Color correction for Rollei Digibase CR200?

[Nzoomed]

The film has a particular soft spot for me as it conveys a very nostalgic look that the Fuji films don't manage to do.

Exactly why i want to keep shooting it!
This film has a real vintage look that i love, Ferrania film will probably be the next closest thing when it comes available.

In the meantime, its probably worth contacting, Wittner-Cinetec, Lomography and Maco, since these 3 companies buy directly from AGFA for stock, and tell them that we want to see its continued production and then contact AGFA directly and hopefully they may listen if they get enough demand, either way it would be sad to see it gone.

 

[Meyer Trioplan]

Nzoomed,

Is Lomography XPro Slide 200 the same thing as Agfa CR200 and Crossbird (albeit perhaps on a different batch)? I just sent off a roll of the latter (that I'm doing in standard E6) and was curious of other supplies since it was Out of Stock at B&H for a little bit.

Do you find you have to be cautious about handling it around light? There are stories of light penetrating the polyester base and causing the yellow cast. The first few rolls that I got of it were loaded and unloaded in near darkness due to this, and I've only noticed a slight but pleasing golden cast to the results, but I didn't put the last roll back into the "can" when sending it out, so I'll see if I get different results. Mind you, I shoot 120 and you seem to shoot 35 so our results may vary.

 

[Nzoomed]

Nzoomed,

Is Lomography XPro Slide 200 the same thing as Agfa CR200 and Crossbird (albeit perhaps on a different batch)? I just sent off a roll of the latter (that I'm doing in standard E6) and was curious of other supplies since it was Out of Stock at B&H for a little bit.

Do you find you have to be cautious about handling it around light? There are stories of light penetrating the polyester base and causing the yellow cast. The first few rolls that I got of it were loaded and unloaded in near darkness due to this, and I've only noticed a slight but pleasing golden cast to the results, but I didn't put the last roll back into the "can" when sending it out, so I'll see if I get different results. Mind you, I shoot 120 and you seem to shoot 35 so our results may vary.

Yes its the same film as crossbird, lomography are also selling this stuff in 110 format
And yes this film is very prone to light piping, and ive posted some samples of it in an earlier post here, sometimes it will show marks in the centre of the film even away from the sprocket holes, but usually only affect the first 2 or 3 images, the odd thing is i still had the problem when loading in the dark, so i suspect that the canisters have not been packed in the dark.

 

[Urmonas]

35mm film can be exposed to light when being processed as well. Some machines require the end of the film to be pulled out of the cartridge and this is often done in full light.

120 film is less easily affected. If the roll is tightly wound, light can only come in at the edges. I have not had issues when loading / unloading in my own shadow on a sunny day, but I once dropped a film after unloading (it was already taped) and it fell into a fully sunny area and had exposure on the edges of several frames.

 

[MichaelXX2]

It was stated long ago that it won't be manufactured again once stock ends. Also that Agfa designation had been used vaguely so far, it still can mean that they got some stock.
Hope was that with changing competition they would start a run again. In a way what Film Ferrania is planning now. Though under much worse circumstances than Agfa.

Where did you see that Agfa isn't producing this film anymore? What does that mean for their other films, like Retro 80s and Copex Rapid?

 

[AgX]

Agfa has cancelled quite some films recently, or transferred them from manufacture on their own behalf (as Copex) to manufacture to the behalf of a sales company.
On the other hand, they stated in the past to be the last one to manufacture film.

 

[Ektagraphic]

Update on an update:

Agfa meanwhile list that film as "discontinued".

The current product on the shelves must be what is leftover? The packaging changed not that long ago. Is it possible that Agfa still coats this just for th Rollei and Lomo packaging, and that they have just stopped selling it as an areial film?

 

[Nzoomed]

The current product on the shelves must be what is leftover? The packaging changed not that long ago. Is it possible that Agfa still coats this just for th Rollei and Lomo packaging, and that they have just stopped selling it as an areial film?

