Reviews on AgfaPhoto Agfapan APX 100 the current one

[brbo]

That may be, but still it does not compare to what was APX. It is not APX so the labeling is nothing less than fraud. If it is a good emulsion why not simply sell it as what it is instead of suggesting it is something better?

May I suggest you calm down, perhaps with a nice cup of tea?

You come across as very angry about this.

But to answer his question. They use AgpaPhot APX 100 name because they own it and they don't use Kentmere Pan 100 because they can't. THAT would be a fraud.

 

[M-88]

Extremely high quality and consistency. I've used 50+ rolls and never once found a defect.

If it really is Kentmere 100, then high consistency is well expected. Harman is Harman, after all. I shot through two 100ft bulk rolls of Kentmere 100 + ten to fifteen ordinary 36-frame rolls and every single inch of that film performed as expected. Then I moved on to FP4+ but that's a different story.

You mention Silvermax 100. I happened to use that as well when it was a available. No, the two films were definitely different. Both beautiful in their own right.

As far as I remember, Silvermax 100 was closest to original (Agfa-Gevaert, not "AgfaPhoto") APX 100. One that was discontinued back in the early 2000s, along with other Agfa-Gevaert consumer films.

 

[JPD]

Who makes the Agfa APX 100 plates? It doesn't say "Agfaphoto" or where they are being manufactured.

Glasplattenfilm

Agfa APX 100 Glasplatten, Format 65x90mm, Abpackung: 10 Gläser pro Packungseinheit. Kein Mindestbestellwert✓ Gratis Versand ab 89,-€✓ schnell &…

www.macodirect.de

 

[Anon Ymous]

Who makes the Agfa APX 100 plates? It doesn't say "Agfaphoto" or where they are being manufactured.

Glasplattenfilm

Agfa APX 100 Glasplatten, Format 65x90mm, Abpackung: 10 Gläser pro Packungseinheit. Kein Mindestbestellwert✓ Gratis Versand ab 89,-€✓ schnell &…

www.macodirect.de

My guess would be Agfa at Mortsel, Belgium. It's Agfa, not Agfaphoto.

 

[JPD]

My guess would be Agfa at Mortsel, Belgium. It's Agfa, not Agfaphoto.

That's possible. I wonder if they use the original APX 100 emulsion...

 

[Anon Ymous]

That's possible. I wonder if they use the original APX 100 emulsion...

Says so on the tin...

 

[relistan]

As was pointed out, Agfapan APX-100 is not a product on the market now. It was the original APX-100, previously produced in Leverkusen, Germany by (the real) Agfa-Gevaert. Agfaphoto APX-100 (the same product as the last Agfapan version more or less) was briefly sold by the original division of Agfa-Gevaert, from when it was spun out in 2004 until bankruptcy in 2005. Lupus bought the rights to use Agfaphoto branding on their line of film products sometime between 2005 and 2011.

Then, briefly, Lupus imaging sold this *same* original, real stock as Agfaphoto APX-100 in 2011-2013 using stored/frozen jumbos that were confectioned for them by Ilford/Harman in England. These boxes look *identical* to the current offering, but without "New Emulsion" labels.

The last of this stock was sold off by about 2015. By this point Lupus had begun shipping Kentmere 100 in the exact same packaging, with the exact same branding, with only "New Emulsion" label showing the difference. To confuse the matter, many sites and shops continued to sell it like it was the same film. Some did not even update photos of the packaging. Remember, Harman was already confectioning the earlier stock, so switching to confectioning Kentmere 100 instead did not disrupt supply lines in any way.

Now, since about 2014-ish the stock available as Agfaphoto APX-100 is Kentmere. A good film. Not the same stock at all, though.

The nearest cousin to the original APX-100 available in the last decade was ADOX Silvermax 100, which used much original Agfa chemistry in its formulation. When those original chemicals ran out, it went out of production finally, forever. About 4-5 years ago.

 

[Agulliver]

Why tea. Why not a steak. I mean something made of crickets and declared a steak.
Now exactly that is it why I am angry. I grow up at times when you did know what you buy and not get cheated with labels not covering what they promise. May be you did not know those times. If for you it is ok to have to guess every time what is behind a label, for me it is not, so dont tell me not to be angry. I used to buy film without having every two year to guess what is in the box. When they changes something, than they told you so.

