Rollei Retro = Agfa APX

Andreas_23 · 2007-04-10T19:47:22+00:00

Hallo liebes Forum, stimmt es eigentlich wirklich, dass die Rollei Retro Filme aus Restbeständen des Agfa APX stammen? Ich habe heute den ersten meiner Rol...

Andreas_23

Hello everyone, Is it actually true that Rollei Retro films are made from leftover stock of Agfa APX? Today I developed the first of my Rollei Retro 400 films (120 format, batch 476). I noticed the following: The Agfa APX films I’ve developed so far (both 35mm and 120) had an almost clear, or at least distinctly light grey, base. The Rollei’s base is distinctly purple. It also curls significantly around the longitudinal axis. The Rollei comes out thinner than the APX when developed in Ultrafin Plus for the same development time. Coincidence or a development error? Or does Rollei perhaps have two sources for the film? Best regards, Andreas

zensusa

Hi Andreas, ...is it actually true that the Rollei Retro films come from leftover stock of Agfa APX.... Yes and no. At the start, yes. The leftover stock was ‘re-cut’. The ‘newer’ Retros do have the APX emulsion, but not the same base. The old Agfa base was really light grey; the new Rollei base is, as with the old Cube 400, more of a “violet-bluish” colour and, like the old Cube, it curls around its longitudinal axis as it lacks an anti-curling coating, such as that applied to the R3, for example. So you’ve observed that quite correctly. What I find rather surprising (I’m speaking here from practical experience with the Retro 100 roll film, though I suspect this also applies to the 400) is the fact that, although it is supposed to be the original Agfa emulsion, it results in different development times compared to the original APX, despite the processes being truly identical (I have already mentioned several times that I have standardised my processes). Unlike you, I had to shorten my development times for the Retro 100 slightly with both Promicrol and CG 512 to achieve the same (old) results (gradient, density, etc.). However, as they do not deviate ‘extremely’ from the APX times, and as base colouring naturally plays a role, as do production variations, I assume that the claim that this is Agfa’s ‘old APX emulsion’ is accurate. Incidentally, although the Rollei R3 was supposed to have the same emulsion as the Cube 400’s successor and the development times were therefore originally intended to be identical, in practice the times had to be adjusted here too. Unfortunately, the problem of changes in familiar “materials” is now becoming increasingly common. A few examples: I now have to correct the Kentmere baryta paper, purchased in March 2007, by approximately -0.5 stops, as well as by -0.6 units in the gradient in split-grade, to achieve the same results as with the same paper (from about three years ago) that I used to process. However, I had to correct ADOX/Forte Polywarmton, which I purchased in January 2007, by +0.3 stops to achieve the same results as I had previously. There are a few more examples, including with films. But I think we’ll just have to accept this fact, especially when we buy materials that are no longer produced on a ‘mass production’ basis. Best regards Lothar

SebastianJunghans

Hello, my name is Sebastian Junghans. I work in marketing at Rollei/Maco and would like to try to answer your questions. 1. Is it true that... Yes, it is true that the films manufactured under the ROLLEI RETRO brand, both 35mm and medium format, come from Agfa’s last large-scale production run in 2005. 2. Violet. What you have noticed is sensitising dye that has not completely dissolved. If a fresh, good-quality fixer was used and the film was sufficiently rinsed, a slight colour cast may still be present; this is not uncommon even with films from other manufacturers. This is not a photochemical disadvantage. This colouration disappears without leaving any residue when exposed to daylight or UV light. 3. Curling behaviour The films offered under the Rollei Retro brand were not originally intended for use as roll film, but as 35mm film. Consequently, the grey-coloured triacetate base is slightly thicker than is usual for Agfa APX roll films. The standard was: 100 microns for RF, 135 microns for 35mm. This may also have an influence on the film’s flatness. 4. Flatness However, parameters such as washing and drying also have a significant influence on flatness. Experience shows that this has nothing to do with the use of special film developers. 5. Decision to produce APX roll films Faced with the choice of no longer being able to offer APX roll films or accepting perhaps less than optimal flatness, Rollei/Maco decided to have a very substantial quantity of APX films with a thickness of 135 microns packaged by Fotokemika in Zagreb. 6. Development times: The “old” APX emulations required shorter development times than the “NEW” version introduced by Agfa in 2005. The exposure tolerances of “NEW” are considerably wider than those of the older version. A&Q has so far accommodated this with the new Rodinal time table. Significant differences can be seen here. The “NEW” version is undoubtedly the significantly improved version. The times for the “NEW” version have not yet been included in Tetenal’s development time tables. With kind regards Sebastian Junghans Marketing Manager MACO PHOTO PRODUCTS Hans O. Mahn & Co KG Brookstieg 4 22145 Hamburg-Stapelfeld Telephone: +49 (0) 40 23 70 08-73 Fax: +49 (0) 40 23 70 08-488 Email: junghans@mahn.net Website: http://www.mahn.net + http://www.rolleifilm.com (USA) Lübeck Commercial Register HRA 2205 VAT number DE118812398 Maco Photo Products is a member of the Photoindustrie Verband e.V. http://www.photoindustrie-verband.de

Andreas_23

This discolouration disappears without leaving any residue when exposed to daylight or UV light.

That’s right! I left the film by the window for two days and the colour has gone! Great! Andreas