APX New development times

kindgottes92 · 2014-02-26T22:41:20+00:00

Hallo Liebe Fotofreunde, mein Standardfilm war bis jetzt immer der gute alte APX100, den man im dm-Markt zu recht günstigen Preisen bekommt. Entwickelt hab...

kindgottes92

Hello fellow photography enthusiasts, Up until now, my go-to film has always been the good old APX100, which you can pick up at dm at very reasonable prices. I’ve always developed it with good results using Rodinal/Adonal at a ratio of 1:25 for 8 minutes, or using the tilt-and-turn method. I got this information from a box of APX100 roll films, as there is no longer a data sheet inside the 135 box. For the past few weeks, the chemist’s has only been stocking the new films (New Emulsion) at the same price. I didn’t think much of it and bought some. But whilst browsing the internet, I was a bit confused when I found this page: http://filmphotography.eu/film/agfaphoto-apx-100-new/. It states a development time of just 5:30 in Rodinal. Is this misinformation, or does the new film actually have such significantly different properties? Unfortunately, I can’t find a spec sheet for the new one. Has anyone had any experience with it? I’d also be interested in the development times for the new 400, though I don’t have any experience with the old one as it’s been out of production for quite some time. Regards from Görlitz Christian

Renate

Hello, As was discussed here some time ago, the only thing the APX New has in common with the old APX is the name. Otherwise, it is an emulsion that has not been produced according to Agfa’s formula. As I have never used it, I cannot comment on the quality of the film. Best regards, Renate

Morte

It has been suggested here and there that the new APX films are supposedly identical to Kentmere 100 and 400. I don’t know if that’s true. However, I’ve had nothing but good experiences with Kentmere 400 so far, both in Adonal and in the A49 – both technically and in terms of image quality. If the films really are identical, we would certainly have the advantage of being able to stock up on supplies at the numerous dm stores whilst out and about – at least for the 100. Otherwise, it’s worth taking a look at the existing thread on the topic of “new APX”: http://forum.fotoimpex.de/index.php?showtopic=3045 Addendum on the topic of exposure times (as asked above): Assuming that APX 400 (new) and Kentmere 400 are indeed the same film, here are my experiences: The online database Massive Dev Chart lists a development time of 20 minutes for the combination of Kentmere 400 and Adonal 1+50; in the thread mentioned three lines above, it’s even 21 minutes. I consider these times to be excessive. In my experience, the films become overdeveloped (and too steep, with tonal values shifted upwards). The same applies to the combination with A49. Times of 9.5–10.5 minutes are quoted here. I develop Kentmere 400 successfully and with beautiful tonal range using the following times: Kentmere 400 in Adonal 1+50: 13 minutes Kentmere 400 in A49 stock: 7 minutes 20 seconds

wosis123

Last time I developed the Kentmere 400 in AM74/RHS 1+9 for 7 minutes, and it turned out well.

Quinquaginta

Hello Christian, It is indeed the case that the AgfaPhoto "New" films no longer have anything to do with the original Agfa APX films from Leverkusen. They are different emulations from a different manufacturer, which are now supplied to Lupus Imaging / AgfaPhoto. If the old APX 100 was your go-to film, you will find the ADOX Silvermax to be the most suitable replacement. The original APX 100 and the Silvermax differ only minimally (slightly higher silver content in the Silvermax, clearer base). Spectral sensitivity, edge sharpness, fine grain and resolution are practically identical in the old APX 100 and the Silvermax (I have compared them directly in several test series). The APX 100 "New" is by no means a bad film, but it doesn’t come close to the original APX 100 and Silvermax. Processing data for APX 100 "New": I once tested the film sensitometrically (using a calibrated light meter and densitometer, as well as a calibrated thermometer). I determined characteristic curves for a medium gamma, each using the Agfa agitation rhythm: Rodinal 1+25: 5:30 mins (ISO 100/21°C). Rodinal 1+50: 10:00 mins (ISO 80/20°C). Atomal Stamm: 9:30 mins (ISO 160/23°). And with the APX 400 "New", I arrived at the following values: Rodinal 1+25: 11:30 mins (ISO 400/27°) Rodinal 1+50: 21 mins (ISO 320/26°) Atomal Stamm: 10:30 mins (ISO 320/26°). Best regards, Henning

Olivinyl

Hello everyone, When I compare my development times for Kentmere 400 in Rodinal 1+50 with those for Henning’s APX 400, I feel that the two films are quite different. My results: Kentmere 400 1+50 250 ISO 14:30 minutes at 20°C 30/30/2x Henning: APX 400 New 1+50 320 ISO 21:00 minutes at 20°C Best regards, Oliver

TR

Perhaps you scan your film, in which case you’d prefer soft negatives where the highlights are well ‘translucent’, whereas Henning might be using a diffuser enlarger, which requires the negatives to have higher contrast. That could also explain it. Or perhaps Rodinal 1+50 has long since lost its effectiveness after 21 minutes, meaning that Henning’s actual development time is shorter.

Olivinyl

Hello everyone! ? I don’t use a scanner. I use a Kaiser VCP enlarger, i.e. a mixing chamber and condenser. I perform development to a gamma of ~0.62 to 0.65. ? Best regards, Oliver

Quinquaginta

Perhaps you scan your film, in which case you’d want soft negatives where the highlights are well ‘translucent’, whereas Henning might be using a diffuser enlarger, for which the negatives need to have higher contrast. That could also explain it. Perhaps Rodinal 1+50 has long since lost its effectiveness after 21 minutes, meaning that Henning’s actual development time is shorter.

€ Hello Thomas, € I develop for a medium gamma, as I have an enlarger that features a combined system of mixing box and double condenser. And no, Rodinal 1+50 is definitely not ineffective after 21 minutes (tested myself). Agfa itself used to specify much longer times for the 1+75 and 1+100 dilutions, for example for the APX 25. I still have the correspondence with Agfa from back then (real letters ;-) ) in my old files from that time. I myself have often developed the APX 25 at 1+100. € Differences in development times can arise simply because your light meter may differ from mine (differences of up to 2/3 f-stops are not uncommon); variations in temperature are also possible, as are differences due to the agitation rhythm. Manufacturer’s specifications can only ever serve as a starting point. For best results, you need to test your own parameters and the equipment you’re using. But that’s not really a big problem. € Best regards, Henning

Otto

You can find the data sheets here: http://www1.lupus-imaging-media.com/en/kategorie-download.html € Best regards, Otto!

Werner_49

Hello, I’m new here and am reading your comments with great interest. € I perform the exposure on the AGFA APX400 NEW at ISO 400, then perform the development at 20°C in R09 ONE SHOT at a dilution of 1:25 for (just) 10 minutes. This gives me negatives that have a moderate level of density, which scan well (Nikon Coolscan V ED with Silverfast Studio). I don’t make any corrections during the scan itself, but do so later in Photoshop. The scan results are fairly bright images, which I can then edit very well in Photoshop. This results in perfect black-and-white prints. € Werner

Gast

I always perform the APX100-New emulsion development in Rodinal at a dilution of 1:25 at 20°C for 8 minutes, agitating the tank every 30 seconds. That works well for me.