Efke 25

In my quest to locate Agfa APX 25, many photographers have told me to try Efke 25

because it is very similar. I love the way APX 25 looks and that is why I have spent so

much time and money trying to acquire it.

 

Not having purchased any Efke 25 yet, I am wondering how to expose it and how to

develope it.

 

I have read that I should follow the same procedures as for APX 25, but I am unsure.

With APX 25, I expose it at 12asa and develope it in Rodinal 1+100 for 15 minutes.

Should I be doing the same with the Efke film?

 

Also, the J&C site shows dev times but does not show asa ratings.

 

One more thing, I live in Santa Fe NM and shoot most landscapes with a light yellow

filter. How is this film going to react?

 

Anyway, any help is appreciated. I will be ordering some Efke 25 tomorrow and will be

doing my own experiments but I would like to know what I might expect.

 

Thanks to all,

david b

They have a web site with processing data:<p>http://www.frugalphotographer.com/processing_instructions.htm#Exposing%20and%20processing%20Efke%20films.

I highly doubt you will find KB14 the equal of Agfapan 25. Really, Ilford Pan-F Plus is a superior product. The sharpness of the KB14 is inferior, despite its fine grain.

Having shot all three, agfa IFF(which morphed into 25) Pan F and Adox KB-14,in the past I respectfully disagree. Being obcessed with high speed films today, I must profess ignorence of Efke 25 and Pan F plus- so you may be right. But I'll have to see examples to be convinced.

I like Efke 25. I shoot it at 12.5 ASA and develop in WD2D+ doe 8 min. Here's a shot I did with it.<div></div>

The question is: KB14 (Efke 25) or Pan-F. I believe the Ilford is the better material overall.

I've seen some nice work done with Efke 25, but the tonality is nothing like APX 25. I suspect the spectral sensitivity is considerably different. APX 25 looks like it has more red sensitivity.

You'll not need the yellow filter with EFKE 25. Although I still have a couple of bricks of AGFA 25 in the freezer, I shot last year's vacation with the EFKE. Developed in Rodinal 1+50 it was no match for the AGFA, but Per Valquartz tried it in PMK and swore that he can't tell the results from work done with his 5x7. I still think that if one can deal with the contrast, then Kodak Technical Pan developed in Technidol is the ultimate of present emulsions.

I was surprised at how much more green sensitive the 25 and 50 Efke films were than other panchromatic emulsions. Compared to APX 25, foliage will be rendered noticeably lighter. The EFKE 25 may be somewhat more blue sensitive, so a yellow filter is a good idea. The EFKE emulsions are a bit softer than the AGFA emulsions in my experience; APX films are pretty tough.

I've not used either Efke KB-14 or Agfa APX 25 so I can't comment about either of these two films. They are just too darned slow for my taste. What I can tell you is that I have used PanF+ in 6x6 format to shoot some old streetcars and subway cars at a trolley museum. 11 x 14 prints from those negatives look better that the same size prints made from 4x5 negatives on HP5+.

Try it, you may find that because it's ``pan-orthochromatic'' as the Efke literature

says, you won't need the yellow filter for landscapes. I've shot it at EI 12, developed in

Rodinal or R09 1:100 for 10 minutes at 68 degrees F. Lovely film, but it seems to

scratch easily. At high dilution and pulled, it's less contrasty than at 1:50 and EI 25.

Sorry, scans are on my old, dead computer.

IMHO, it's a great film. Is it APX 25? Nope. I've shot it with a yellow (Wratten 12) filter and been pleased with the tonality. It is indeed more blue sensitive than other emulsions. I took a different tack and had it developed as a slide film here: "http://www.dr5.com/efke25.html"

If you do the dr5 process, shoot it at about ISO 32.

 

You're rarely going to get an unbiased evaluation of an emulsion from here. All you can do is try it and see for yourself.<div></div>

Yes, Efke 25 and 50 (really 20 and 40 ASA films) are orthopanchromatic, and more sensitive to blue/green than red. Red becomes darker on the prints, and the blue sky lighter. Therefore, a yellow or an orange filter are often needed for landscapes if you want the clouds to stand out better on the sky.

 

I find Efke 25 to be as fine grained and sharp as Ilford Pan F, but a stop slower of course.

 

Efke 100 is panchromatic, but grainier than the other two films. More forgiving and with a longer tonal scale than, for example APX 100.

I have used all the films the previous correspondents mentioned, and what I discovered is that it all comes down to your own working methods, equipment and personal taste. PanF certainly is an excellent film that I can count on, for it can take one heck of pummelling and still deliver the goods (so were Panatomic-X and a couple of others, for that matter), but no amount of torture will make me reveal the whereabouts of my last stock of Efke KB14 (which was actually the original Adox formula), for they are for particular results I am after.

Samuel Tang, I agree that the Efke emulsions are special! That's why I love them. There are many excellent films that I like, but they can't match the "Efke/Adox look" I sometimes want.

Hello all,

 

I ahve been experimenting with Efke 25 for a while using first D-76 and then the Tetenal Neofin Blau one-shot. I expose at 50iso in daylight and even that may be too slow. Has anyone else used this combination? This was taken in San Francisco @50 with a red filter developed with Tetenal.

 

Thanks!

George<div></div>