Rollei RPX 25: Grain and Resolution

Hi All,

I am curious about the grain and resolution characteristics of Rollei RPX 25. Anyone have any experience or knowledge about this film as it pertains to it's grain and resolving power? How would it compare to TMax 100 or Across 100?

Sorry to see you have had no replies - unusual for APUG. Makes me wonder if you are the only user It's a lonely feeling

Unfortunately I haven't tried it either but while waiting for answers you might try the Rollei site or a search on APUG. We must have discussed almost every film ever produced so I'd be surprised if there aren't a few threads

Here's hoping that you get answers

pentaxuser

The Rollei RPX 25 was tested in the latest issue ( III 2014 ) of the German magazine PhotoKlassik . The tester Henning Serger was obviously impressed by the film and according to the article he measured a resolution of 120 Lp/mm and an efective ISO of 20 - 40 . I don't know if you can get a copy of the Magazine in Canada but I enclose a link.

Karl-Gustaf

http://www.photoklassik.de/

K-G said:

The Rollei RPX 25 was tested in the latest issue ( III 2014 ) of the German magazine PhotoKlassik . The tester Henning Serger was obviously impressed by the film and according to the article he measured a resolution of 120 Lp/mm and an efective ISO of 20 - 40 . I don't know if you can get a copy of the Magazine in Canada but I enclose a link.

Karl-Gustaf

http://www.photoklassik.de/

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I didn't see if this magazine comes in an English version... does it?

K-G said:

The Rollei RPX 25 was tested in the latest issue ( III 2014 ) of the German magazine PhotoKlassik . The tester Henning Serger was obviously impressed by the film and according to the article he measured a resolution of 120 Lp/mm and an efective ISO of 20 - 40 . I don't know if you can get a copy of the Magazine in Canada but I enclose a link.

Karl-Gustaf

http://www.photoklassik.de/

Click to expand...

Thanks for the link. I'll browse the site. I can appreciate since the film is new, there may not be much in the way of testing. I didn't see anything to address my question in any of the APUG threads.

I think it is only in German so far. The magazine is only a litle less than two years old and you never know if there will be an English version in the future . They write exclusively about analogue photography so an investment in a German dictionary and grammar may be worth the money.

Karl-Gustaf

K-G said:

I think it is only in German so far. The magazine is only a litle less than two years old and you never know if there will be an English version in the future . They write exclusively about analogue photography so an investment in a German dictionary and grammar may be worth the money.

Karl-Gustaf

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I might. Plus I can put the two semesters of German to good use.

Snapshot said:

Thanks for the link. I'll browse the site. I can appreciate since the film is new, there may not be much in the way of testing. I didn't see anything to address my question in any of the APUG threads.

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There is a 26 page thread on this film which ran until Jan 2014. If you haven't looked at this then concentrate on Regular Rod's posts. He has a scan in his posts as well. I did a Google search as well and the first link was to a site where the film was tested. Someone called Pioneer also ordered 10 films in Dec 2013 so must have experience of probably several of these by now. You might find something under his name and he may even respond on this thread.

pentaxuser

|I always got it in German,which lickely ain't a problem for me;It's a good magazine and deserves support from apug members.

I am not sure I can provide you with any objective test results since I don't do that, but I can give you my impressions.

At ISO 25 it seems to respond quite well. The few rolls I have shot have been with 120 film in a Zeiss Ikon Favorit 6x6 TLR so grain is not an issue. I do have some 35mm but I just haven't had a real opportunity to use it yet. Resolution seems excellent but I don't shoot test charts so I can't give you any numbers.

This picture was cropped from a negative scan done on the Epson V500, so it is already a bit limited. I added a bit of contrast since the negatives are low contrast. But that is more a factor of the lens on the Favorit, not the film.

This is what I can tell you.

So far I have shot at ISO 25 and developed in D76 1+1. The negatives print very well. I have one print done at 16x20. The print is very clear with excellent detail, but I expect that from a 6x6 negative, so no surprises.

Bottom line, I like the film a lot. It will make a very good replacement for Efke 25. I am not yet ready to substitute it for TMX100, but with some work and experimenting it could easily get there.

