Can the new APX films replace their Agfa predecessors?
There is a new AgfaPhoto APX 100 and AgfaPhoto APX 400 coming soon again. AgfaPhoto/Lupus Imaging & Media GmbH & Co. KG kindly provided some roll and I took a closer look at the two black and white films.
APX 100
Before Agfa stopped production in Germany, enormous quantities of the APX 100 were still produced. This was sold as Rollei Retro 100 and under the AgfaPhoto brand (AgfaPhoto APX 100). Now the leftovers are probably used up, nevertheless it will pass on the APX 100 of AgfaPhoto, but just no longer from Agfa Leverkusen production.
But how to recognize if it is the new or the old film? Both films (100 and 400) have the imprint “New Emulsion”. Also, the country of manufacture has changed, from “Made in Germany” to “Made in EU”.
If you buy your films on the Internet, now that the film is still new, you should ask the dealer beforehand if it is the old or new film. A version for medium format cameras of the two films is currently not planned.
As camera I chose the Canon AE-1, a class SLR for 35mm film. Some time later I exposed the black and white films. Thereby I set ISO 100 or ISO 400 on the camera.
The next step was the development. There are not yet many development times for the new APX 100 from AgfaPhoto. Also a data sheet with development times does not exist to my knowledge.
As developer I have with for Rodinal, is offered among other things under the name Adox Adonal and R09 One Shot. I have already had good experiences with Rodinal in combination with 100 film and especially with the old APX 100, so I decided to use this black and white developer.
For the development times I followed those of Mirko Böddecker in the Fotoimpex Forum. So I bathed the film in Rodinal for 5:30 minutes at 20 degrees with a mix ratio of 1+25.
It’s always a great feeling when you pull the film out of the developing can and you see your pictures or what’s on the film. That’s something else again than when you give your films to the lab.
Many casual shooters will probably take their films to a lab for development.
In most cases you will get better results if you develop the film yourself and can choose the right developer etc., but I assume that you can also get good results in an external lab.
I haven’t tested it, because I develop myself, but it’s not very difficult. If you have the new APX e.g. times at DM or so given to the development, say nevertheless times inform, how the pictures became.
But now to the results with the AgfaPhoto APX 100 New. The pictures are not only black and white. You also get nice grayscale with the 35mm film.
The contrasts are nice and crisp, but the dark areas still have definition. The grain is nice in the background and suits the shots. In my opinion, you get nice monochrome shots with the new AgfaPhoto APX 100.
APX 400
A good field of application, in general, for 400s are shots in less light or in unfavorable lighting conditions. In these days, apart from the night, it is already somewhat difficult to find such a suitable situation. But I find that even in sunshine, great shots with the 400 APX are possible. Later in the day it became a bit changeable, constantly changing between cloudy and bright sunshine. Even these lighting conditions he has mastered without major problems as I find.
Like the 100, I also developed the APX 400 myself in Rodinal. To be exact for 11:30 min at 20 degrees. The mixing ratio between developer and water was 1+25.
Conclusion
Both films deliver solid results. Since they are easy to handle, for example you don’t have to spend an hour with it before shooting, I would recommend them to beginners and casual snappers.
According to the motto, you want to take black and white pictures, then take the AgfaPhoto APX 100 or, if you need more sensitivity, the 400. Of course, that’s not to say that if you’re a frequent black-and-white film user, you can’t have fun with either film.
In conclusion, I can only say that I am happy with my results and I would advise all those who are currently shooting with the APX, still the original product, to give the two new films, both the AgfaPhoto APX 100 New and the AgfaPhoto APX 400 New, a chance.