Choosing between the Nikon D850 + 28mm f/1.4E or the Leica M10 + 28mm f/1.4 Summilux... or any other system But assuming you’re ok with my own set of criteria, what you’re going to want to do first is to go through each of these criteria and rate how important each one is to you personally on a scale of 1-5, with 1 being not important at all and 5 being extremely important. Camera Leica M3 Lens 7Artisans 50mm f1.1 Film Agfa APX 400 EI400 Development Kodak HC-110; Dilution B; 8:00+ minutes Scanner Reflecta ProScan 10T Islands Keeping the above information in mind helps us to see why things can sometimes go all to hell...and for what seems to be no explainable reason.

It’s always a great feeling when you pull the film out of the developing can and you see your pictures or what’s on the film. That’s something else again than when you give your films to the lab. Agfa APX 400 is an ISO 400 film. I developed my roll with HC-110 in dilution B for 8 minutes "and a bit". The "and a bit" is there as I slightly underexposed some shots and had the rest at 400. To ensure I don't lose shadows I allowed it to cook for a longer time in the developer. It wasn't a full 1 stop push. More like a 1/3rd of a stop push. So I’ve given a lot of disclaimers so far, and I want to add yet one more, but this is probably the most important disclaimer. Except in the case of one film (which we’ll get to later), I used the same developer: Kodak HC 110. Now I know you’re probably anxious to dive into the actual photos. But first I’d love to share with you a tool I built to help myself to determine which film I want to commit to, long term, for myself. If this can also help you, then I’m happy to share it. The next step was the development. There are not yet many development times for the new APX 100 from AgfaPhoto. Also a data sheet with development times does not exist to my knowledge.This film is fun; and for some photographers that like lower contrast in their scenes it may even become their favorite film. It’s super affordable, fun to experiment with, and in the right situations can help you to create really cool photos. But for me, I’m a bigger fan of Ilford Delta 400. Why? I digg contrast; lots of it. More contrast can sometimes fool the eye into thinking an image is sharper than it is; but with this film you don’t need to do that. Agfa APX 400 is plenty sharp, has tight grain and I’d probably use it the most for portrait and studio stuff. Rollei is one of the oldest and most famous film brands. Perhaps better known for their iconic cameras than their films, but nethertheless they do have a brilliant range of emulsions to choose from (view the full collection here). In this review we will be diving into the wonderful Rollei RPX 400 emulsion! Fourth, the comparison reinforced my bias against Agfa APX 400 - which I believe is overly sanitized (albeit the most contemporary) in image reproduction. In my opinion, the rendering of APX 400 is rather restrained. That is to say, the grain structure is flat, the weighting between highlights, shadows, and midtones is even, and the perception of sharpness is muted. As a result, APX 400 is rather digital-like in impression. That said, being flat does make APX 400 easier to manipulate in post - which makes it exceptionally contemporary. Now, you should know that the way any of these films look, both grain, contrast, sharpness, tonality, etc can all be drastically affected by your choice of developer, your development technique, and your scanning technique. The good news there is that, within reason, you can probably make most any film, developer, scanning, and post processing combination get you results you’re very pleased with if you experiment long enough. And any experienced film photographer would tell you that that’s exactly what you should do.

