Rollei Superpan 200

A new chapter in film comparisons, I look at the differences between Kodak Tri-X as our standard and Roller Superpan 200. All films in these comparisons were shot using the same lighting and position, developed in Kodak D-76 using the manufacturer’s recommended time, and printed on Ilford Classic FB at 11x14 size using the same contrast settings. The printing time varied to cancel any changes in film base fog from film to film. I included the H&D curves for each film to see the individual differences and we look at the overall print, the spectral response of each film, and the grain characteristics.
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[@manfreddick-kreuzer8712]

Rollei "Superpan 200" and "Retro 80S" are originally films for aerial photography - "Agfa Aviphot". Both films have an increased sensitivity in the red range up to the infrared range. With a dark red filter or light infrared filter they show a nice wood effect.

[@am17frans]

Technology Connections brought me here.

[@alexanderaleksander4272]

That’s a great video, wish it to be more popular!

[@lensman5762]

Very interesting presentation. Quite a lot of effort indeed. This ' Rollei ' film is another reincarnation of the old Agfa Aviphot 200. I would go as far to suggest that to get any useful shadow density, the film should be rated no higher than ISO 80 and the development adjusted. Perhaps, as with a lot of ' extended red sensitivity ' Rollei films a compensating developer should be employed for pictorial purposes, unless the aim is to do away with shadow and highlight values and present a high contrast image. You can see that in your comparison portrait of your good self, the highlights on the left top side of your forehead are just about blown, TrIX itself being a rather contrasty film not withstanding, ofcourse. I use quite a bit of Rollei 80s for personal projects and fun, which is from the same family of Agfa films, and in most developers its true speed is about ISO 25. As for this film , perhaps the use of the ADOX AT49 ( Atomal ) semi compensating developer @ 1+1 would give more workable results. PS: the film is performing as per design parameters. Aviation photography emulsions need to have near infra red sensitivity to be able to cut through atmospheric haze, and they have rather low Blue/Cyan sensitivity for obvious reasons, so it is not surprising that shadow detail is at a premium if used at box speed.

[@trulsdirio]

Well, RPX 100 and 400 are said to just be, just like the Agfa APX line, repackaged Kentmere 100 and 400, so it having an even representation does actually make sense. All three are made in the UK and a reputable source lists then as the same stock (that source being Fotoimpex, a German seller and also owner and producer of the Adox brand, so I guess they know a thing or two about film) and in my experience the base it the same and results are also indistinguishable, so I do believe that is actually the case.

[@Kitsaplorax]

Reconnaissance films are designed differently than normal film. These shine for their intended purpose. Outside of that, they require a lot of understanding of near IR light especially when shooting outdoor.

[@nickathos7428]

Appreciate the effort you put in to your content very informative👏🤙

[@jonnoMoto]

Iirc, the superpans are agfa aviphot, an aerial film, which has near IR sensitivity.
I guess that also explains the high resolution

[@GregoryVeizades]

I don't think that is correct, becuase that would mean Superpan 200 and JCH streetpan are the same film and they have very different developing times and characteristics.
Unless its a different Aviphot

[@jonnoMoto]

@@GregoryVeizades there are different aviphots 80, 200,400

[@NGC6144]

@@GregoryVeizades I've read going back years that these are aerial films. I came to the conclusion from my testing that Rollei Superpan 400 and JCH were the same film although JCH claims it's not. I remember something along the lines that JCH has an additional fine grain layer. Despite that, I would bet the base emulsion is the same as Superpan. I also think Rollei Infrared is the same film, look at the techpubs, same spectral curves and they will charge you more for it!

[@odukar2315]

Interesting comparison! I like the Rollei because of better contrast and lighting the reds.

[@DmAvart]

Yes. Great film. Commonly believed that it's the same emulsion as on agfa avi pan 200, the difference is the film base so. Agfa is produced with thin lavsan\dacron\PET base. Makes it harder to work with, but it goes smoothly with an experience. Also goes great with red filter, since of the spectrum range is moved slightly to the UV side.
Available in Russia with a price of 50$ per bulk of 50m (164ft) - which makes it 1.6$ per 36 frames roll. Made me to switch completely from HP5+ to this one.
And yes, it's a 100 ISO film, not a 200-400 as advertised.

[@lovelindvallbrundin6503]

What store do you buy it from in russia? 1.6 euros per roll seems really interesting :)

[@DmAvart]

@@lovelindvallbrundin6503 It's not a store. It's actually just a guy with a good reputation. So you wouldn't be able to buy directly from him outside of Russia.

[@B3D5X]

I love this film. Looks great to me at 200 but now I'm interested in trying it at 125 based on your tests.
It's especially interesting how infrared sensitive it is. Despite being almost 2 stops slower than Rollei Infrared 400 (re: the ISO 125 speed), when shot with an infrared R72 filter, you have to shoot at the same speed as Rollei IR400 with an R72 filter.

[@purwi69]

Greetings,
did Retro 400s fall short because of unavailability at the time of your film order?
I really counted on your analysis for its actual speed :)

[@Adrian-wd4rn]

Hopefully you do rollei 400s I believe it is. HP5 doesn't have enough contrast in street and portrait photography and I'm tired of fighting the negative in the darkroom to get contrast. Filter grade 5 gives too much mid tone, and HP5 seems to love bunching up in the midtones.

[@jonnoMoto]

How do you develop hp5? What you describe is why I don't like hp5. I've never been able to make it work for me. Closest I've got to an ok result is pushing to 800 in ddx or xtol.

[@Adrian-wd4rn]

@@jonnoMoto HC110, dilution H +15% development, (or 1+47 with 15% extra)., using the kodak agitation method. I shoot at iso 400, and meter for highlights. If doing portraits, I meter for highlights and move image into zone 6, and use a bounce light for fill into the shadow.
But that get's tiring half the time.
But generally, metering for highlights gets the contrasy punch.

[@jonnoMoto]

@@Adrian-wd4rn ah, I've tried HC (ilfotec) at dil b/h @400 too but incident metered or for the shadows. Can't say I liked what I got.

[@eugenezagidullin4893]

Since Aviphot 400 is not produced anymore it's likely that 400S and Superpan 200 is the same film. I haven't tried Superpan but I do shoot 400S at ISO 200 and develop according to Superpan recommendations and I'm getting very nice results

[@Taj3d]

Would it be possible to do a supplementary comparison with different color films printed as BW vs Tri-X?

[@DundieBernard]

So how does this compare to the Rollei RPX 100? Are you planning on showing prints from that film?

[@TheNakedPhotographer]

Eventually

[@iNerdier]

One request, could we have timestamps on these for where the repeated intro ends and the info for the specific film starts? Thank you.

[@TheNakedPhotographer]

There are time stamps for in every one of these videos.

[@matt_phistopheles]

I've just got a few rolls of Agfa Superpan 200 120 film. It looks like this is the same as the Rollei version but it is hard to find definitive information about this. It expired in 2016 so effectively treating it as a 100 iso film should be fine I guess.

[@andreibordeianu]

Has anyone developed it at box speed with X-tol? I developed it before using the massive dev chart suggestions and I had poor reults. Any suggestion, or maybe even another developer?

[@VeilStar]

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[@TheNakedPhotographer]

Thanks for the heads up

[@GregoryVeizades]

Its pronounced "Roll-y". Its not a city in North Carolina!

[@NGC6144]

The vowel grouping ei in German is pronounced with a long i. It's the other way around with ie.

[@olivermonche5418]

Actually "ei" is like "eye".

[@NGC6144]

I hate these Rollei films. Not box speed and horrible reciprocity.

[@KingFredrickVI]

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