AGFA 12 or D23 , which for APX 400 on Minox

APX400, at least the 'old' version, is fairly coarse-grained. Is that the specific reason for choosing it? Otherwise almost any current 400 film would be finer and smoother toned. The Delta400 would have been my choice for a pictorial film. My apologies for not actually giving an answer, but I was surprised at the choice of film for Minox format.

 

Where will you get APX 400?

 

Still available as bulk roll from Fotoimpex.

 

OK. I'm asking because there is no more original APX 400 on the market (there is one exception but it's a bulk roll).

 

you were quicker...

 

Mustafa, if you're talking about a Minox sub mini, of which I have several, remember that these are all fixed aperture cameras at f/3.5 IIRC (all my Minox are far away at the moment), and max out at 1/1000 second, so you'll have to use the built in ND filter to even get close to the sunny 16 exposure for such a fast film. I know you have aesthetic reasons for using APX 400, but just be aware that you may be overexposing the film significantly if you intend to use it in normal daylight. Of course an ASA 400 film would be perfectly appropriate if you intend to shoot in low light. FYI, I have had great success with Agfa Ortho film in a Minox, developed (again my memory) in Neofin Blue. Nearly grainless.

 

Because of the carbonate in Agfa AG-12 this developer is more active than D-23. It would probably create more grain than D-23. Using a 400 speed film in a Minox is already going to produce a lot of grain. My preference would be for the D-23. Better yet if you can get it use Ilford Perceptol.

 

There's so little Carbonate in Agfa 12 (6gms) and it has 25% more Sulphite, it's unlikely to be any grainier than D-23.

Ian

 

Umut, Perceptol does not contain Phenidone. It is a Metol-Sulfite developer similar to D-23, but with the addition of Sodium Chloride for increased solvent action/restraint. It will cost you film speed relative to D-23 if you want to get the extra fine grain out of Perceptol.

There is nothing wrong with Ilford's packaging.

Ian, 6g/L Carbonate sounds like quite a lot actually (and the developer contains a restrainer). Never used it or read much about it but I'd be surprised if it produced grain as fine as D-23. Then again the film is an important variable in all this so who knows.

 

It would be an interesting experiment to compare the results of both developers. Due to the small size of the Minox negatives any difference should be readily apparent.

 

Somewhat related thread http://www.apug.org/forums/forum234/48008-minox-anyone.html

 

Mustafa, my reference to Agfa Ortho in Minox format was unfair to you, because I don't think that that film in a Minox load has been available for decades. Even though Minox in Germany says it will continue to make some emulsions in Minox format, in my opinion someone who really wants to continue using an 8mm X 11mm Minox camera has to be ready to slit 35mm film or 120 film (more difficult) into Minox-width strips that you can load back into used Minox cassettes. Minox once produced a 35mm film slitter -- I have one, but they aren't common -- and there used to a few people who made and sold film slitters on eBay; looking just now I don't see any. But you should be able to find plans on the web. So getting all the stuff together can be a challenge, but once you've got the slitter and cassettes, you can shoot Minox all day long because one roll of 35mm film will give you probably 100 exposures. If I were to start slitting film today, I think I'd try some Fuji Acros (for fine grain) or maybe some low-speed film around ISO 25 or so, though often these films have higher contrast which can be problematic in such a small negative.

 

I was pleasantly surprised in APX400 developed in A49. Silksmooth compared to Rodinal result.

 

There is another possibility for a developer which contains only metol as the developing agent. This would be Haist's variant of D-76. D-76H contains only Metol, sodium sulfite and a small amount of borax. It is intended as a one-shot.

D-76H

Metol 2.5 g
Sodium sulfite 100 g
Borax 2.0 g
water to make 1.0 l

 

That would be very worthwhile. Agfa 12 also has some restrainer. It may be somewhat sharper than D-23, which can count with Minox work. Agfa 14 is another possibility - sort of a diluted Agfa 12. It should retain fine grain while giving a bit more sharpness. You mentioned D-76H, which also might be interesting diluted 1+1. So many interesting possibilities - but limited film and time.

 

I was just starting some experiments to see how developers affected Tri-X sharpness when this thread first appeared. I had not intended to include Agfa 12 or Agfa 14, but what the heck. These results are very preliminary, but they give some qualitative feel for the issue.

For this first try, I photographed a step tablet on a light table using Tri-X, Then I developed the sample rolls to about the same contrast in four different developers:

D-76(1+1) for 9.75 minutes (Massive Development Chart recommendation)
D-23 for 7.5 minutes (Massive Development Chart recommendation - pretty well matches the above)
Agfa 12 for 7 minutes (to match the above)
Agfa 14 for 8.5 minutes (to match the above).

I printed the best matched negatives at fairly high contrast and scanned them to get the results shown here.

The best overall quality and the best sharpness was shown by D-76 diluted 1+1. D-23 and Agfa 14 were very close, with Agfa 14 showing very slightly less graininess and very slightly more sharpness. Agfa 12 had the least graininess of the bunch, but sharpness was quite degraded. Agfa 12 and Agfa 14 seemed to give less film speed than D-76 or D-23. This surprised me, based on their compositions, and I will have to check it further. The development times found by experiment were a quite a bit less than what was recommended for the old Agfa films, so perhaps they give greater speed with more development and greater contrast.

 

Interesting, but I think that your experiment shows the benefits of dilution, not the properties of these developers. You have to compare diluted D-76 with diluted Agfa-14 or undiluted D-76 with undiluted Agfa-14.
Agfa-14 (with 85gr. of Sulfite and some carbonate) is expected to show coarser grain and better sharpness than D-76 undiluted.

 

True. A diluted developer is often quite different from it's undiluted version. I suspect D-23 (1+1) may be quite similar to D-76 (1+1), but I haven't tried it yet. Agfa 12 (1+1 or 1+2) may also be interesting. D-76 (1+1) was used as a standard, something that I was well acquainted with. Agfa 14 was a pleasant surprise.

 

Comparing apples and oranges here. D-23 and D-76 are really different. The presence of hydroquinone in D-76 changes things as does the borax.