Agfa APX 400

Do not know much about APX 400, so I need help. Here in Zagreb I can buy Efke

KB 400 which is now Agfa APX 400 emulsion , in the past it was HP5+ and I used

to work a lot with this film. I used to push at EI 3200 or 1600, but for APX

400 I do not know much, it is problem with devloping this film as I am bot

satisfied with the result I get in Rodinal or in EFKE FR 16, ` cause this are

not good dev. for push process...What can I do, what is the best dev. for Agfa

APX 400, and can I push this fil at 1600-3200 and what dev. shoulk I use,m

also if anyone can suggest me times...It is easy to find here D76, Microphen,

Rodinal...not so easy Xtol or others...thanx in advance....

 

 

..darko

Hi Darko, I use APX and Rodinal. I never rate the ASA for full advertized value, but I would

rate it for half of what they claim. For instance, I use APX 100 35mm, and I rate it at 50 or

even 25 ISO for a bright sunny day with dark shadows. Also, I like to stand develop, so for

the above conditions I would develop in Rodinal at 100:1 and let stand for 40 min. I

aggitate for first min. and then for about 10 sec every 5 min. This is for very hard water we

have, and your water will probably be a factor. On the other hand if the day is overcast and

I have to pump up the contrast I shoot it at 100 ASA and then develop in Rod 25:1 for

about 8 or 9 min. The more contrast you need, the harder you have to hit it with

developer, although you might increase the temp. I usually stick to 68 degrees, but you

might try 50:1 and increase temp to 73 or something?

 

I think in past I rated APX 400 at IS0 320, and you might get 640 out of it with Rodinal,

but to push beyond that you might have to go to "The Film Developing CookBook by

Anchell and Troop for another developer. Good Luck

I get gorgeous negatives from Agfapan 400 shot at 400 with D-76 straight. Beautiful, sharp, lowgrain and lots of lattitude. Prefer it to triX400 as a high speed film.

Efke has done the (120 roll film) confectioning of the latest production run APX films bought by Maco/Rollei end 2005. (Rollei Retro 100/400 films).

That's why some local Efke 400 (APX 400 new) is on your local market.

APX 400 is not a good push processing film. In Rodinal the effective E.I. will be arround iso 250.

Best choice will be Microphen for you for reasonable results for an E.I. around 800.

Check on: http://www.digitaltruth.com/devchart.html

 

best regards,

 

Robert

I have a test here:

http://photo-utopia.blogspot.com/2007/05/agfapan-400-another-film-from-now.html

 

I like it

Mark

Hi everybody, thanx for help. I know that APX400 is a good film..and it is cheap for me here (100 ft Efke KB400 - alias APX400) cca $40. I will give a try with Rodinal and D76...thanx

 

 

..darko

Try it in Ilford Microphen. You will get very good results at 400-800 ISO with great tones. It's a very good film if you do not under expose.

Some correction:

The Efke 400 seems to be limited 2003 stock from Agfa, so old type APX 400 emulsion.

 

Therefore:

 

 

Film Developer Dilution ASA/ISO 35mm 120 Sheet Temp Notes

 

 

APX 400 Microphen 1+1 400 11 11 20C [notes

 

which is valid for the APX400 old type.

Thanx Robert and Russ, also I taught it is an old tipe APX 400, and also i will give a try to microphen...thanx Robert for times...

 

 

..darko

I've been shooting APX 400 and APX 100 (bought as "Silvertone") for a few months now, since it's available here for relatively cheap and I've had no complaints with the results. I too would also like to see the various results people have had with this film with different developers. I've just been using hc110 because I'm a noob using my friend's dark room, and it's very convenient.

 

I've only shot the 400 as 400 and the 100 as 100, although I believe the meter in my om-1 is off by +1/3 - 2/3 stops (Compared to my digital and my friend's camera). So In reality I've probably been shooting the 100 as 64-80 and the 400 as 250 - 320.

 

I've been developing it in HC-110 dilution B, and the standard times off the digitaltruth website. My negatives print best with a conrast filter of 1-1.5 (this seems to print all the details in the shadow and highlights that i see in the negative scans). For the last rolls, I cut down on my agitation (down to 15 seconds at the start and 5 seconds every minute) and began stopping with just water.

 

Anyways, here's a few negative scans from my latest rolls of 400 and 100. (BTW, I really messed up developing these by not washing out the graduated cylinders before using them, and they had been sitting in my friend's basement for a month open-end-up, just collecting floating dust and dog hair.. etc. anyways, lesson learned).

 

http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=559775310&size=l

 

silvertone 100 in hc110-b for 7 minutes.

 

http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=559775314&size=l

 

silvertone 100 in hc110-b for 7 minutes.

 

http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=559796192&size=l

 

silvertone 400 in hc110-b for 6 minutes.

 

http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=559796184&size=l

 

silvertone 400 in hc110-b for 6 minutes.

HI Mike, nice shots....Thanx for advice....

 

..darko

I'm fond of the tonality I get from APX 400 rated at EI 200 and developed in D-76 1+1.

 

http://www.photo.net/photo/4322501

 

http://www.photo.net/photo/4339408

 

http://www.photo.net/photo/4325598

 

http://www.photo.net/photo/5255648

 

http://www.photo.net/photo/5255651

I hate APX because it has a very thick base and it always dries crooked. I use a glassless negative carrier in my enlarger, and I find APX films to be really unprintable. I can't get the center and edges to be in focus at the same time, no matter how hard I try.<br>

I never had this problem with any other film.<br>

Of course, if you have an anti-newton glass carrier then you should be OK.