Because Prinz Colour was never Ferrania-Color. Kodak never sold XX to be sold under other names by myriad other companies. Boots never sold film that was Fuji Superia.....Radio Shack never sold cassette tapes made by TDK and Maxell but with the Radio Shack logo on them.....

It's been happening for decades.

Calm down. tea. weed. steak. tofu. Whatever you need.

 

[Ivo Stunga]

in Germany sold for 4 Euro

I can get it for 5EUR today in Latvia - lovely AF!

FWIW, I have used the Rollei RPX100 and found it to be virtually identical to Kentmere 100, right down to the base dye. I expect the "Agfa" product is also in this family of films.

I've used all three of them as slides - RPX/APX 100 and Kentmere 100. Call me blind or something, but to me they're identical, especially when all receive one reversal treatment.
Great stuff no matter the random useless letters on box.

Similarly with 400 speed line.

And this site agrees with me:

The Big Film Database for analog photographers - Search by DX number, code or name

 

[GregY]

Are you familiar with the work of the Naked Photographer on youtube? He has been doing a long term comparison between Tri-X and all the 35mm film he was able to buy at B&H. He does a basic curve comparison, then develops both films in D76 and finally compares his prints.

Here's the Agfaphoto APX 100 episode




Here's his curve comparison bit



Here's the spectral response comparison bit. Tri-X on the right, Agfaphoto APX on the left



Note the slightly hotter highlights on the APX 100 print. It's not a fault of the APX per se, it's just that Greg is intimately familiar with developing TriX in D76, but not intimately familiar with developing the competing film in D76. So he just goes by the book (leaflet) which sometimes leads to sub-optimal development (in this case, slight overdevelopment of the APX 100). With good practice, the APX looks even better.

Anyhow - take homes for me: nice straight curve in stock D76. Great classic panchromatic response without major red/blue oddities. Exactly as I've observed myself. Excellent Caucasian skin tone rendition.

A couple more observations from me: very dark base, just like Kentmere and Rollei RPX. Extremely high quality and consistency. I've used 50+ rolls and never once found a defect.

You mention Silvermax 100. I happened to use that as well when it was a available. No, the two films were definitely different. Both beautiful in their own right. One immediate difference was finer grain in Silvermax 100. I have never used FP4+ in 35mm so can't comment (though I occasionally use it in 120 and it's an astoundingly good film).

Thank you Albireo. I'll give some a try. I mention FP4 because it's been my favourite 100 iso film in all sizes right up to 5x7"

 

[ant!]

As was pointed out, Agfapan APX-100 is not a product on the market now. It was the original APX-100, previously produced in Leverkusen, Germany by (the real) Agfa-Gevaert. Agfaphoto APX-100 (the same product as the last Agfapan version more or less) was briefly sold by the original division of Agfa-Gevaert, from when it was spun out in 2004 until bankruptcy in 2005. Lupus bought the rights to use Agfaphoto branding on their line of film products sometime between 2005 and 2011.

Then, briefly, Lupus imaging sold this *same* original, real stock as Agfaphoto APX-100 in 2011-2013 using stored/frozen jumbos that were confectioned for them by Ilford/Harman in England. These boxes look *identical* to the current offering, but without "New Emulsion" labels.

The last of this stock was sold off by about 2015. By this point Lupus had begun shipping Kentmere 100 in the exact same packaging, with the exact same branding, with only "New Emulsion" label showing the difference. To confuse the matter, many sites and shops continued to sell it like it was the same film. Some did not even update photos of the packaging. Remember, Harman was already confectioning the earlier stock, so switching to confectioning Kentmere 100 instead did not disrupt supply lines in any way.

Now, since about 2014-ish the stock available as Agfaphoto APX-100 is Kentmere. A good film. Not the same stock at all, though.

The nearest cousin to the original APX-100 available in the last decade was ADOX Silvermax 100, which used much original Agfa chemistry in its formulation. When those original chemicals ran out, it went out of production finally, forever. About 4-5 years ago.

Thanks for this overview! I still have some of the Agfaphoto APX-100 "old emulsion" in the freezer, bought in the early 2010s (must have been in between 2010 and 2013) in German drugstores when it was clear that it will be soon over. And yes, the "new"-label is the only difference in packaging to the version now, Made by Harman.

