Agfa APX

TiMo · 2012-02-22T06:06:32+00:00

Ich habe jetzt schon von einigen Leuten gehoert, dass der Agfa APX100 ein so hervorragender Film seine soll. Der Neuauflage von Adox wird ja auch sehr entgeg...

TiMo

I’ve already heard from quite a few people that the Agfa APX100 is supposed to be an absolutely brilliant film. There’s also a lot of anticipation surrounding the new edition from ADOX. I’m also looking forward to a new film from ADOX, because I enjoy trying out new films. Most others on the forum, however, are pleased that the Agfa film’s qualities will be available again. The APX was discontinued before my time. Now I’m curious to know what it is about the film that people like so much. Please include sample photos. :D

michael-kielgmxnet

Why not give the film a go? There’s still plenty left in stock, either as APX, Agfaphoto (e.g. at dm) or as Rollei Retro.

TiMo

I don’t really want to get my hopes up about a film that’s already out of date. Buying one quickly isn’t an option anyway, as I live a long way (about 9,000 km) from the nearest dm. When the ADOX version comes out, I’ll be happy to give it a go. I’m only interested because I hear a lot of good things about the film, particularly in German-speaking countries, but rarely anything specific. It’s also quite interesting for beginners to see and read what more experienced photographers appreciate about a film.

michael-kielgmxnet

From a purely objective point of view, what I like about the APX 100 (which is the only one I’m talking about here) is its affordable price, its good availability (at least so far), and its robustness. I started out as a home developer with this film and have stuck with it, even though I’ve tried many others in between. However, over the years I’ve consistently achieved good results with the APX 100, regardless of the developer used. From a purely subjective point of view, I like the look of the APX, especially when it’s developed in Rodinal.

MirkoBoeddecker

The APX 100 offers excellent grey-scale gradation and a wide range of exposure options. This means that it still produces good negatives even when overexposed. Its “curve” remains flatter over a longer range than comparable films, and it achieves higher maximum densities. For this reason, it was also marketed as a reversal film under the name Scala on a clear base. When working with the zone system, you get more detail in the highlights and shadows. It is a very good film. However, other manufacturers also produce good films. You can adapt to any material. Even a ‘bad’ film is never really bad. Granularity can be ‘combated’ with overexposure and Perceptol, a lack of shadow detail with overexposure, ‘drooping’ curves through precise work, flat curves through an adjustment to the development process, and inconsistent batches through testing, etc. With any good-quality film, none of this is necessary. Best regards, Mirko

piu58

Even a 'bad' film is never really bad.

Well, there are extreme examples, of course, such as Lucky without effective antihalation. Otherwise, you’re right, of course. You can adapt any film if you know a bit about development kinetics. You might lose some of the speed you’d otherwise achieve. But you can almost always get the grey-scale reproduction right, and you’ll definitely end up with a usable film.