IDK, but i contacted Wittner-Cinetec exactly 3 years ago now in 2013, and they told me that Agfa had guranteed to supply this product for them for at least 3 years.
Well it was labelled as discontinued for at least a year on Agfa's site, so perhaps its just the areial product they are referring to?

 

[nowem]

After not shooting film for a while I wanted to try Rollei CR200 for the first time. I ordered 3 rolls from Fotoimpex and there was no yellow cast of any kind. The color balance was fine. I must say I like this film a lot.

I processed (well, the lab did) 2 rolls as negatives, and liked the results. Skin color is on the warm side at times when cross processed, but not too much to my eye & taste. Before this my favourite slide films have been Kodachrome 200 (&64), Ektachrome 400X (good for cross processing) and Agfa Scala.

Unfortunately my third roll (slide) came out a bit underexposed. Probably my fault, but I wonder if the real speed is closer to 160 than 200. With cross processing I added a little push.

All the rolls I used had expiration date August 2018.

 

[nowem]

And one more thing. I loaded all rolls at daylight and didn't experience any kind of problems because of that.

 

[AgX]

Welcome to Apug !

And thank you for your update on that film.

 

[nowem]

Thanks. Still I have to say, I prefer this film cross processed. After all, in E-6 it does have a certain warm color palette. In C-41 it has more punch.

 

[AidanA]

I've not spent who knows how long reading this thread in its entirety. I feel like I could write a brief history of this AGFA E-6 line in a book. So, thanks to those of you who have gone out of your way to make this information available and make finding a way to shoot this film possible for less experienced shooters like myself. I'm really glad I found this thread.

I'm getting ready to purchase my first decent batch of E-6. (Late to the party, I know.) This thread has convinced me that this is the film I want, provided I can find a safe source of the film. After reading the thread, here are the questions I have:
As of Dec 6, 2016...
1) Where is the best place to purchase this film as a US resident? I'd be very happy to support the Wittner gang (really cool that they made this available) if I can figure out the website, payment, etc in English and if the price for shipping overseas doesn't mark it up too much--I think I'd prefer this option if it's feasible. On the other hand, Freestyle also still stocks this and is a mere two states away from me, are we convinced at this point that their Digibase is safe now... or no? EDIT: Blue Moon stocks the Lomo X-Pro 200 which is even closer to me. Anybody know if the quality of today's batch?

2) We are now over the 3 year mark that Wittner promised, AGFA has "discontinued" it, and so forth. Do we have any idea of how long this film might remain available? I understand that thing is kind of hard to predict without information from the providers... but I figured it might be worth asking anyway. (I'd hate for stock to run dry right as I find a new film I like!)

Well, I felt like I had a lot of questions, but that's all I can think of at the moment. Anything else I should know about the current situation?

FWIW, I am buying this film to use in my Minolta X-700 likely mostly for street photography in and around Seattle. Planning to get my developing done at hopefully at Blue Moon in Portland or, if not, at Moonphoto in Seattle.

Cheers!

 

[Meyer Trioplan]

I cant say with authority where the best place to get this film (or even which batches and badging) provides the best results (not exactly sure what you mean by a safe source). I think Blue Moon stocks it (though it is likely shown as either Lomo Chrome 200 or Rollei Crossbird) film.

Do know that the film in 35mm will be pretty grainy compared to 120, while I liked it in 120, I was a bit less smitten at the results I had in 120.

 

[AidanA]

Ahh thanks for the tip! You are right Blue Moon stocks Lomo X-Pro 200 ($6.45 a roll for 35mm, and $9.00 for 120). I didn't even think to check there, oddly enough. I will be in Portland in two weeks for the holidays, so that's definitely an option.

My questions above still stand though, can anybody vouch for the quality of today's Lomo X-Pro 200 or the Rollei Digi as being on par with the Wittner?

 

[Meyer Trioplan]

I was late to the party as well, and have never stumbled across any of the Wittner that apparently lacked the yellow cast of the other variations. I tend to think that the versions available today generally have some degree of yellow cast, which may partially explain why the film is often pushed as a "cross processing" medium. Still, it is one of those films that admittedly lends itself well to the cross processing.