 

[Film-Niko]

Is anyone using the currently available AgfaPhoto Agfapan APX 100? It's one of the less expensive films available in N America compared with TMX and TMY.
Who makes it and what are it's characteristics?

It is simple: AgfaPhoto APX 100 is just Kentmere 100 film. And AgfaPhoto APX 400 is Kentmere 400.
I have tested them under identical conditions side-by-side, including test charts and evaluation of the HD curves.
Identical results - identical films.
Another evidence:
Same behaviour when photographing strong light sources: The Kentmeres have worse halation behaviour as the Ilford branded films.
So you get a bit of halation around the light sources. Here again exactly the same behaviour with the AgfaPhoto films and the Kentmeres.
Finishing is exactly Harman quality. And as Harman technology is not selling their Ilford branded films to other companies for rebranding, but they do it with the Kentmeres: Logical conclusion: It can only be the Kentmere films.

 

[GregY]

It is simple: AgfaPhoto APX 100 is just Kentmere 100 film. And AgfaPhoto APX 400 is Kentmere 400.
I have tested them under identical conditions side-by-side, including test charts and evaluation of the HD curves.
Identical results - identical films.
Another evidence:
Same behaviour when photographing strong light sources: The Kentmeres have worse halation behaviour as the Ilford branded films.
So you get a bit of halation around the light sources. Here again exactly the same behaviour with the AgfaPhoto films and the Kentmeres.
Finishing is exactly Harman quality. And as Harman technology is not selling their Ilford branded films to other companies for rebranding, but they do it with the Kentmeres: Logical conclusion: It can only be the Kentmere films.

Thank you.

 

[Film-Niko]

As was pointed out, Agfapan APX-100 is not a product on the market now. It was the original APX-100, previously produced in Leverkusen, Germany by (the real) Agfa-Gevaert. Agfaphoto APX-100 (the same product as the last Agfapan version more or less) was briefly sold by the original division of Agfa-Gevaert, from when it was spun out in 2004 until bankruptcy in 2005. Lupus bought the rights to use Agfaphoto branding on their line of film products sometime between 2005 and 2011.

Then, briefly, Lupus imaging sold this *same* original, real stock as Agfaphoto APX-100 in 2011-2013 using stored/frozen jumbos that were confectioned for them by Ilford/Harman in England. These boxes look *identical* to the current offering, but without "New Emulsion" labels.

The last of this stock was sold off by about 2015. By this point Lupus had begun shipping Kentmere 100 in the exact same packaging, with the exact same branding, with only "New Emulsion" label showing the difference. To confuse the matter, many sites and shops continued to sell it like it was the same film. Some did not even update photos of the packaging. Remember, Harman was already confectioning the earlier stock, so switching to confectioning Kentmere 100 instead did not disrupt supply lines in any way.

Now, since about 2014-ish the stock available as Agfaphoto APX-100 is Kentmere. A good film. Not the same stock at all, though.

The nearest cousin to the original APX-100 available in the last decade was ADOX Silvermax 100, which used much original Agfa chemistry in its formulation. When those original chemicals ran out, it went out of production finally, forever. About 4-5 years ago.

That is indeed the true history.
Only one additional comment by me: Original APX 100 was introduced by Agfa in 1989, and it was a visible improvement to the former Agfapan 100.

 

[relistan]

Thanks for this overview! I still have some of the Agfaphoto APX-100 "old emulsion" in the freezer, bought in the early 2010s (must have been in between 2010 and 2013) in German drugstores when it was clear that it will be soon over. And yes, the "new"-label is the only difference in packaging to the version now, Made by Harman.

Yes! When I lived in Germany during that time, I bought a lot of it at DM for about €2.50!

 

[ant!]

Yes! When I lived in Germany during that time, I bought a lot of it at DM for about €2.50!

I bought them on a family visit. A few years before that, I raided drugstores when they sold off Ektar for 1€ for a few weeks to get rid of them...
before that, I just used whatever the drugstores brand films were (I was a poor student and took whatever I got cheap). Have to check some of the old negatives, but around 2005 I guess it was possibly rebranded Agfa color films?

