Revisiting and old friend, Agfa APX 25

destroya said:

I have a lot of APX 25 in 120 frozen. over the last 5 years if I do shoot it, it has been very rarely. I would guess about 10 rolls over that time. But life is short, especially as you get older, so decided its time to start shooting this film again. So dug way down to the bottom of the film chest freezer to find the case. Its was a great feeling opening the case and see 10 10 packs nicely packed away, waiting to be shot.

I have always had a soft spot for this emulsion, along with the 100 speed. It was never the sharpest, never the smallest grain, never the fasted. but when I weighed all the criteria, it was always my favorite. there is just something special about how it renders a landscape scene, both enlarged and scanned. The tonality had a magic to it and the results just sparkled. So its time, time to start shooting more and shooting this film more. I have 2 cases, so 200 rolls and my plan is to shoot 2 to 4 rolls a month, forcing myself to get back out there and go at it. getting my pentax 67 serviced and back to working order played a key roll in this decision. the 2 paired together has given me so many keepers and prints, it always makes me smile. when I go back and look at my best shots over the last 20 years, seems to always be pentax 67 and apx 25.

This is in no way meant as a show off post. I really did feel like I was 12 again, at my grandparents, opening gifts on my b-day. you know the feeling Im talking about. so get out there and shoot!

john

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destroya said:

I have a lot of APX 25 in 120 frozen. over the last 5 years if I do shoot it, it has been very rarely. I would guess about 10 rolls over that time. But life is short, especially as you get older, so decided its time to start shooting this film again. So dug way down to the bottom of the film chest freezer to find the case. Its was a great feeling opening the case and see 10 10 packs nicely packed away, waiting to be shot.

I have always had a soft spot for this emulsion, along with the 100 speed. It was never the sharpest, never the smallest grain, never the fasted. but when I weighed all the criteria, it was always my favorite. there is just something special about how it renders a landscape scene, both enlarged and scanned. The tonality had a magic to it and the results just sparkled. So its time, time to start shooting more and shooting this film more. I have 2 cases, so 200 rolls and my plan is to shoot 2 to 4 rolls a month, forcing myself to get back out there and go at it. getting my pentax 67 serviced and back to working order played a key roll in this decision. the 2 paired together has given me so many keepers and prints, it always makes me smile. when I go back and look at my best shots over the last 20 years, seems to always be pentax 67 and apx 25.

This is in no way meant as a show off post. I really did feel like I was 12 again, at my grandparents, opening gifts on my b-day. you know the feeling Im talking about. so get out there and shoot!

john

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Craig said:

I have one roll that was given to me, so I don't want to sacrifice it for testing. What is the recommended development time, likely in D76 or Xtol?

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Bill Burk said:

Going back to Texas to the same haunts?

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destroya said:

I really did feel like I was 12 again, at my grandparents, opening gifts on my b-day.

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Ten301 said:

“But life is short, especially as you get older…”

I’ve been thinking about that a lot recently regarding my photography hobby. I just turned 67 and have a freezer full of film, much of it film that has long been discontinued. I’ve realized I’ve been ‘saving’ it, but saving it for what? It’s time to open the freezer and use the rare stuff. Time is short.

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destroya said:

I did a count and have way more film in the freezer then I thought I did.

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destroya said:

In 2010 I thought at the time that color film was going to go away for good (I dont thing the digital will every replace B&W) so I loaded up on velvia 50 as well as all the astia I could find. Figured provia was kinda the general all purpose slide film from fuji and would be the last man standing, so never really stock piled it. And like you, I was saving the films for special occasions and found other film to shoot as my every day film. But like a lot of things, I slowly realized that it had been years and i still hadn't shot a lot of the "special" film. So why did I buy it? then the ah ha moment hit. Everyday is a special day! Covid really hammered that home for me with a lot of things, as did the death of a very close friend from an accident. So life changes came. Not sure why shooting my saved film came last, but it has arrived. It started with deciding Im gonna start drinking my "good" wine and went from there. I did a count and have way more film in the freezer then I thought I did.

Last night, while I was enjoying a special bottle of wine (why, because I have it and decided to drink it), I was loading up some velvia 50 in my 4x5 holders and thought, this is fun. Why did I wait so long. those all day developing marathons are worth it. There is just something specail about when you finish a batch and hang them to dry, especaily slide film, it makes everythig that came before it worth it.

OK, now I'm happy! I am very grateful that I can enjoy this hobby and share it with family and friends via prints and the all boring slide shows (I still love em, but the others, maybe not so much). Having a cumminty tike we do here, Its great to see that Im not the onyl one who feels this way.

john

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AZD said:

Here’s a link to the data sheet:

https://125px.com/docs/film/agfa/agfapanapx25.pdf

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Kodachromeguy said:

Agfapan 25 was a favorite in the 1980s. I do not know if Agfapan 25 was the same emulsion as the newer APX25, but regardless, it was wonderful for scenics and sunny days. Here are some examples from that previous life:

https://worldofdecay.blogspot.com/2021/10/before-crisis-ciudad-acuna-mexico-in.html

There are more 1980s negs from Texas to scan (in my non-spare time....)

Update on saving film: Time to use my remaining rolls of 120 Panatomic-X. Why save them for what special scenes?

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npl said:

Very nice photographs and article.

ISO 25 seems low to me even in sunlight (assuming you shot the APX at box speed), but I'm used to SLR's. The Leica seems the right tool for the job here

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npl said:

Very nice photographs and article.

ISO 25 seems low to me even in sunlight (assuming you shot the APX at box speed), but I'm used to SLR's. The Leica seems the right tool for the job here

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Chuck1 said:

I have to agree with a tripod

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Andrew O'Neill said:

I've got some stored away, too, as well as some 100 and 400, kindly given to me by a subscriber on my channel. I shot a few rolls of the 100 over in the Japan. Upon returning home to the darkroom, I was pleasantly surprised with how well it had rendered the scene. Looking forward to giving the 25 a whirl. I regret not ever shooting Agfapan films back when they were readily available...

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