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Rollei Retro 400S/80S/Superpan 200 - ~40% price increase on Macodirect

albireo

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Joined
Nov 15, 2017
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Just a heads-up for those who use these products.

There seems to have been a pretty significant and unannounced price increase on roll film and 35mm, with e.g. Rollei Retro 400S in 120 having gone up to approx 40% more of what it costed at the time of my last bulk order (March 2024, 6.97 Euro/roll)

Rollei Retro 400S roll film 120

Rollei RETRO 400S – High-Speed Black & White Film for Versatile Applications Rollei RETRO 400S is a panchromatic black and white film with high…
www.macodirect.de

I haven't found any announcements and I'm unable to find out if this increase is due to significant technical updates to the products or not.
 
How is Adox involved in production of Maco Rollei film(s)? I thought that finishing was split between Foma and Harman (depending on the film) and never heard that Adox would be finishing or coating any film for them...
 

they're pushing too hard
maybe a new Agfa Gevaert run or maybe it's the price increase to pay the new finishing machines at Ilford Harman...
 
I'm replacing it with Scala 50 for most infrared work. Just bought 15 rolls of Scala in 35mm because the price was low and I feared it would not stay that way. Waiting for that to come out in 120. I use both at ISO 6 so the speed increase is not helpful for IR work. I noticed the Aviphot has a lot more scratches and emulsion problems than Scala as well.
 
brbo said:
How is Adox involved in production of Maco Rollei film(s)? I thought that finishing was split between Foma and Harman (depending on the film) and never heard that Adox would be finishing or coating any film for them...
Click to expand...

Sorry, misread; I thought the link was to Impex.
 

Nice. I've never used the MACO/Aviphot stuff for infrared work. The only one I use is Retro 400S which is an extraordinary, ultra-sharp 125/160EI red-extended normal usage film in my workflow. At the price it sold for, it was a no brainer for me to always have a few dozen rolls knocking about.

Now no more, however. A German retailer is selling bricks of TMAX 400 in 120 at roughly the same price/roll as the current Maco Rollei stuff. The spectral response of TMAX is quite different than Rollei Retro 400S but I'm getting similar sharpness and 400EI for TMAX in my chain, so I can't see any compelling reasons to go after the Maco stuff anymore, at these prices.
 
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I never understood why one must buy a film that was never intended for still photography and yet use it for that application.
There are pleny, plenty of better films out there: all Kodak, Fuji, Ilford, Adox make excellent films for still photography.
 
Alessandro Serrao said:
I never understood why one must buy a film that was never intended for still photography and yet use it for that application.
There are pleny, plenty of better films out there: all Kodak, Fuji, Ilford, Adox make excellent films for still photography.
Click to expand...

Rollei Retro 400S is an excellent film for still photography. Try it.

Also, this is a creative endeavour: you really should use things for reasons they are not designed for, if what you see satisfies your vision.

Some of the most beautiful portraits I've seen in my life were 10x8 contact prints from mammography X-ray film.

I am thankful to artists who decide to break boundaries.
 
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Sorry I'm not that kind of photographer, I'm just a casual shooter that loves to document reality. I'm much more into street photography and URBEX, so artistry do not necessarily apply to my philosophy.
I never used Retro 400s but I've used Retro 80 for slides and it's a very good film, but as said now I favor much more Scala 50 or Adox Hr-x 50 (that's the same identical film), whichever I find cheaper.
 
Alessandro Serrao said:
I never understood why one must buy a film that was never intended for still photography and yet use it for that application.
There are pleny, plenty of better films out there: all Kodak, Fuji, Ilford, Adox make excellent films for still photography.
Click to expand...

Dude, you have asked this so many times and gotten a bunch of different answers. I understand that you don’t like this film as the contrast is high at box speed (pushed 1-2 stops) but I’m sure I am not the only one who is a bit annoyed with this kind of comment being repeated over and over. It’s silver halide suspended in gelatin on a PET base, it’s film. And it’s cheap. That’s why people use it.

Yes, there are other films out there that look different, and if you want to, feel free to use them.

As far as the topic at hand, this probably means Agfa is increasing Aviphot prices. TBH I’m surprised it’s stayed so consistent for so long considering how much most other film has increased in price.
 
Alessandro Serrao said:
I never understood why one must buy a film that was never intended for still photography and yet use it for that application.
There are pleny, plenty of better films out there: all Kodak, Fuji, Ilford, Adox make excellent films for still photography.
Click to expand...

"better"is a very relative word. Aviphot is the "better" film for my wallet if I want to shoot 4x5 or 120. Less than $2 for a hand rolled 120 roll and less than 10cents per 4x5 sheet is really, really hard to beat.

Can't imagine how much it would had cost me if I used Delta 100/400 for 4x5 at the rate I waste Aviphot hand cut 4x5. So no "better" film for my purpose.

I'm don't want to create gallery quality pictures, not my goal, just pretty pictures that I would like to print and put around my house.

Horses for courses I would say.
 
If you don't like it, don't use it. But please stop there.

Plenty of other people enjoy using this Aviphot derived film. I like it for certain conditions myself. I happen not to like Kodak Gold but I don't go around telling others not to do so.
 
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