 

[npl]

It's a good fine-grained affordable film that will yield good prints in all common developers. Rodinal 1:50 10min is one of the best combo, HC-110 1:31 6.5min didn't disappointed either. I'm currently using it with replenished Xtol (Adox XT-3 now) and tried 1+1 too, all with good results.

I too found it to be identical to current rollei RPX 100 and kentmere 100. That's a good thing because if one is out of stock, there's two more options

 

[Ivo Stunga]

Or a bad thing - if Kentmere is no more, so will other iterations disappear.

 

[retina_restoration]

Why tea. Why not a steak. I mean something made of crickets and declared a steak.
Now exactly that is it why I am angry. I grow up at times when you did know what you buy and not get cheated with labels not covering what they promise. May be you did not know those times. If for you it is ok to have to guess every time what is behind a label, for me it is not, so dont tell me not to be angry. I used to buy film without having every two year to guess what is in the box. When they changes something, than they told you so.

If you don't want to have to guess what's in the box, then don't buy anything that isn't labeled Ilford, Kodak, or Foma. It's as simple as that.

 

[Alex Benjamin]

It is not APX so the labeling is nothing less than fraud. If it is a good emulsion why not simply sell it as what it is instead of suggesting it is something better?

Although with nuances, the practice is not dissimilar to that of the auto industry, for example. The Ford Escape, Mercury Mariner and Mazda Tribute are essentially the same car under different brands. Other "twins," as the industry calls them, are the Toyota Camry and the Lexus ES350, the Chevrolet Silverado and the GMC Sierra, and many more. They share the same chassis and more, only difference often being the interior and outer design. Essentially, your driving the same vehicle, with nobody being accused of fraud. As with many things today, you're buying a brand, not a specific and unique product.

For AgfaPHOTO, the operation is one of notoriety. Obviously, as a brand, it wanted to keep it alive and not fully disconnect with the film consumer market, towards which some of their product are directed, i.e., their line of 35mm disposable and reusable cameras.

Yes, it would be nice if the info were a little more open. Photoimpex is one of the few that gives this type of info on their website:

NEW APX Made after 2013.
The new APX is manufactured by a known large European manufacturer of photographic materials for the AgfaPhoto brand license holder.
This is fresh film and not from the leftover stock made when Agfa Leverkusen factory stopped operation.

That said, as with their 35mm cameras, the consumer target for this film is entry-level film photographers too young to have known (or to care of today) the old APX.

 

[Agulliver]

Or a bad thing - if Kentmere is no more, so will other iterations disappear.

There is absolutely no reason why Kentmere should go out of production.

If the film industry in general and Harman in particular are hit so badly that they axe Kentmere....we're probably all in big trouble sourcing any film.

 

[albireo]

The consumer target for this film is entry-level film photographers too young to have known (or to care of today) the old APX.

Agfaphoto, and Kentmere, are so good that they're unlikely to constitute the weak link in anyone's film photography chain, whether entry level or advanced.

 

[markjwyatt]

The only thing true Agfa left, other than some remaining stock of aero films and maybe new X-ray films is Orwo. Orwo/Wolfen, like SIlvermax, has a pedigree leading directly back to Agfa (Agfa trapped behind the iron curtain). So if you really want to try an Agfa[like] film, and don't want expired, maybe try some Orwo/Wolfen. I have not shot any yet, but have one or two rolls of rebranded Orwo to try eventually. Orwo/Wolfen is absolutely more Agfa than today's Agfaphoto.

 

[GregY]

The only thing true Agfa left, other than some remaining stock of aero films and maybe new X-ray films is Orwo. Orwo/Wolfen, like SIlvermax, has a pedigree leading directly back to Agfa (Agfa trapped behind the iron curtain). So if you really want to try an Agfa[like] film, and don't want expired, maybe try some Orwo/Wolfen. I have not shot any yet, but have one or two rolls of rebranded Orwo to try eventually. Orwo/Wolfen is absolutely more Agfa than today's Agfaphoto.

Thank you Mark..... there is some useful information at last. More along the lines of what i asked...

 

[Yashica]

I have this Film since a hell long time, APX 100, sometimes APX 400...usually shooting APX 100@200 pushed for added contrast. But only, because it was (way) cheap...not anymore. For reference - here into germany, into summer 2020 - 5.29 EUR @dm drugstore, nowadays, 7.49 - 7.99 EUR per 135-36 roll, which is crazy.