 

[Urmonas]

The last batch of Rollei CR200 in 120 I had was from memory expiry 11/2017. It went yellow about 3 months ago. This was stored frozen until use. I would suggest you try a sample from a few sources and buy more of the one that works. Expect yellowing to happen once you get to about a year before expiry. I have bought it from Maco Direct, and FotoImpex (both in Germany) to the US without any problems but shipping is expensive so you need to buy 10 rolls or more to make it worthwhile. If you want to buy the film while in Portland you could buy a roll, shoot it, have it developed then buy more if it is good. Not sure what labs offer same day on E-6 out that way.

 

[AidanA]

Okay cool, thanks. No, I don't believe Blue Moon can do 1 day processing with E-6 but I'm not in a rush. I'll be around there for a few weeks.

Also, just so I'm 100% sure... Lomo X-Pro is theoretically the exact same as Rollei Digibase CR and the Maco label, just branded by Lomo as a cross processing film? Just double checking.

EDIT: Actually let me rephrase that question and ask, what exactly are all of the different brandings/labelings of this film?

 

[destroya]

i bought a fresh bulk roll of this and it went yellow like mentioned above after 4 months in the freezer. I have the rest of my rolls but have no intention of shooting them. If I were new to the e-6 game I would never shoot this film or any of its close relatives. its to easy to blame the poor results on shooting film nd you will miss the joy of shooting a proper slide film. skip this film and shoot some provia.

 

[AidanA]

I appreciate the advice, I will certainly keep that in mind. Though I have to say, maybe Provia will grow on me but right now it's just not what I'm looking for. And in regards to using a proper slide film, I do shoot the occasional roll of Velvia which is fun, but certainly not what I want for street photography. I'm pretty set on having a go at this AGFA film, even knowing it has its flaws, because when it does work it looks great (to my eyes). No reason not to give it a shot!

So then, still hoping someone can help me out with: What exactly are all of the different brandings/labelings of this film?
(And are we sure Lomo X-Pro is exactly the same? It's over $3 cheaper than the Rollei Digibase...)

And it sounds like there's still some issues with the current batch of Rollei, etc. Would love to hear of any other experiences from you all.

 

[Meyer Trioplan]

Given what I've learned about the state of the industry on here, I'm 98% certain that "Crossbird," "Lomo X-Pro," "Rollei CR200," and "Wittnerchrome" all have the same source material and are thus the same product. I've shot both the "Crossbird" and "CR200" badged versions and saw no difference.

Personally, I find this film to be pretty good for night photography or in overcast or flatter lighting situations, and that it has a narrow range in sunlit situations. I did a good bit with the film in 2015, and you can see my (mostly 120 format) results here...
http://quirkyguywithacamera.blogspot.com/search/label/Agfa CR200

 

[Nzoomed]

I've not spent who knows how long reading this thread in its entirety. I feel like I could write a brief history of this AGFA E-6 line in a book. So, thanks to those of you who have gone out of your way to make this information available and make finding a way to shoot this film possible for less experienced shooters like myself. I'm really glad I found this thread.

I'm getting ready to purchase my first decent batch of E-6. (Late to the party, I know.) This thread has convinced me that this is the film I want, provided I can find a safe source of the film. After reading the thread, here are the questions I have:
As of Dec 6, 2016...
1) Where is the best place to purchase this film as a US resident? I'd be very happy to support the Wittner gang (really cool that they made this available) if I can figure out the website, payment, etc in English and if the price for shipping overseas doesn't mark it up too much--I think I'd prefer this option if it's feasible. On the other hand, Freestyle also still stocks this and is a mere two states away from me, are we convinced at this point that their Digibase is safe now... or no? EDIT: Blue Moon stocks the Lomo X-Pro 200 which is even closer to me. Anybody know if the quality of today's batch?

