Gast
Hello,
I’ve inherited an old Agfa Rapid camera, and there was still an exposed roll of film inside it. I’d like to have this film developed. So far, however, I haven’t found anyone who’s familiar with this type of film. Another problem is certainly that the film may have been exposed 15–20 years ago.
Who can help me? Where can I find a specialist who can develop the film?
I only have a modest black-and-white hobby lab myself and don’t know anything about colour film. I’ve also been told that it’s unlikely to be C41 film, but more likely C-22 or something else that hasn’t been available for ages.
Best regards
Martin
Abi
Hello Martin,
If you want someone from the forum to help you, you’ll need to say what type of film it is.
You can generally tell the difference between colour films and black-and-white films by the colour of the emulsion side. Agfa films don’t state the film type, whereas ORWO films have an abbreviation of the film type stamped on them. Here is a short list of the films that were available: CNG = ORWO colour film, C-41 process; NC19 or NC 21 = ORWO colour film, ORWO 5168 process; NP 15 and NP 20 are black-and-white negative films that can still be developed easily even after many years. Agfa produced Isopan IF, a black-and-white negative film, and CNS, a colour film whose process has not been offered by any affordable lab for years. Agfacolor XRG (C-41) was, I believe, the last colour film to be offered as a ‘Rapid’ film. You can process the colour films yourself using a C-41 film kit, including the non-C-41 colour films, though these should only be developed at 24 °C for approx. 15 mins, or black and white in Ilford Ilfotec LC 29. I’d need to look up the processing times online first; someone has already tried this with a C-41 film. The other colour films differ very little in processing times from C-41 colour films, but they cannot withstand these high processing temperatures of approx. 37 °C. If necessary, there is still a lab in Kün that develops old films (black and white and colour), but it isn’t exactly cheap. All information provided without guarantee.
Gast
Hello,
It’s an AGFAcolor XR film.
Can it be developed using the C-41 process?
Best regards, Martin
Abi
Hi Martin,
Agfacolor XR shouldn’t be a problem, as it’s a film compatible with the C-41/AP70 process. You could either perform the processing yourself (though it’s hardly worth the effort for a single roll) or find a specialist lab – the big processing centres rarely bother with it (even though they develop other 35mm films). Why not just ask at the camera shop round the corner?
Regards, Abi
