Agfa Optima II 100

[nightbringer]

A friend of mine who works at a camera store gave me a whole box of the stuff in 120 (50 rolls), expired in 2002.
What can you guys tell me about this film? Also, would the fact that it's been expired for 10 years and been stored in questionable conditions have any impact on exposure?

 

[Mustafa Umut Sarac]

From lomography site :

Using Agfa’s mysterious “eye-vision technology” this increasingly rare color-negative film offers outstanding color depth and absolutely wonderful red tones – to the point of imparting a totally unique warm-saturated cast to most daylight images.

A roll of Agfa Optima II will give you warm colours with slight contrast which Agfa films are known for. And undeniable sharpness on your photographs can be seen because of the optimum colour couplers it has which intensifies its saturation and improves light sensitivity. Also, can handle enlargements as much as you wish without worrying any deterioration in your shot’s resolution. With all these combined, all you have to do is to admire and feel the intensity of your photographs to the optimum level!

From flickr :

OPTIMA is the professional film that's perfect for every role. With its incredible range, sharpness and color saturation, OPTIMA always gives an award-winning performance - even in the most challenging roles. Because Super Inter-Image Effects (Super IIE) and optimum color couplers intensify colors where life casts its shadows. And the innovative SEM (Surface Enhanced Multistructured) crystals transform light with 30% more efficiency into energy for your photos. So you get finer grain, thinner film layers and, of course, outstanding sharpness - even with high enlargements. All that with a stability and reliability that makes OPTIMA a modern-day hero in everyday and special applications. So there's always a happy end.

There is a Agfa Optima Group at flickr serves 260 pictures:

http://www.flickr.com/groups/agfa_optima/

And for your question about exposure change , it can be everything. You must try one roll and see. If the colors shifted too much , you can scan as bw.

Umut

 

[AgX]

There is nothing mysterious about "Eye-Vision-Technology".
In contrast to older types of spectral sensitization, the red sensitizer no longer stretches into the infrared. And thus no longer is affected by the IR-side reflections of some (natural blue) dyes. The film gives a reproduction nearer to human vision than films from the past.

 

[newcan1]

I have some in 35mm, but refrigerated since fresh. I've used a couple of rolls; colors were quite saturated, contrast a bit high (compared with say Portra), grain quite fine. I liked the look; it might be considered a little "retro" when compared to films like Portra.

 

[RPC]

IIRC Optima was a film in the Triad line of films from Agfa. There was Portrait 160, Optima 100 and Ultra 50, Each with a different degree of contrast and saturation, with Optima in the middle.

 

[nightbringer]

I'll have to do some testing with it then after asking my friend how it's been stored - probably go +3 +2 +1 0 -1 -2 -3 box speed in the studio and see how we go.

 

[Roger Cole]

I used to shoot it in 4x5 and I bought some along with a lot of other film on 120 and 220 (the Optima is 220.) If its been gold stored it will be fine. It's a really nice moderate contrast (compared to, say, Ektar but as soneone said higher than current Portra) medium saturation film. I like it.

 

[Patrick Robert James]

I have a bunch that expired in '07 and it is going off now despite being frozen. Highlights are going magenta. In other words, don't expect too much. Definitely my favorite film back in the day. The color was different than other manufacturers and I preferred it. It was amazing with reds. I wish it was still around.

 

[Christiaan Phleger]

Yup, one of the very best color neg films. I still have some frozen in 120 and 35, as well as the very unique palette of the Optima 200. The Portrait 160 was a truly awesome film, you can see a frame and what it does to the highlights of a bright dress here:
http://four-silver-atoms.com/2011/03/07/209/

 

[Roger Cole]

Humm don't recall the expiration of my frozen but it looks good.

I liked all if them especially Portrait and Ultra 50 - think Velvia+ in color neg with that one. I don't like Velvia or films like Ultra 50 in contrary and bright light but if you have flat light or a subject that benefits from the pop, boy did it pop. I really think it may have been more saturated than Velvia. But Ektar 100 is great and saturated enough. I'd LOVE to have a subdued film like Agfa Potrait again.

 

[AgX]

If its been gold stored it will be fine.

Gold storage... I guess we should open a thread on this intriguing new issue.

 

[kevs]

Gold storage... I guess we should open a thread on this intriguing new issue.

Sounds rather expensive; maybe you could give the Bundesbank a call - perhaps the real reason they're bringing their gold home is because they have a huge stockpile of film to preserve...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-21040214

 

[Roger Cole]

Ugh - I just need to stop posting here from Tapatalk on my iPhone. I overlook these funny autocorrect mistakes too much.

I'm posting this from the phone BTW and it tried to make "funny" above into "grubby." At least I caught it!

 

[nightbringer]

I've shot a couple of rolls with this film. It's totally different from any other 120 I've shot so far, but not in the way you might think.

Loading them in my 120 backs, I wind it along up to the arrows which I assume is the start point before you close the back and wind onto the first frame.
When shooting them in my Mamiya, the backs tend to stop winding around frame 8 or 9 of 10, and I realise I have to unload them in the dark. Taking them out in my darkroom, they usually end up exploding open and I have to respool them back onto the spool to get it right. But then when I check in the light, it's the black side of the backing paper facing forward instead of the coloured side as normal. So I usually have to end up unrolling the roll and then re-rolling it the other way so that the coloured side of the backing paper is facing outward.
Both test rolls ended up being blank.

Was this some foible of Agfa film, or what? I have a feeling I may have to open a sacrificial roll just to see how it was rolled and whether I will have to re-roll it or not.

 

[Roger Cole]

Can't tell you. I've run a couple of rolls through my Mamiya 645 Pro with absolutely no problems at all, but mine are 220 rolls I got in a batch deal.

 

[cpuh2o]

film loading in the RB 67

It sounds like you've loaded the film in backtofront. It doesn't go directly around the spool to the dark slide, it goes under the spool, then back around to the dark slide. I had this problem myself when I first used the camera.

 

[newcan1]

I still have some Optima 100 in 35mm that has been cold stored since new. I shot a couple of rolls a year or so ago and it was as good as new -- no speed loss, no color crossover. It is a bit "retro" with fairly high contrast and saturation. I really like it.

I have about 2,000 feet of 35mm Agfa Portrait that's unperforated and which I can shoot in a modified Nikkormat Ftn. It hasn't kept as well. It seems to be around ISO 100 (expired '06) but has very little exposure latitude. Very retro grain, and doesn't compare well to films like Portra. Maybe this is because of degradation more than anything. It's still very useable but I am apprehensive because of the lack of latitude. Maybe I'll get some out of the freezer to play with tomorrow.