Agfachrome 1000 RS - Examples, information, memories

[kato330am]

This thread is for all things Agfachrome 1000 RS. Feel free to share your images, information, links, historical details and memories of this special film stock.

There are some photos shot with Agfa 1000 RS on Instagram, but not much other information. I personally didn't shoot it back in the day, but have used expired stock later on.

For start, here is an ad from the 1985, taken from a german photography magazine. "Peter Godry fotografiert Beate Hansen."

 

[Patrick Robert James]

I remember it well but I doubt I have any images left from it. I did what most people did back in the day and tossed any transparencies that didn't make the cut. It was a unique film for sure. Super grainy at a time when grain was an anathema. In larger 120 size though it held up. Of course grain today is a good thing since digital doesn't have any, and grain is the hallmark of film. If you are interested in these types of film check out Konica SRG 3200 (a C41 negative film), Fuji Natura 1600 (C41). There was also a Scotch transparency film probably made by Ferrania that was really grainy. Can't remember the name of it now, maybe 1000? I think it was a tungsten film. That stuff was pretty "bad" which now is good of course. Another film you might want to look at is the Polaroid 35mm instant film. That used a little machine to pull the film through the chemicals. It was really crazy stuff.

I do remember meeting several commercial photographers back in the 90s who used Agfachrome 1000 for all their images. One I remember having a conversation which he told me he pushed it even. I don't remember their names though. That was a long time ago. I think they stopped making the film sometime in the 90s.

The problem with all these films today though is fast film does not age well at all. If you are lucky enough to find a roll it will look pretty grey and washed out no matter what you do to it.

 

[AgX]

Welcome to Apug, Kato.

And thank you for that ad. I was not aware of it or the series.

 

[Dirb9]

Welcome to APUS/Photrio!

... There was also a Scotch transparency film probably made by Ferrania that was really grainy. Can't remember the name of it now, maybe 1000? I think it was a tungsten film. That stuff was pretty "bad" which now is good of course....

Scotchchrome 640T. It kind of looks like a color version of Kodak 2475, at least in terms of grain. There's some great night sports photos from that film out there.

Watching this thread as I have 2 bricks of frozen 120 1000RS that I've yet to come up with a great use for, for me. Whenever I'm out in low light, my inclination is for a 35mm camera with a fast lens or digital.

 

[foc]

IIRC the Agfachrome RS series was the first line of professional transparency film from Agfa using the E6 (AP44) process, having changed from the old Agfa process AP41 around the mid 1980s.

 

[kato330am]

Thank you all for your responses. Much appreciated. Now we got the thread started. I'm looking forward to reading more experiences with this film, and see those images too. I shall post more material related to Agfachrome 1000 RS later on.

Patrick, I'm mainly into reversal films, but have been reading about Konica SR-G 3200 with interest. Not long ago, Japan Camera Hunter made a review of Scotch Chrome 1000 which was expired in 1995. The film had hold up reasonably well.

Dirb9, in a case you want to sell some rolls, please feel free to send pm. I shoot medium format too. I'm ready to pay a premium for rolls kept in a freezer.

foc, photomemorabilia from the UK offers following information:

"The first Agfa-Gevaert reversal film to be sold in the UK and was compatible with Kodak E6 was Agfachrome R100S Professional. Michael Talbert has a data sheet for it dated July 1981. The British Journal Annual for 1983 suggests the first was Agfachrome 200 film, introduced in 1982. This was the first process E6 film that was made by Agfa-Gevaert in Germany, but the (earlier) R100S film was made for them by Fuji. Agfachrome 200 was an “amateur” film and was only available in 35mm. Agfa Gevaert were late in manufacturing E6 films. Fujichrome 100 film for E6 was being sold as early as 1979. Process 44 was also for Agfachrome 50RS, 100RS, 200RS, and 1000RS films plus the later Agfa reversal films, their RS Plus and RSX ranges."

Early Agfa Colour

Agfa

www.photomemorabilia.co.uk

In a case someone knows people who used to work for Agfa and can offer information about this film, please drop me a line. I would like to do an interview about the subject. When and how this film was developed, why Agfa didn't update it like the rest of the slide films, why did they stop producing it etc. I guess people who know these things are now in their 70s or 80s.

 

[koraks]

I would like to do an interview about the subject. When and how this film was developed, why Agfa didn't update it like the rest of the slide films, why did they stop producing it etc.

Good luck with this project. This kind of "industrial archaeology" is interesting IMO. There's so much that's lost as people retire and ultimately disappear from the stage altogether. We're not doing a particularly good job recording information on this sort of thing.

Sorry, can't help you with the Agfa contacts, sadly.

 

[kato330am]

Infosheet packaged inside the film box. Year 1991.

 

[DREW WILEY]

Gosh I loved that film. Nothing else like it. Scotchchrome had a much harder look, with crisper conspicuous grain and greater contrast, and a much moe idiosyncratic hue palette. Agfa was relatively hue neutral. But I used both of them for special portraiture applications. Agfa 1000 was also available in 120 size. I actually printed all the above using Cibachrome - to some perhaps an unthinkable combination; but it sure came out lovely for me.

My older brother shot quite a bit of the earlier pre-E6 Agfa 50 in 4x5; and I did in 35mm, a decade before I graduated to primarily sheet film. That was very grainy in an almost side-by-side grain sense like Autochrome, but very high contrast, and would capture certain hues better than any color film ever, especially fluorescent lichen and algal hues. Some of his 4x5's fetched one-time printing rights fees at the stock agency as high as $4000 apiece, enough to make a decent living. That was pretty darn good back in the mid-60's. Now you'd be lucky to get two dollars for a comparable digital stock image.

 

[lpt10]

Gosh I loved that film. Nothing else like it. Scotchchrome had a much harder look, with crisper conspicuous grain and greater contrast, and a much moe idiosyncratic hue palette. Agfa was relatively hue neutral. But I used both of them for special portraiture applications. Agfa 1000 was also available in 120 size. I actually printed all the above using Cibachrome - to some perhaps an unthinkable combination; but it sure came out lovely for me.

My older brother shot quite a bit of the earlier pre-E6 Agfa 50 in 4x5; and I did in 35mm, a decade before I graduated to primarily sheet film. That was very grainy in an almost side-by-side grain sense like Autochrome, but very high contrast, and would capture certain hues better than any color film ever, especially fluorescent lichen and algal hues. Some of his 4x5's fetched one-time printing rights fees at the stock agency as high as $4000 apiece, enough to make a decent living. That was pretty darn good back in the mid-60's. Now you'd be lucky to get two dollars for a comparable digital stock image.

Scotchchrome had such nice tonal rendition. The only high speed offering we have these days is Portra 800, which is a fantastic film - may Kodak/Alaris be blessed for that. Ektar 1000 was nice too.

 

[kato3:30am]

Expired in 1994. Katowice, Poland, 2024.

 

[loccdor]

Expired in 1994. Katowice, Poland, 2024.

Wow! It still retained its film speed or did you compensate?

 

[kato3:30am]

Wow! It still retained its film speed or did you compensate?

I often rate mine at 640 ASA. Sometimes 500 or 800, depending on the situation and film batch. Here is another one. Katowice, Poland 2024.

 

[loccdor]

Great shots! The oldest E-6 I've used which made good images was Fuji Sensia 100 from 1996.

 

[kato3:30am]

Thanks. I've been shooting around a dozen rolls of this stuff recently and the results vary a lot. These rolls were reasonably good. Some rolls have been totally gone, resulting no images whatsoever.