% too small... ;-)
[size=2]
Let’s go, comrades![/size]
[size=2]Long live the revolution!!![/size]
StefanCaspari
Hello everyone,
The APX 400 is/was an excellent film!
It just had a few minor specific weaknesses that made it difficult to achieve top-quality results without any trouble.
I think that’s why the film never received the attention and appreciation it actually deserved.
The APX 400 has very low contrast. If you then photograph low-contrast subjects (such as a landscape in the rain), there is (almost) no developer capable of conjuring up sufficiently high contrast in the film.
The result: you have to enlarge it using very hard paper – which inevitably leads to highly visible grain.
The APX 400 does not really achieve its rated sensitivity (just like virtually all other films). Its actual speed is 200 to 250 ASA / 24 to 25 DIN.
If you actually expose it at its nominal speed, the detail in the shadows has already disappeared. (And in this respect, the APX400 is actually more sensitive than, for example, the HP5).
When the APX400 is handled correctly – with the correct exposure at 200–250 ASA and high-contrast development (possibly using a higher developer concentration) – the film delivers results that almost no one would expect: fine grain, very high sharpness, crisp contrast and rich tonal range.
I’m sure the same can be expected from the new ADOX 400 and I’d very much like to see correct exposure and development become the norm!
Greetings from Paderborn
Klaus
Hello everyone!
I couldn’t agree more!
APX 400 as sheet film was (and hopefully will be again!) my standard portrait film on the Linhof.
In addition to the fine grain and sharpness, there is (as with the APX 100) a colour sensitisation that I find particularly appealing, especially in skin tones.
Warm regards from Munich: Stefan
KlausWehner
Hello everyone,
It was worth the wait! The new APX 400 is set to be an absolutely outstanding film.
I’ve had the opportunity to test several test batches of the APX 400 in the past. The latest batch, which I’ve had for a few days now, shows significant improvements both over the previous test material and over the old APX 400.
Most importantly: the typical weaknesses of the APX 400 have completely disappeared. A sufficient maximum density is now achieved effortlessly – the film responds much more directly to push development. But even more important in practice is that the detail in the deep shadows has been significantly improved.
For the first time, it will now be possible to perform exposure on an APX 400 at its rated speed (400 ASA/27 DIN) and expect good shadow detail. That is a huge step forward!
(Optimal image quality is likely still achieved at 250 ASA/25 DIN – as is the case with all other 400 ASA films).
Sharpness has been significantly improved – possibly due to the new, additional and sophisticated antihalation. Microcontrast is visibly better than on the old APX 400.
One of the strengths of the APX 400 has always been its highly nuanced and natural reproduction of grey tones. This appears to have been fully retained. A direct comparison of the new and old APX film visually shows an identical rendering of colours in greyscale.
This is, for the time being, a preliminary assessment on my part. I had neither sufficient quantities of film nor the necessary time available for comprehensive testing. I based my assessments exclusively on the negatives – mostly in direct comparison with identically developed old APX 400 film. I developed the films using my own developer. I also used HP5 and TMY film. I exposed all films at 25.5 DIN; for the APX 400, I also tried 27 DIN/400 ASA as an experiment.
Conclusion: even though my tests were not very extensive, the improvements are so striking that one can speak of a leap in quality.
The film is now truly on a par with the best of its kind – here and there it may even be a step ahead.
Anyone who liked the film before will now really love it! I’m sure it will quickly find new fans too.
Warm regards from Paderborn
Klaus
Andreas_23
Hello Klaus,
Thank you very much for your review. I’d previously thought that the revived Agfa/ADOX APX had come too late for me, as I switched to Ilford after using up my last roll of Agfa film and am very happy with it. However, your comment has made me very curious about this new ‘old’ film.
Best regards from Enger,
Andreas
KlausWehner
Hi Andreas,
Perhaps you’re a member of the fineartforum? If I can find the time, I could prepare a few negatives
that would really show you the leap in quality.
I don’t want to promise anything, though, because at the moment I’m already struggling to get through everything I actually need to do.
But I can promise this with a clear conscience: the wait for the film is definitely worth it!
Warm regards from Paderborn
Klaus
Commander8x
Conclusion: even though my tests weren’t particularly extensive, the improvements are so striking that one can certainly speak of a leap in quality.
The film is now truly on a par with the best of its kind – in some respects, it may even be a step ahead.
Anyone who liked the film before will now really love it! I’m sure it will quickly find new fans too.
That sounds very good indeed, thanks for the review. I got on well with the ‘old’ original APX400 too, and if the new edition has improved on that, I’ll definitely be using it as a successor. A (reasonable) price increase wouldn’t be a problem for me, as quality comes at a price, and the further development of the film has to be paid for too.
I’ll keep my fingers crossed!
Matthias
MirkoBoeddecker
We’ve now cut a bit more test material.
If anyone would like to see the new film for themselves, I could go and roll a few cassettes.
These will be 18–20-exposure 35mm films that I’ve personally hand-cut, hand-perforated using a hand crank, hand-punched, hand-rolled and hand-sealed.
As we can’t always keep the strip straight in the sample cutting machine, the perforating die unfortunately occasionally causes the film to jam, resulting in a few minor scratches.
So don’t take the sample film to your next photo shoot with the Queen of England.
This is what I look like at work (yes, I know the caps are still on. Otherwise the IR sensors get damaged by light):
[ATTACHMENT NOT FOUND]
After about 20 films, though, I regularly lose interest or start seeing stars.
If demand gets too high, I’ll have to put the brakes on at some point :-)
Best regards,
Mirko
uworischki
I'll just wait for the sheet film then.
Best regards, Uwe
k-g
If it’s also available in 220 format, that would be absolutely brilliant.
Best regards and many thanks for all your hard work!
Karl-Gustaf
Rotti
That sounds very promising.
Thanks for your clearly energetic efforts.
If there’s a new APX 400 and APX 100 available as 120 roll film, that’s pretty much all I need in terms of film.
If the build quality is then better than that of some Rolleis, I’ll be absolutely delighted.
Regards, Rotti
CPD
Hello,
That sounds really good and I’m really keeping my fingers crossed that it works out!!!
I’m waiting for roll film and sheet films. 220 would, of course, be like Christmas, Easter and free beer all rolled into one. But I’d be happy enough with the 120.
Best regards,
CP