Other than using it for dealing with harsh light, RPX’s lower contrast and nicer tonality is worth enjoying on its own. There has been a trend in the past few years with higher contrast and more dramatic b&w films such as TMax 3200, JCH Streetpan and the pushing of films to be even more impactful, so it is nice to enjoy the more subtle, tonal films like RPX, Bergger, BWXX and the like. While we like our highlights and shadows as much as the next photographer, there is a lot to say about an extended range of grays in an image. Fact is, we don't even know for certain about every minor change made to our favorite films, papers and chemistry because the makers don't notify us. Generally we find out when the grapevine starts buzzing about different results, which leads to methodical tests that either confirm or disprove the rumors. Surprisingly, despite reports that the film is grainy and the prolonged development in 1:50 Rodinal I find the grain entirely acceptable for moderate enlargements. Far less gritty than TMY at 400, sharper than Tri-X. Just right for this shoot. Monochromatic Rendering - Comparing the Leica M10, Leica M240, Leica M246, Leica M9, Leica MM, Leica SL, and the Leica M6 + Agfa APX 400For those of you who used your own methods to evaluate these films, you’re done. Please let me know in the comments what your results were. I’m really curious to hear if they met your expectations or not and what you learned from this experiment. Next, you may just want to use my numbers here for scannability. These are based on how flat these films were able to lie for me when I scanned them. Also, what can I improve in these tests? What would you like to see me change or do differently in the next one? I definitely have plans to do more of these, and I would love to hear what can make them better. Leica 75mm f/1.25 Noctilux-M ASPH + Leica APO 75mm f/2 Summicron-SL ASPH + A Little Extra More - Part II As I develop my own film I shoot it at box speed (meaning if the box says ISO 400 I meter at ISO 400 (or guess ISO 400 or just be aware the camera is expecting ISO 400). If I know that there was insufficient light when I took the photos and I really needed ISO 800 or ISO 1600 I make a note. Under exposed film

For most of these numbers, you may be able to just use mine. Here is another link to a second version of this read-only spreadsheet. This one has my results, and you are welcome to copy numbers from the sections here which apply.We have shown a couple of different Rollei films before in the WonderBox, including Rollei Infrared and Rollei Ortho 25. Rollei RPX 400 is a gorgeous emulsion available in 35mm and 120. It is a 400 ISO film that can be pushed up to 1600. It dries very flat, which is ideal for home developers and home scanners! The grain is as expected from an ISO 400 film. Not too "in your face" but noticeable without needing a magnifying glass. I've seen better and I've seen worse. The sharpness is also very acceptable and has the nice film softness whilst not actually being soft. Before Agfa stopped production in Germany, enormous quantities of the APX 100 were still produced. This was sold as Rollei Retro 100 and under the AgfaPhoto brand (AgfaPhoto APX 100). Now the leftovers are probably used up, nevertheless it will pass on the APX 100 of AgfaPhoto, but just no longer from Agfa Leverkusen production.

Next up is Fomapan, which, is also Arista EDU Ultra, which, is also HOLGA. It’s all the same emulsion. Fomapan 400 has been produced for by Foma, Czech company, for almost a hundred years. It is Europe’s popular budget-friendly brand. I’ve found that prices vary between its various brands, so I’ll usually watch and compare these prices and get the version which happens to be the cheapest at any given time. Landscapes that are mostly stunning. I dislike aerial views. No idea, but I do! Burnt out highlights is the scourge of modern films. I think the emulsion and often base too thin.. Tri-X with it’s curls another film i no longer use. Yes! I’ve done darkroom since a kid. I am 78. I would never carry so many different films. Confusion. Films though are better, in the 60’s 35mm was NOT recommended for landscapes. (Kodak). 120 film is a Big jump in quality. Big means better, 4x bigger. While we are talking about similar films to Kentmere 400 I should mention AGFA APX 400 vs Kentmere 400. My local lab as stopped selling the current APX 400 film as stated that is it just re-badged Kentmere 400. I have no evidence of this but it is a reputable source so I have no reason to doubt. What this means is if you also shoot with AGFA APX 400 film you probably don’t need to buy Kentmere 400 film too.

More than 120 film profiles

Los Angeles with Anna - Part I - Pairing the Leica M10 with the Leica 28mm f/1.4 Summilux + APO 50mm f/2 Summicron I'm not quite ready to proclaim it on par with APX 100 but it's far closer to its slower counterpart than TMY is to TMX. And I'm not certain it will replace Tri-X in my affections but I certainly like it. I have another roll to test, which I'll develop in ID-11 or Perceptol, about as different from Rodinal as I have available.