35mm film review: Agfa APX 100
My name is Andrew and I am a fine art destination wedding photographer in Italy (Lake Como, Amalfi). On the weddings and styled photo sessions I also shoot 35mm film, mostly black and white. This article is going to be about 35mm film - Agfa APX 100.
As you know this film is quite cheap. You can get it online or in most local stores for about 5 Euros. However, I decided to try this film myself and share the results with you. I used to take a lot of wedding pictures on Kodak T-max 100 in the past, but in 2020 I decided to try other brands too. Agfa was one of those films that were on the list and I gave it a chance. Surprisingly, the results turned out to be very artistic and really good quality and color-wise. Even though I did not expect anything special from this film I was really glad it turned out to be so good. I was able to slightly edit the exposure and blacks where needed - the film and a good scan preserve enough information for saddle editing like this. What I don't like about higher ISO 35mm films in weddings - the amount of grain they provide. Once I tried Kodak T-Max 400 and I did not like it at all even though T-max is known for its fine grain. For weddings and portraits of beautiful brides, the noticeable grain is something that is better to avoid. Since then I always stick to ISO 100 for weddings. And Agfa APX 100 just nailed it - really fine grain, deep blacks, nice subject separation, a very good film for outside and inside use (just place your subject closer to the light source like a window). I hope you will enjoy the provided shots. I am not trying to teach here which is why I do not write about the film itself. If you want to learn more about its structure, brand, etc - you can google it. But if you want to see the samples of the film - you are always welcomed here in my blog, where I post many samples of different film brands and stocks. If you want you can also donate a couple of bucks to encourage me to post more samples and articles about different film - every little helps (more info on the bottom of this page).
Agfa APX 100 35mm
Shop: online /local store
Price: €5
Camera: Canon 300v
Lens: Canon EF 50mm F/1.8 II
Location: Siauliai, Tytuvenai (Lithuania)
Dev + Scan: €6 Photolab.lt (Lithuania)
Total test price: €11 or €0.30 per frame.
Challenges:
The main challenge was to dare to use such cheap film on a real wedding which I normally don't do. However, I reviewed the samples of this film on Google and decided that this film should be just right for me. I don't like moody and dark images so something like Ilford or T-max is always on my wish list for weddings. Agfa APX looks quite similar - to me it is really like Ilford Delta 100, just a bit cheaper. I may post a side by side comparison of those two films sometime later - they do look alike a lot. Would I ever use this film again - oh definitely YES.
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