If it is any help, Pioneer's post has reminded me of the test article I mentioned. The tester took the same frame at EIs 6,12,25,50,100 and 200 and has shown the results. Quite illuminating. While box speed appeared to be the best it seemed to me that it has the latitude to be exposed at +1 so EI50 is nearly as good.

The tester processed in Rodinal and seemed to suggest that the processing was quite critical but none of the posters here seem to reinforce that. Maybe it is less critical than the tester suggests

Another interesting aspect was the claim that the resolution is so good that in one picture, the middle building which is quite a distance from the camera, can be "blown up" so that you can count each brick on the face of the building. That's quite a claim but it does seem to have high resolution

pentaxuser

I haven't tried anything but ISO 25 but my usual pattern would be to try a stop lower and a stop higher, ISO 12 and 50. I usually do my own testing because my developing solutions and routines are frequently a bit different, and can show different results.

As for resolution, though I don't specifically test I can say that the detail in my 16x20 print is quite good. TMX100 is very good as well though, so I can't say it is the best I've seen. Efke 25 was very good as well.

Contrast seems a tad lower than I would expect from my experience with Efke 25 and Pan F 50 but I have not done enough shooting to validate that yet. Developing in Rodinal may bump the contrast a little as well.

Thanks everyone. Your input is greatly appreciated. I have a few rolls on order and I will see how it performs.

I have 2 35mm rolls - will shoot one of these days - and report . Probably I will develop in Technidol or Rodinal 1+100.

I have fifty rolls of 120 and hope to shoot one soon. I intend to use Rodinal 1:50 for... min. Looking forward to buying another fifty if it meets or exceeds my expectations. I have been begging for a film like this, in this speed, in this size, and in this lifetime.

Snapshot said:

Thanks everyone. Your input is greatly appreciated. I have a few rolls on order and I will see how it performs.

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Henning Serger, the author of the article, is here on APUG. If he doesn't notice this thread, you could send him a PM asking for his comments

lxdude said:

Henning Serger, the author of the article, is here on APUG. If he doesn't notice this thread, you could send him a PM asking for his comments

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Sounds like a good idea.

K-G said:

The Rollei RPX 25 was tested in the latest issue ( III 2014 ) of the German magazine PhotoKlassik . The tester Henning Serger was obviously impressed by the film and according to the article he measured a resolution of 120 Lp/mm and an efective ISO of 20 - 40 . I don't know if you can get a copy of the Magazine in Canada but I enclose a link.

Karl-Gustaf

http://www.photoklassik.de/

Click to expand...

Dear Karl-Gustaf,

thanks for mentioning my test report about the Adox CHS 100 II and Rollei RPX in the edition III.2014 of "PhotoKlassik".
And also thanks to all the others here for their positive comments about PhotoKlassik.

I've just discovered this thread incidentally. Due to lots of work my presence here is quite rare.

To answer the questions of the OP concerning resolution and grain of the RPX 25:
Well, as I am running a little test lab for lenses, film, developers, sensors I can give you test results of this film compared to all other films in this group of very fine grained, high resolution films.
Here we go:
First, some information about my test method: I am using several test patterns, and a resolution chart with an object contrast of 1:4 (two stops). That is an object contrast you can find in lots of details in your daily, normal photography.
With higher object contrast details you will get higher resolution values, and with lower object contrast you will get lower values.

Test camera is my F6, with MLU on, MC-30 cable release, 1/250s shutter speed, focus bracketing, Berlebach 3032 tripod.
Test lens: Zeiss Makro-Planar 2/50 ZF at f 5,6.
So the following resolution values give you the system resolution of the film and this lens in combination. With better lenses, you get higher values. And with worse lenses, you get lower values.
The first, lower value represent clearly separated linepairs per millimetre, the second, higher number is the resolution limit at which a contrast difference is still visible.
My standard test developer for the resolution tests is Spur HRX, because it gives very good sharpness combined with very fine grain, resulting in very good resolution.