2) We are now over the 3 year mark that Wittner promised, AGFA has "discontinued" it, and so forth. Do we have any idea of how long this film might remain available? I understand that thing is kind of hard to predict without information from the providers... but I figured it might be worth asking anyway. (I'd hate for stock to run dry right as I find a new film I like!)

Well, I felt like I had a lot of questions, but that's all I can think of at the moment. Anything else I should know about the current situation?

FWIW, I am buying this film to use in my Minolta X-700 likely mostly for street photography in and around Seattle. Planning to get my developing done at hopefully at Blue Moon in Portland or, if not, at Moonphoto in Seattle.

Cheers!

Wittner is the cheapest source for the film and they are great to deal with.
I was the one who initially asked them if they could package the stuff in 135 format because I was put off buying the stuff from Rollei, after hearing about the yellowing etc.

They thought it was a great idea and they sent me some prototype samples to shoot, which I did and it was perfect.
They guarantee all their film that there will be no yellowing. This had already been observed with the super8 shooters using their stock, so was one reason I asked them if they could sell 135 canisters.
Other photographers also come on board with enquiries and they made the product available.

It DOES suffer real bad from light piping however, which can give a yellow effect if you load it in bright light.

I have to tell the photo labs to unpick the films in low light, because this has been a problem.
The opposite happens with the negative version (CN200) and shows as blue on the negatives, which still scans as yellow.
The light piping will only affect the frames at the ends of the film where there has been light exposure though, not the entire film.


Anyway, both films are real good, and for the time being wittner still has plenty of stock.
If and when they do run out, hopefully Ferrania will be there to replace it, but I will miss this stock heaps as it has a real vintage look, much like kodachrome.

 

[AgX]

Wittner is the cheapest source for the film.

At the moment their 30m roll is more expensive at them when broken to down to type 135-36 than their actual 135-36...

 

[Nzoomed]

At the moment their 30m roll is more expensive at them when broken to down to type 135-36 than their actual 135-36...

Thats weird lol.
Anyway, i just buy their 135 rolls, cant be stuffed with a bulk loader.

 

[wlodekmj]

It's good to see more discussion here after a long break from July to December!

I have been trying this film (Aviphot; whether from Maco, Wittner, Lomo or others) and to understand its yellowing ever since the end of Kodachrome was announced. After 6 years and at least 60 rolls here is what I can offer about avoiding yellowing:

1/ The film must be well stored by the manufacturer, the retailer, the distributor and the user. Oh, and the delivery company must not have kept it stored in a hot postal warehouse in transit!

2/ The 35mm film must be loaded in low light to avoid light piping. I have never had a problem with 120 film!

3/ Be aware that the film is very sensitive to warm light - I have shot rolls that I thought had gone yellow, just because I took the photographs on a sunny afternoon, and the film emphasised the sunlight.

4/ It must be developed as soon as possible after it has been shot! I have never seen this mentioned anywhere, but I have found very clearly that film which was stored well and developed within 24 hours is perfect, with no yellowing, whereas the same film developed 4 days later is noticeably yellow, and if developed after more than a week it looks dreadful - unless you want a yellow cast.

I think it is this last problem, number 4, that gets most people. The first roll you shoot, you will probably take all in one session, and you will get it processed as soon as you can, to see the results. They will look good if you followed points 1 to 3. Then, later, you will shoot a roll over a few days, and you will have it processed in less of a hurry, and you will think that something has gone wrong, or that the film has gone yellow with age. I have used this film well past its "process by" date and if it was well stored and processed very soon, it was just fine.

Back to the question of where to buy it - I have had very good results with film bought direct from Wittner, who clearly store it well and ship it quickly. I have had mixed results with Maco (Rolleichrome 200), depending on how it was stored. Fresh film is fine whether bought online or from a dealer, but some dealers keep it on the shelves in their nice warm store for months - I have had some very poor results with Lomography X-Pro 200, which the dealer told me they just keep on the shelf till it is sold.

I would like to compare these experiences with other people's, so I have started a new thread just on the subject of avoiding the yellowing of Aviphot.