Agfa APX 100 Black and White Film
Agfa APX 100 Black and White Film
USER REVIEWS
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[Feb 17, 2011]
Photorayyy
Professional
Strength:
I have used it very extensively. Exposed, developed, and printed well, it yields the most beautiful prints imaginable. The seemingly intangible difference here, is the delicately beautiful, silvery glow, with tonal separation so phenomenal that when looking into a well printed image, it appears one can reach into it and touch parts of the subject matter. It's unparalleled. I've searched for a better, and though pointless, none exists.
Weakness:
It's true film speed is 80. This is the best Black and White film ever made. Customer Service N/A Similar Products Used: Tri-X (second best), T-max, the Deltas, Agfapan 400, Panatomic X, Agfapan 25, Verichrome Pan. FP-4, Kodak 2475 Recording film, Kodak 1600, all Fuji's...all available from 1978 through the end of the millennium. |
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[Aug 31, 2005]
NickTrop
Intermediate
Strength:
Sharpness Tonality Price
Weakness:
None, really, in 120 though some say it's too grainy? That's completely contrary to my experience. Virtually no grain when developed in D76. Terrific tonality, and priced to move. An excellent 120 black and white film. Developed in D76, there as virtually no grain. Was expecting a very grainy image. Usually use Ilford HP5 - which I still like a lot. Bought a couple rolls of this just to try. This might be my 100 speed film of choice, definitely buying some more of this. Looking forward to using this with Rodinal. Some say it is "THE" film/developer combination. Similar Products Used: Most all 120 black and white films by Kodak, Ilford, and Agfa. |
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[Jun 21, 2005]
DaveKasdan
Expert
Strength:
Consistent, no grain, seriously strong values. 8 minutes in Rodinal 1+25 at 68 degrees--works every time. Cheap!
Weakness:
A little to the high side of contrast, but sometimes that's what you want. Agitation adjustments/mistakes can move exposure +/- 1 stop. A respected pro told me a few things after reviewing my portfolio 6 months ago. The first was: use Agfa film. The other things were about my models and a local restaurant. I immediately tried APX 100 and was quite pleased. Now, after about 40 rolls of it, I am extremely happy. Clarity and consistency are fantastic. No grain (hard to even use the grain focuser in the darkroom!), deep blacks, and easy to process with Rodinal. I mainly use it in 120 size, but a few rolls of 35mm have been good, too. Price is cheap. Customer Service Never used. Similar Products Used: Ilford FP4, Kodak Plus-X. |
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[Jul 10, 2004]
Harley
Intermediate
Strength:
Very, very sharp Great contrast Smooth tonality Minimal grain upto 8x10 inexpensive
Weakness:
Grainy when blown up over 8x10 using 35mm APX 100 in combination with a sharp lens set at the sharpest aperature and developed in Rodinal will give you a beautiful image that is sharp, punchy in contrast, and smooth in tonality. Don't waste your time or money on the other BW film, and take some of the bad reviews with a grain of salt! Only one caveat - if your using 35mm, it will tend to get grainy when blown up greater than 8x10. Customer Service Fantastic. They even offered advice on how to expose and process their products. They have a great web site also. Similar Products Used: Most ilford and kodak BW film Agfa Scala is unbelievable. Only BW better then APX100, if you don't mind slides. |
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[Mar 04, 2003]
i
Professional
Strength:
Price....Cheap!!!! Old school grain pattern and beautiful tonality. Richness abounds.
Weakness:
Does not have the widest of latitudes. I have only used this in 35mm(Maybe that will change now that Kodak discontinued my favorite: Verichrome) but I get beautiful results from this film, and can easily make grainless 11x14. I rate it at 64 and pull development just a bit(Rodinal 1:25 7 min, 1:50 15min.) Try it and I'm convinced you'll say goodbye to Tmax. If sharpness is you thing, try this film-dev. combination. Similar Products Used: You name it(except Tmax--hate it!!!) |
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[Feb 13, 2003]
Professional
Strength:
see above
Weakness:
very few. This is also one of the photographic marvels produced by a respected Company. Last year i took some films with my small old Agfa rangefinder and the standard Solitar lens in front.I went to latinamerica and came back,the result of the exposures were fantastic,and i praise this film very highly,grains and balance were more than excellent,i will give this film a very good recomandations any time. Rich in tonal structure grain and sharp. A true classic. Customer Service see the excellent agfa website for info..its a gem. Similar Products Used: ilford and kodak types between 100 and 125 iso. |
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[May 13, 2002]
Madan Mohan Chakraborty
Expert
Strength:
Low Cost, Robust
Weakness:
Bayer is still not interested to do serious business with this film in India, however it is only available in Calcutta. This is my second review, and that too after 18 months. I complained that the film is a bit contrasty when used with D-76, and any agfa developer is not available. Now I have created an acutance developer consisting metol, sodium sulphite and sodium carbonate (2 bath), and the result is amazing. One can even play with the contrast also, which is a function of the agiation. Customer Service Poor is a better word Similar Products Used: All black and white films |
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[Mar 19, 2002]
David
Expert
Strength:
Sharpness on par with T-Max and Delta Grain smooth and even Best tonality of any medium speed film
Weakness:
sometimes hard to find locally This is a great film, much sharper than other conventional 100 speed films. Compared with high-tech films, such as T-Max and Delta, Agfa 100 has much better tonality. I notice that several other reviewers praise Agfa 100 with Rodinal. This combination does produce nice tonality, but the grain is a little to pronounced for my taste. I''ve had really nice results developing this film in highly dilute HC-110 (1:100). If you want to try this, make sure you have enough developer (one roll in 32 ounces of dilute developer) and use 14 minutes as a starting time. Agitate four inversions per minute. Your negatives will be very clean, have incredibly smooth tonality, and they will have a very noticable glow when held up to the light. Customer Service not needed Similar Products Used: T-Max 100 Plus-X |
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[Mar 17, 2002]
i
Professional
Strength:
Full tonal range, and sharp up to 8x10( haven''t tried to enlarge more than that)Really cheap!
Weakness:
Not really a weakness, but just to say that Agfa has discontinued an even better film in Agfa 25, so is this next?? One word to sum this film up is consistancy. I always get great negs when dev. in Rodinal. Punchy, detailed and super easy to print. I always rate it @64ISO and pull dev. 30 secs. That''s it. Customer Service never used it Similar Products Used: Verichrome Pan |
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[Dec 11, 2001]
Roget
Expert
Strength:
Smooth, smooth, smooth tonal gradation. Ultra fine grain. Excellent latitude. Inexpensive (compared to other 4x5 films).
Weakness:
I prefer Kodak''s thicker Estar base. This film feels flimsy, and requires more careful handling in the darkroom. I bought a box of this film in 4x5 format based on a recommendation I read in a book. Being so eager to test it out, I skipped any sort of formal testing, resulting in a slight underexposure and underdevelopment. Regardless, the results were fantastic. Plenty of latitude, and using a Grade 3 paper compensated for the underdevelopment. Unbelievable tonaltity (which agrees with the recommendation I read). The grain is fine enough to make focusing with the magnifier difficult. And it''s cheap. I developed it in Kodak Xtol undiluted, and am looking forward to experimenting with Rodinol. I''ll be buying many more boxes of this film, as well as trying it out in 35mm. It thrashes Plus-X and the T-Max films. Similar Products Used: Plus-X, Tri-X, T-Max 400 |