Agfapan APX 100 (original)

The original Agfapan APX 100 was a Leverkusen film, coated by Agfa-Gevaert in Germany from 1989 until the consumer division collapsed in 2005. A few master rolls dribbled into 2006 before the lights went out. Maco bought the last jumbos and repackaged them as Rollei Retro 100, which is how a handful of photographers kept shooting the real stock into the early 2010s.

What people miss is the silver content. APX 100 used a comparatively rich silver coating that newer ISO 100 films do not match, and the tonal scale was the proof. Smooth, long midtones, gentle highlight roll-off, and a curve that responded predictably to Rodinal in a way that almost nothing else does. Atomal FF was the in-house pairing and gave finer grain at the cost of some sharpness. Rodinal 1:50 was the developer most working hands actually used.

The current Kentmere-coated AgfaPhoto APX 100 sold today is a different emulsion entirely, despite the branding suggesting otherwise, and the only reason it carries the name is that the Lupus rights changed hands after the 2005 collapse. Adox Silvermax 100, which inherited some of the original Agfa chemistry, is the closest thing still in production. Compared with FP4+ from the same era, original APX 100 was finer grained and a touch lower in inherent contrast. Plus-X was creamier still but lost on resolution.

Freezer stock from 2003 to 2005 still surfaces on auction sites. Expect base fog, expect the box speed to have drifted toward 64 or 80, expect to pay for the privilege. Originally sold in 35mm and 120, with a brief 4x5 run that almost nobody saw outside Germany.

Reciprocity exponent is 1.31. Zone Light Meter applies the correction past one second. A metered 30-second exposure becomes about 86 seconds at the negative; a one-minute reading climbs past three and a half minutes. The math is identical to Tri-X and HP5+, which is convenient if you are mixing stocks on the same trip.