Agfa APX 25 Newbie with a few comments I mean questions.

jetcode · Sep 20, 2013

This film needs a LOT of light. It took 3 rolls to really dial it in. This film curls like crazy! Thank god I can keep a cool head while I have a curled up roll in one hand and the 120 reel in the other. Thank god the substrate is flexible enough to handle the loading cycle. Did a 18 minute stand development using Rodinal 1:100 on a scene that was 10 stops and it worked! It took a 16 second exposure. Of course this is because I was using a 75 Nikkor SW with a CF IIIB and a #11 filter. The format is a 6x17 Shen-Hao. I find that ISO 12 is more realistic. Just picked up a case (10 sealed bricks 07/2005) and it wasn't cheap. I have a d800E with some great lenses but the 6x17 is a mind bender. I love the format and this particular camera is wonderful. The whole rig with 75 nikkor, 110XL, 210S-S with filters, film holder, camera, and accessories fit perfectly in my backpack and it's light! Wahoo!

Any commentary or experience with APX 25 is welcome!

thegman · Sep 20, 2013

Never used this film, but would be interested to see the results from the Shen Hao.

jetcode · Sep 20, 2013

I will be scanning soon. I am off to Big Sur next week.

I do have a question for experienced APX 25 users. There doesn't appear to be a glue seal at the end of the roll. I don't know how to keep the roll from unraveling. Any advice?

Chris Lange · Sep 20, 2013

I like APX25 a lot for my 35mm cams...I do find it is more workable at EI12, but I use a red filter a lot, which brings my effective EI down to 3 or so.

Gerald C Koch · Sep 20, 2013

If you are a newbie to photography then a slow film and stand development are not the best choices. Slow films have very little latitude and pose a challenge with correct exposure. Stand development distorts the tonal scale of the film. A better choice would be a medium speed film and normal development. Once you have mastered such a combination you can try other more demanding films and techniques.

Dr Croubie · Sep 20, 2013

jetcode said:
I will be scanning soon. I am off to Big Sur next week.

I do have a question for experienced APX 25 users. There doesn't appear to be a glue seal at the end of the roll. I don't know how to keep the roll from unraveling. Any advice?

I'm presuming you mean when you've unloaded a finished 120 roll? Keep a packet of rubber bands in your pocket (or stickytape).

I've got a few APX25 and APX100 in 135 in the freezer, just scored a frozen 50' roll for cheap too. I keep hearing how APX and Rodinal were born to work together, any suggestions for times and/or agitations? I can get times from the MDC, are they accurate? And is it better to do less agitations every 30s, or more every 2 mins?

jetcode · Sep 20, 2013

I am not a newbie at photography. I took classes in the mid 90's and have been shooting ever since. I am not a newbie to film either. I have had several darkrooms. I have never shot APX 25 before now.

The stand development was to introduce a N-2 development since I had 10 stops of light and most all the detail was in the mud. So I brought the mud up to zone IV which would have blasted the highlights way out. Fortunately there is little detail in the highlights in this particular scene. I will put the negs on a light table and take a closer look at the highlights in the next day or two.

There are some links online for developing APX 25. I knew that I needed a contraction so my agitation was sparse and mostly in the first minute or two followed by longer periods of stand and the occasional inversion.

Gerald C Koch · Sep 20, 2013

Thank you for your clarification. The title was a bit ambiguous so I hedged my post by prefacing it with "If".

JLP · Sep 20, 2013

I've got a few APX25 and APX100 in 135 in the freezer, just scored a frozen 50' roll for cheap too. I keep hearing how APX and Rodinal were born to work together, any suggestions for times and/or agitations? I can get times from the MDC, are they accurate? And is it better to do less agitations every 30s, or more every 2 mins?

My standard N time for APX100 in 120 is 11minutes in Rodinal 1+50 20C gentle agitation the first minute and 10 seconds gently every minute thereafter.
APX25 10 minutes with same dilution, agitation and temperature.
Printing with a condenser head but they scan well too at this combo.
APX and Rodinal are made for each other as far as I am concerned.

Should ad that I shoot APX100 at 100 and APX25 at 20

darkosaric · Sep 21, 2013

Example in Rodinal 1+75, at box speed:

Dead Link Removed
Dead Link Removed

jetcode · Sep 21, 2013

Thanks for the development tips folks.

Jan what is the scene exposure range for your standard development of APX25? I shot the last test roll at ISO 12 but in fact I may have been compensating for bellows draw (75mm close proximity subject) and other less calibrated factors such as my meter which is a Soligar spot meter. One thing for sure this last roll is absolutely gorgeous. I did a N, N+1, N-1 exposure with N-2 development and the exposure and development are spot on.

jetcode · Sep 23, 2013

Well we had a storm clearing so I headed to one of my favorite vistas. I used Jan's recipe except for ISO 12. Had a small glitch when I got distracted away from the development after the 3rd minute and didn't get back until 20 minutes elapsed! It still worked and scanned well. I was amazed. The linked image is a lowly 1800 pixel test scan in sepia. I scanned a version at 3600 and the grain was minimal. This was shot with a 210 Sironar-S on a Shen-Hao 6x17 camera. The image is protected by DigiMarc.

The original image I thought made it through the 10 stops doesn't scan well since the mud is still in the mud. Bummer.

Off to Big Sur for a couple of days.

Richard S. (rich815) · Sep 23, 2013

Nice pano!!

I came across some old Agfapan 25, the predecessor of the APX25. Still shoots beautifully:

Golden Gate Park fern grove Rolleiwide Agfapan25 HC-110dilH 9min30sec 21C 1minAg2x by rich8155 (Richard Sintchak), on Flickr

jetcode · Sep 23, 2013

A fellow shooter from over yonder. The detail in that shot is outrageous. Same with tone. Wow.

Richard S. (rich815) · Sep 23, 2013

jetcode said:
A fellow shooter from over yonder. The detail in that shot is outrageous. Same with tone. Wow.

Yes, 120. Shot with this:

jetcode · Sep 24, 2013

That's a great camera system. I have never shot 6x6 but perhaps some day I will bite the bullet. I love the view from the top into the frame.

PKM-25 · Sep 24, 2013

If you wet print the mud neg, you might be able to control the local contrast better since optically enlarging seems to always play the nicest with the neg.

I have about a hundred rolls of it in 120, awesome film:

(there was a url link here which no longer exists)

Richard S. (rich815) · Sep 24, 2013

PKM-25 said:
If you wet print the mud neg, you might be able to control the local contrast better since optically enlarging seems to always play the nicest with the neg.

I have about a hundred rolls of it in 120, awesome film:

(there was a url link here which no longer exists)

Wow, what a gorgeous image!

jetcode · Sep 24, 2013

PKM-25 said:
If you wet print the mud neg, you might be able to control the local contrast better since optically enlarging seems to always play the nicest with the neg.

I have about a hundred rolls of it in 120, awesome film:

(there was a url link here which no longer exists)

Yeah that is definitely where this one is heading. Wow you are sitting pretty with the film and I bet you got it for a song comparatively speaking. I need to get a subscription so I can take in the eye candy!

jetcode · Oct 2, 2013

Long exposures at Point Lobos last Thursday. I am certainly liking APX25. This roll I used a ISO 20.

Agfa APX 25 Newbie with a few comments I mean questions.

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