This film is NOT as sensitive as Agfa claims. I expose it at ISO 200 and develop in FG-7. The results are gorgeous. Shot and developed like this it does not have nearly the grain as when developed in Rodinol, and the tonal qualities are superb. Thenegatives have a snap, a sparkle, to them. and they retain full shadow detail without wiping out the highlights.
I've enlarged 6x4.5 negatives to 16x20 when handled like this and the grain is not objectionable. ISO 200, while not 400, is still a very convenient speed to shoot at, especially outdoors, which most of my shooting is.
They're also very easy to print when handled this way.
Strengths:
produces beautiful prints
easy to print
great tonal structure
Weaknesses:
it's really ISO 200
can be hard to find. I have to order it.
Rating Reviewed by: Charles Sallee(Unregistered User)
(Casual)
Review Date June 15, 2003
Overall Rating 5 of 5
Value Rating 5 of 5
Used product for 1 to 3 months
Visitors rate this review 4.20 of 5,
5 votes
Review 2 of 16
Price Paid:
$0.00
Summary:
I feel competent shooting landscapes but am relatively new to photographing people. I'll most often use a 100mm f2 prime lens with an ISO 400 B&W film and shoot candids or at least not-posed shots indoors, or outdoors in shade, or outdoors on a really overcast day. After side by side comparing color with B&W, I found B&W to be by far the more desireable. Then I tried a half dozen or so B&W emulsions. My films are processed by a good lab, the best in town. After seeing the results I've picked APX 400 as my standard people film for these people pictures. It just looks better than the rest. Although the appearance of grain in water or sky can ruin a photo, the grain in this film adds texture to skin and clothes and simply looks great. It's not objectionable in the blurred backgrounds either.It may be objectionable in enlargements but for 4 x 6 prints, it actually improves the photo.
Strengths:
By far the best skin tones of any of the B&W films I tried. Beautiful grain that's perfect for people pictures in 4 x6 prints.
Weaknesses:
Tended to be slightly underexposed. I'm setting ISO 320 now.
It was already mentioned here that Agfa APX 400 is being seriously underated and I really support that point of view.
APX 400 yields images with a definiton above normal, sharper than its fellow competitors and with a great contrast and tonal gradation. It's probably also grainier that Kodak's Tri-X of Ilford's HP5+ (specially when developed on Rodinal) but, at least for me, that's not much of a downside because I love a little "good looking grain" on dim light portraiture.
Strengths:
- great definition, very sharp
- great tonal gradation and contrast
- price
- easy to process
Weaknesses:
- grain (again, for me this isn't really a weakness, but for others it may be)
- avaliability (it wasn't hard to find in Portugal, but I believe their agent changed and now... it's nearly impossible to find it in portuguese market - have to order from internet)
Rating Reviewed by: donald cardwell(Unregistered User)
(Professional)
Review Date March 12, 2002
Overall Rating 5 of 5
Value Rating 5 of 5
Used product for More than 1 year
Visitors rate this review 3.00 of 5,
2 votes
Review 4 of 16
Price Paid:
$0.00
from b&h
Summary:
APX 400 has a short toe, long straight line and a gently shoulder, translating into good shadow detail, strong midtone separation and gentle compression in the high values making it next to impossible to ''blow out'' the whites [this is with Rodinal and Diafine and Xtol... other developers can give stronger whites if that''s what you want].
The TONALITY is everything with this film. People look great with APX 400. You can shoot classic white on adobe shots, and moody Paris-scape. It''s got a classic look that is very easy to manage... quite different from other 400 films.
Strengths:
Tonality is classic, grain is regular and clean, easy to work with. As good as Verichrome Pan. Rewards good technique.
Weaknesses:
Is it a weakness that it isn''t a push-film ? It won''t push like Tri X, but it''s two stops faster than films with it''s tonal signature.
Similar Products Used:
Agfa 100, Kodak Tri X, TMX, TMY, Plus X. Fuji Neopan 400, Ilford FP4+, HP5+, Delta 100 & 400.I
Rating Reviewed by: blue celtic(Unregistered User)
(Professional)
Review Date January 30, 2002
Overall Rating 5 of 5
Value Rating 5 of 5
Used product for 3 Months to 1 year
Visitors rate this review 4.20 of 5,
1 votes
Review 5 of 16
Price Paid:
$0.00
from Calumet
Summary:
In today''''s world I feel all the films made are of very good quality. Every film has it''''s own unique characteristics and qualities; so choosing a film is a personal choice like picking a friend. I switched to Agfa from Kodak because the cost of Tri-x increased to the point that the film wasn''''t worth the price. Over the past 10 months I have exposed well over 200 rolls of APX 400 in both 35mm and 120 formats and have found it to be a very nice film. My subject matter consists of studio still life, location portraits, and scenic images. APX400 has a beautiful gradation of tones and maintains highlight detail and separation very well while doing the same at the low end of the scale. The grain might be slightly more than Tri-x or HP5 but not enough to be concerned about. The sharpness of APX400 is also high and in my opinion is slightly higher than Tri-x. I expose APX400 at an EI of 320 and develope in Xtol 1:1. I have been very happy with the Agfa products and am glad I switched.
One nice thing about APX400 over Tri-x is the ISO and emulsions are the same on the different film formats. This eliminates confusion when shooting and processing. With Tri-x when you go from 35mm (ISO 400) to 120 format (ISO 320) you change emulsions and film speed.
Strengths:
Cost, APX400 is about 30% less than Tri-x pan. Nice tonal gradation. Sharp with a resolving power of 110 lines/mm. Consistancy of film speed and emulsion between formats.
Weaknesses:
Availability. Agfa film is available locally but not as available as Kodak. I order through Calumet several hundred rolls at a time and they usually are able to fill my orders completly. If one plans ahead and keeps a stock of film on hand this isn''''t really a weakness. Not available in 220 rolls or 4x5 sheets.
Similar Products Used:
Tri-x. TMax, HP5
Customer Service:
Never had to use. The Agfa web site has the film data sheets available.
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