Having used AgfaPhoto’s APX100 for a few years, it seemed a good idea to try the 400 ASA version as I haven’t used much film above 100 ASA for a while. I was wondering if a modern 400 ASA film might be good enough for occasional use, as winter in the UK has been pretty dark and cloudy. Here are the results from a roll shot ‘on and off’ over winter, shot on an Oly OM2N with a 28mm f2 lens and developed in ID11 for 10 minutes.
Shot on a flat, dull day in January, this is a good start – no post processing other than resizing, straight from the scanner. Not much of a challenge for DR though…
An enlargement from the centre left. This is much better than expected, and not much grainier than 100 ASA film.
Another dull overcast day at Worbarrow Bay after a storm had passed over – this looks quite grainy when resized, though not when viewed at full size which is odd. Still the ‘grainy look’ works quite well with this subject.
Physically the film canister is very well made, with a quality felt seal and a solid metal case. The film itself is a modern emulsion, and is easy to handle and process. It gathers hardly any dust and dries to a hard scratch resistant finish – all very reassuring.
Now for a proper subject to test with – the interior of Salisbury Cathedral. Very bright windows and dark shadows are something of a ‘torture test’. All shot on a 28mm f2 which is a bit soft wide open, but with exposures of 1/15th of a second meant any smaller aperture was out of the question.
This is very, very good – an excellent range of tones and a lovely rendering of brighter mid-tones. I really like this!
And another :-
Again a superb result with a wide range of tones. The sun was just coming out making the contrast between the windows and arches extreme.
All in all a very good result. This is a 400 ASA film which is almost indistinguishable from 100 ASA film, and it’s ability to capture a wide range of tones is impressive. I’ll certainly be ordering a few rolls for next winter and for occasional interior use. Highly recommended.
Thanks for looking!
28mmf2 
This looks like an excellent film Rob. I think we digital photographers have so much to learn from film photographers such as yourself working in film. We need to be able to emulate this kind of work. Your last post was a real eye opener. The torture test was a good one here and as you say, lots of tonal range in the results.
I was wondering Rob, where’s the church is in your first shot?
Hello Chillbrook,
Thanks for the comment. The church in the first shot is St Martins in Wareham, Dorset and well worth a visit if you’re into old churches.
Rob