Which is the real Agfa Rodinal these days....

[Helios 1984]

Compard RO9 for large format FP4+ is a favourite for me, lovely tones, grain doesn't matter, very easy to use.

This one is sold in Canada as Blazinal.

 

[Kodachromeguy]

You won’t find any appreciable difference between the various branding of Rodinal. They are interchangeable.

From Adox’s web site:
“RODINAL is produced according to Agfa Leverkusen´s latest Rodinal* formula from 2004.

It does not get more Rodinal than this.
ADOX works together with former Agfa scientists on all Agfa-replacement products.
If you have used Agfa Rodinal* before you can achieve identical results with ADOX RODINAL.

Compared to R09/APH09 Rodinal works more fine grained while still enhancing sharpness and acutance.”

But bear in mind, all of these formulations are minor tweaks on the original Rodinal formula, and I do mean minor. I’ve used Adox Rodinal, and RO9, and even a vintage bottle of Agfa Rodinal from 1985 and they are, for all practical purposes, identical.
Buy whatever is available to you and use it!

Another thing to consider: if you are developing at home by hand (not with a machine system like a Jobo), then there will be minor variations in your time, agitation, temperature, and dilution of the Rodinal. In addition, your exposure when you took the photograph and the subject matter will vary. These will all affect your negatives more then the minor differences between formulations. Time is not too bad an issue with 1:50 dilutions because the time is around 8 or 9 minutes, so a few seconds off does not really matter. I use distilled water to reduce any effect of chemicals in the municipal water system. Fortunately, I still have some bottles of genuine Agfa Rodinal.

 

[Gerald C Koch]

Will the real Rodinal please stand up! The formula has changed several since the developer's inception. The formulas for the different variants has never been published. The only one that we have information on is the Wolfen recipe which was seized as war reparation after WWII. So the question is unanswerable.

 

[RalphLambrecht]

Will the real Rodinal please stand up! The formula has changed several since the developer's inception. The formulas for the different variants has never been published. The only one that we have information on is the Wolfen recipe which was seized as war reparation after WWII. So the question is unanswerable.

maybe Ian can shed some light from his extensive library.

 

[MattKing]

The answer is: all of them!

 

[removed account4]

this thread from ADOX might help you
https://www.photrio.com/forum/threads/rodinal-you-lucky-americans.111277/

 

[guangong]

I still have a couple bottles of Agfa Rodinal remaining on my shelf, but find the info and comments in this thread very informative and useful future reference and very helpful for those who need a source for Rodinal.

 

[semi-ambivalent]

Still looking for sharp grain developers.

Try adding 0.25 grams of borax to your usual 2 reel volume of 1:50 Rodinal. See how that works

 

[baachitraka]

I don't know how to describe that sharpness, some years ago I have visited Sebastião Salgado there in one photo shot some where in South Asia. It was grainy and very very sharp.

 

[Kawaiithulhu]

thread from ADOX

Best link ever, thanks for posting that up!

 

[Alan Johnson]

For my antique collection I ordered a bottle of the post-war liberated and discontinued formula APH 09 as this seems to be the last source of that formula.
So much film stuff disappeared in recent years, all the acutance films like Agfaphoto APX 100 , Plus-X, Efke (all of them).

 

[locutus]

I think the bigger question is, even if not 100% accurate to a old formula.... in what way does modern RO9/Adonal/Rodinal let you down?

So far i've been perfectly happy with RO9....

 

[R.Gould]

I think the bigger question is, even if not 100% accurate to a old formula.... in what way does modern RO9/Adonal/Rodinal let you down?

So far i've been perfectly happy with RO9....

I am also perfectly happy with RO9/one stop and have yet to be let down by it, I developed a film today and used the dregs from a 3 year old bottle and the results are fine on Fomapan 400, as they say waste not want not, I found the bottle at the back of my chemical shelf

 

[Alan Johnson]

I think the bigger question is, even if not 100% accurate to a old formula.... in what way does modern RO9/Adonal/Rodinal let you down?

So far i've been perfectly happy with RO9....

There was no suggestion of a let-down. Rather, users have discussed at length if they can see a difference,Here is the short answer:
https://www.photo.net/discuss/threads/old-r09-and-new-rodinal.139588/
For the long answer see :
https://www.photrio.com/forum/threads/modern-rodinal-substitutes.51984/
https://www.photrio.com/forum/threads/modern-rodinal-substitutes-part-ii.52229/

 

[studiocarter]

I use RO9 to stand develop 7266 new16mm tri-X movies in Lomo tanks. It is the only version I've tried. I don't intend to change anything because it works great. "Don't fix it if it ain't broke!"

 

[Helios 1984]

Will the real Rodinal please stand up! The formula has changed several since the developer's inception. The formulas for the different variants has never been published. The only one that we have information on is the Wolfen recipe which was seized as war reparation after WWII. So the question is unanswerable.

+1
Not to mention that the original AktienGesellschaft für AnilinFabrikation ended up divided like a pizza, in the aftermath of WWII.

 

[Kawaiithulhu]

I have one of each, Adox Rodinal and APH. Whenever I get around to it I'll shoot a roll, cut it in half, and develop it in two tanks side by side and see what's up. I'm pretty sure that "what's up" will be that I cut the only good shot on the roll right down the middle, but I like experimenting so it's all good

 

[AgX]

+1
Not to mention that the original AktienGesellschaft für AnilinFabrikation ended up divided like a pizza, in the aftermath of WWII.

Not quite. The Agfa company ended when it formed with others the IG Farben combine. After the war and the dissolving of the combine two new Agfa entities arose. Not slices of a pizza.

 

[cowanw]

How did AGAF become AGFA

 

[railwayman3]

How did AGAF become AGFA

AktienGesellschaft Für Anilinfabrikation ?

 

[Gerald C Koch]

William Perkin as a college student discovered the dye mauve. Perkin got a knighthood from Queen Vicotia for his contribution to chemistry. The irony is that it should be for starting the aniline dye industry in Great Britain. Sadly it was not to be as the British government ignored the discovery. It was the Germans who saw the potential and started a massive chemical industry, A great opportunity was lost. In a way this error was responsible for WWI. The German chemical industry could thus easy provide all the explosives and poison gasses used.

 

[aldevo]

R09 seems to have some significant differences vs. Agfa Rodinal.

I was a frequent user of Agfa Rodinal in the 2004-2008 timeframe. I took no precautions storing it after it was opened and I used the entire contents over the four year period. Very much expected for Rodinal.

I purchased two bottle of Fomadon circa mid-2010 - shortly before I took a "hiatus" from photography. Again, with no precautions taken for storage, the first bottle "died" within 9 months of opening (I only developed 3 35mm rolls in this timeframe and results were sufficiently Rodinal-like) and upon opening the 2nd bottle in 2014 - some of the contents had precipitated into a crusty mass - leading me to discard it.

 

[E. von Hoegh]

Right. 47 posts, no answer. Perfect.

 

[MattKing]

Right. 47 posts, no answer. Perfect.

Post #30 is a completely correct answer to the OP's question.
It isn't a particularly satisfying answer, but it is correct.

 

[RalphLambrecht]

when making ones own Rodinal would an increase in sodium sulfite decrease the grain?