Rollei Pan 25: 80 – 90 Lp/mm

Rollei RPX 25: 120 – 130 Lp/mm

Rollei Retro 80S; ISO 25/15°: 135 – 145 Lp/mm

Adox CHS 50: 90 – 100 Lp/mm

Ilford PAN F+: 110 – 130 Lp/mm

Adox CHS 100: 80 – 90 Lp/mm

Adox CHS 100 II : 100 – 110 Lp/mm

Adox Silvermax: 105 – 115 Lp/mm

Fomapan 100 : 75 – 90 Lp/mm

Ilford FP4+: 75 – 90 Lp/mm

Ilford Delta 100: 130 – 140 Lp/mm

Kodak Plus-X: 80 – 100 Lp/mm

Kodak T-Max 100: 135 – 150 Lp/mm

Fuji Acros 100: 115 – 130 Lp/mm

If you want even significantly higher resolution and better sharpness, grain, then go for:

Agfa Copex Rapid; ISO 25/15° - 32/16°; Spur Modular UR New developer: 165 – 180 Lp/mm

Adox CMS 20 II, Spur Modular UR New or Adotech II developer: 240 - 260 Lp/mm.

Grain:
Finest grain of all by a huge margin has Adox CMS 20 II.
Then Retro 80S follows.
A little bit behind the 80S on a similar level Rollei RPX 25, TMX, Acros, Pan F+, Agfa Copex Rapid are following. The differences between these 5 films are very small and not really field relevant. And the ranking can be a little bit different when different developers are used.
Then the discontinued Pan 25 and Delta 100 follow.
After that Adox Silvermax, which is the finest grained of the traditional ISO 100 films with classic cubic crystals.

And just for comparison:
Under identical test conditions, same test chart, same lens and aperture, the
Nikon D800 delivers 80 - 85 Lp/mm,
and the D800E delivers 90 - 95 Lp/mm.

And
Provia 100F: 120 - 135 Lp/mm
Velvia 100: 125 - 140 Lp/mm
Ektar 100: 90 - 105 Lp/mm (Provia and Velvia also have a bit finer grain than Ektar).

I hope these test results are helpful for you.

Have a nice weekend,
best regards,
Henning

Great responses and question

Wow, very comprehensive results. I would have loved to see Efke 25 in there, but I suppose that's moot as there's not much left of it. (Or isn't Efke 25 = Rollei Pan 25? I get confused as to what's rebranded what these days).
Also very good to know that even the D800 still isn't as sharp as the best film (and those results seem to agree with those here, 85.9 lp/mm.

Definitely going to get me some RPX25 to try on the trip to the Grampians in my 617...

Thanks for posting those testing results, its especially interesting that nearly all the films on that list can resolve beyond the limits of the Minolta 5400 I have which has the highest resolution of any consumer scanner. For those using lesser grade scanners they really are throwing away a lot of what those films have captured.

I have recently bought a 17m bulk roll of RPX, along with Rollei Retro 80S. Not sure when, (and if it matters as all as I am quite new) but I will share some photos and my experiences/personal views when possible.

Hello NJH. The only possible way you can retain highest possible resolution is if you do a darkroom print (DRP). Even the best PMT drum scanners (let alone any consumer ones), say for e.g., Scanmate 11000 won't be able to retain certain things that a DRP can. My personal reasons for buying RPX 25 (and Retro 80S) are these:
(1) It is a new film (not a re-branded one, based on my limited readings) and the finer grain size and better resolution.
(2) Even though it is monsoon in here (BD), it is still quite sunny. So hopefully low ISO will not be a problem.
(3) Those high lpm number are only good if I can buy an SM11000 and some MF stuffs.
(4) They were cheaper than Ilford Pan 50.

Bests,

Ashfaque

Thank you Henning for posting these results!

Henning Serger said:

Ilford PAN F+: 110 – 130 Lp/mm
Ilford Delta 100: 130 – 140 Lp/mm

A little bit behind the 80S on a similar level Rollei RPX 25, TMX, Acros, Pan F+, Agfa Copex Rapid are following. The differences between these 5 films are very small and not really field relevant. And the ranking can be a little bit different when different developers are used.
Then the discontinued Pan 25 and Delta 100 follow.

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Henning,

Can you clarify how you rank Pan F+ above Delta 100?