How good will Silvermax be?

Well, the internet is buzzing with news of a new 35mm film from Adox, described as a "silver-rich" emulsion, that will be launched at the upcoming Photokina. Adox says it contains about double the amount of silver in comparison with normal black and white films, something that causes me to raise an eyebrow as the price of silver threatens to go through the roof. Still, with Kodak's future remaining uncertain, it's at least good to know that there is one company willing to invest in new materials.

Fifty years ago, most films were silver rich which many claimed gave them a look all of their own. Efke's line-up (also sold as Adox CHS) when they were still making film before an accident at Fotokemika's Croatian coating plant killed them off were of a similar make-up. Personally, I can't claim to have noticed any particular look to Efke/Adox CHS films. I think the lenses they used in the 1940s and 1950s must have come into the equation somewhere. Aside from shooting some Efke against, say, Fuji Acros, on a Contax IIa and a 50mm Sonnar it would be difficult to know.

It would have been nice if Adox had been able to provide more details of Silvermax instead of leaving us all to contribute to the rumour mill on countless forum threads. The ideal would have been if they'd made some examples of the film's capabilities available at launch instead of  piquing everyone's interest and then going silent. Probing queries by some photographers have elicited a little bit more information but nothing concrete. The 100 ISO Silvermax, for example, is said to achieve twice the DMax of ordinary films and reproduce up to 14 zones in the dedicated Adox developer. It's based on an Agfa APX 100 emulsion but with a more silver rich coating.

It's also said to be incredibly sharp due to an anti-halation layer between the emulsion and the clear triacetate base and extremely fine grained. It has to be stressed that these are just claims from Adox at this stage and no company is going to launch a new film with the boast that it's "pretty average, really".

There was some initial suspicion that the film was no more than a rebadged Adox CHS product coming as it does not long after the Fotokemika shut down but Adox said planning for Silvermax started months before Fotokemika's news.

So, on the basis that it's a new film, this surely has to be good news - although you'd never guess it from the curmudgeonly posts on some forums. Some photographers are already moaning about the price even though that hasn't been revealed yet! If only a buyer with long term ambition can be found for Kodak's film division, we'll have emerged from the latest film dramas still in reasonable shape.