A bit off topic and I am not really looking for another iso 100 film, but I may need to try 5 or 10 rolls to see if it offers anything useful.
My understanding is that ADOX's primary difficulty is meeting demand, so I assume that the product marketing is not their top concern. But if it was, my feedback would be to give CHS II a purpose. Whom are they marketing it to? The first thing you see on their page is: "We have tried to match CHS 100 II as closely as possible to CHS 100 type I featuring: a rock solid classic emulsion system which has been out there for decades and a sensitization close the one of the old CHS 100".
Basically it's aimed at those who remember the original CHS 100. And that's also why they kept the name. Would be nice to explain to everybody else the benefits they'd get from trying this film.
Have you seen this article? It may very well help you decide whether or not the film has something in store that is worth investigating.A bit off topic and I am not really looking for another iso 100 film, but I may need to try 5 or 10 rolls to see if it offers anything useful.
Now on to film. I shot and exposed my last roll ever of Adox Silvermax last week. I still had some of its dedicated developer. I was once again awestruck by the results. I had been constantly amazed by all the 10 test rolls I had purchased 2 years ago to see what the fuss was all about. Which made the experience slightly bittersweet. Or perhaps I should say frustrating: this film is now discontinued, so I won't be able to adopt it as a long term solution.
I then went to check Adox' website to see what else they've got. In terms of plain BW film I see three products, all of them with abstruse coded names like CHS 100 II, HR-50, CMS 20 X-tra proto etc etc. Not sure what these codes mean.
Just continue with ADOX CHS 100 II.
Because it is very similar to Silvermax: The spectral sensitization is almost identical, sharpness and resolution as well.
CHS 100 II has a bit coarser grain.
In a blind test you will really have difficulties to differentiate the both. I have that situation often with my Silvermax and CHS 100 II pictures: I have to look at my notices of the prints to see from which film the prints were made.
By the way:
Also both films have a characteristic curve which flattens a bit in the highlight zones with a (semi)compensating developer like FX-39 II.
That is very helpful in higher contrast scenes (see the first three pictures below, which all had a high object contrast due to the light situation).
Here just some examples of Silvermax and CHS 100 II in a blind test:
Try to identify which photo is from which film:
You want old style just buy foma
I know nothing of the 'behind the scenes'. Much less than the well-informed people on here. Is Adox just surviving and operating with cobbled-together machinery on a shoe-string budget?
This film does look interesting and what I find particularly interesting is that it is available in 3.25 x 6.25 sheets. I ordered a box today to play with in my Baby Speed so I'll find out soon if it is worth my time.
Edit: now I need to find a couple of those models that Henning is working with.... Like that one at the beginning of the series.
I don't think you can compare the chemicals part of the business with film. I'm not saying that blending and packing powders and solutions is easy, but it isn't the delicate manufacturing job that coating film is.
3.25 x 6.25 sheets
3¼x4¼ maybe? Or are those models really tall?
Adox film is hardly worth talking about in North America. We haven't seen Silvermax or CHS 100 in i don't know how long.
How do you expect NA to get films that have been discontinued for a while now?
CHS100-ll still shows on their website....
Not CHS 100.
Anyway, I guess there is a buy button near that CHS 100 II on their website.
B&H seem to have Adox films in stock so what's this about them being a thing of the past in North America?
I thought it was always explicitly stated that Silvermax was going to be a one-run film and once it was all sold....it was all sold...Mirko has been very clear about this all along. Indeed I don't think there's anyone else in the film industry who is as open as Mirko.
As a photographer working in BW I'm not going to add international shipping to the already high cost of film.
I agree with that despite my "Adopan" idea. There is no need to change a name that works and everyone is used to. Even if it was renamed "Adopan 100" there would be someone wishing it was called "Adorthopan 100" instead, or that they should have kept the old name.CHS 100 II is a great film, no matter what you call it. I don't think Adox needs to jump on the "call-it-something-pan" wagon when they have their own distinct naming scheme that has a history and preserves a legacy. It makes perfect sense.
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