24cm X 76 meters of Agfa Aviphot 200 has arrived

[Daniel Unkefer]

Hi Popdoc,

I've been busy with other projects, but I'm about ready to get this started for 18x24/8x10 Aviphot this spring. Meanwhile I found this excellent Jim Galli thread over on Phototrio, with his complete explanation, and photos He uses a tray on the left, to keep the roll straight on, and his cutter is upside down from the way I've been using it. Yes it looks like it will work just great. Don't know how I missed this thread!

https://www.photrio.com/forum/thread.../#post-2650143

[popdoc]

Amaaaazingly helpful!
I missed it too…
Stoked to give it a try this weekend.
Will compare a roller cutter to guillotine and report back directly.
You rock!
TYVM!


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[Daniel Unkefer]

I repeat the MeCD4 formula here:
Bath A
Metol...............................1g
Sodium Sulfite anh..........35g
Color developer CD-4......4g
Sodium Metabisulfite........1g
Water to............................1L

Bath B
Sodium Sulfite anh............35g
Sodium Carbonate anh......30g
Water to..............................1L

Develop 3m +3m 25C, correct the time for other temperatures, I use the Ilfordphoto chart.
Agitate in Bath A 2 inversions every 30s
Agitate in Bath B 2 inversions at start and 2 inversions at half time only.

MeCD4 flattens the S curve of the Aviphot films to some extent giving EI=200 for Aviphot 200 and EI=80 for Aviphot 80.
CD-4 appears generally the least likely of the CD series but it may cause an allergic reaction in some individuals.

I have all the chems to make this, I believe. The other obvious candidate is Diafine. I got a gallon of A and B from B&H. Lasts until it dries up. The MECD4 Dev really does somewhat straighten the film's curve. Wear rubber gloves and good ventilation. I have a friend in NYC that uses Diafine with 120 Aviphot 200, the Diafine really does have a compensating effect.

[popdoc]

Thank you for this info!
Don’t have the color developer ingredient so will likely go the Diafine route.
Has anyone used a minimal agitation/ stand technique, and/or pyro with this film? Didn’t pop up on a quick search.
Thanks again!!!


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[j enea]

you can get cd4 from artcraft. i have used the film with pyro-hd and pyro-m with reduced agitation. it gave me the best results,but still high contrast until I tried the MeCD4 formula.I will now use it for at most 2 batches, unless i filter both parts as the last batch of 4x5 had lots of gunk on the negs from reuse and the foam gave me lots of air bubbles. now that I know going forward I will be much more careful. I really dislike 2 part long life developers, preferring single use but the results make me want to use this for both the pan 200 and 80, just to reuse only once.

[Daniel Unkefer]

I got my cd4 from Photographer's Formulary. I'll wear nitrile gloves, have good ventiliation. The flat bottomed white Cesco Trays are cheapo at B&H. I may start with my Diafine cause it's already ready to go, one gallon also available from B&H. I don't think the CD4 is tough to mix up, don't spill any of it. Color Developer is nasty stuff and treat as such. It completely washes out according to a Chemist Friend over on RFF. So very promising. Jim Galli told me over on Phototrio, he thought that the 18x24cm usage was brilliant. Thanks Jim! I have eight matching very early vintage 18x24cm Sinar Norma Film Holders. The Norma glass is printed for the smaller 18x24 dimensions. BTW Chartpack Tape is great for marking ground glasses. I like 18x24cm, cause it puts a NICE black border around the neg, when contact printing on 8x10 paper. Makes for a unique repeatable presentation.

I've shot a good part of a can of this stuff in perforated 70mm with Blads. I used ROLLEI SUPERGRAIN available from Freestyle. Recommended for use with Aviphot by Agfa but still very contrasty. It's easy to create defects with this film while handling it. Be careful and don't let it kink, you'll end up with crescents burned into the emulsion. That's with the 70mm, don't know about the sheets yet. One of the German Dealers had hundreds and hundreds of fresh rolls in stock, some appear on the used market if you are patient. Agfa Aerial will roll up an order if it's big enough.

SONY DSC by Nokton48, on Flickr

Agfa Avipan 4x5 Neg supplied fits Lisco Holder OK by Nokton48, on Flickr

From the Guy in Russia that was selling custom cut sheets. Apparently developed in D76. I ordered a hundred sheets of 9x12cm see below.

Agfa Avipan 9x12 102 sheets from Russia 1 by Nokton48, on Flickr

[Vaidotas]

Daniel, you made a serious promotion.
And Mumbay sellers reduced price a bit and 2014 heritage Aviphot is sold out.
Remaining film is from 2013, 2012 years.

Any Aviphot sales on EU info is very welcome, you mentioned potential seller.

And following up your progress.

[Daniel Unkefer]

Daniel, you made a serious promotion.
And Mumbay sellers reduced price a bit and 2014 heritage Aviphot is sold out.
Remaining film is from 2013, 2012 years. Any Aviphot sales on EU info is very welcome, you mentioned potential seller.
And following up your progress.

I've only talked to one other person who has started using this. He said he bought it for his Astronomy projects and it was working great. I am familiar with the emusion in the smaller sizes. I'll post some examples as I get them. BTW I'm referring to Agfa Aerial, apparently if they get a big enough order, they will run the Aviphot film. I've no other leads on where to get this, although film does get resold on the internet from time to time.

[popdoc]

Thanks to everyone’s input we came up with what we have found to be an efficient, “safe”, reproducible setup to cut the roll film to 8x10.

Great buddy and pro photographer Steve Budman came over and we worked it out.

Four hands, two cutting devices, super low intensity far infrared viewing for checking our workflow.

Easy to do on your own, but best to have a friend to share in the fun, and congratulatory brew!

Aligning the roll for the first “long”/10” cut was very helpful for reproducibility of accuracy. Used an 8x10 developing tray as recommended in previous remarks in this string to hold and line up the roll of film.

We used a piece of Tri-X as our guide/standard to set up the cutters.

As the film is thin and “buckles” slightly during cutting, the results from the preset width (7 15/16”) was a bit variable using a brand new rotary cutter (slightly thinner at one end than the other). We ended up adding almost 0.125” to the overall width to account for this, and assure stability and security in the film holders’ races. As there are so many brands, ages, and amounts of wear and tear for these large film holders, we recommend a bespoke approach and cut the film to fit your holders to work the best.

It’s trial and error to get the right fit, and doesn’t take long. Once dialed in, it’s smooth sailing.

Here’s our set up-











We easily knocked out 60 sheets in 30 min.

Thanks again for everyone’s help!


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[Daniel Unkefer]

WOW. This is great. Thanks for posting. I've loaded up most of my small holders, now it's about time to start on the bigger holders.