One true Rodinal

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I'm getting ready to place a film and developer order. I've never tried Rodinal but am inspired by some of the results I see here. But the stores list two versions of Rodinal, one RO9 and the other something else. Which one is the TRUE Rodinal or are they identical? Thanks,
 
wpb said:
Identical.
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I am not sure about that. On the Adox webseite it is stated that Adolux APH09 (R09) ist based on an old Rodinal recipe from the fifties (Ur-Rodinal).

Adonal is said to be identical with the until recently sold Agfa Rodinal. It even comes in the same bottle, just the name and the label changed.
 
According to AG Photographic, the differences are:

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]ADOX ADONAL is the formulated to the exact specifications of RODINAL, as made by AGFA up until the demise of the company in 2005.

[/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]RO9 One Shot / Rodinal is a carefully formulated version of Rodinal as was being sold by AGFA before the demise of the company in 2005. [/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Adox APH-09 is an authentic and original "Rodinal" formulation revealed by the German military after WW2. It is different to modern Rodinal, as made by Agfa Photo up until the demise of the company, and also RO9, which is currently offered as a substitute for modern Rodinal.[/FONT]

http://www.ag-photographic.co.uk

So, as far as I can tell, RO9 and Adonal are identical but produced by different firms.
 
The Rodinal sold in USA since I started in 1965 is tea color when new, and darkens with age.

When Agfa quit manufacturing it, someone started making it to the original formulation calling it R09. It is black as new and requires less dilution. Results are exactly the same if you compensate dilution.

Freestyle is selling it today perhaps under R09 label manufactured in Europe. But it is the tea colored stuff Agfa sold.

I do not believe the black R09 is available anymore. If you get a black new bottle, dilute 1:40 instead of 1:25.
 
R09 is Rodinal as we knew it. I've used R09 a lot also having used the original AGFA Rodinal for years and they are the same concoction.
 
In fact two factories who are producing Rodinal type:

Calbe (former OrWo chemicals) Old type para-Amino Phenol. Calbe R09 in the dilutions: 1+20 - 1+40 etc. In the past also sold by Foma under old type Fomadon R09.
When you buy it new it's already dark like Coca Cola. Limited in life span for some years only.

Agfa chemical plant in Vaihingen-Enz, Germany. Sold to A&O and in 2007 sold to CPP&S. The packing is done by Compard in Hamburg. Original Agfa Rodinal receipt but now sold under different labels: R09 one shot is the most common one. Dilutions: 1+25 - 1+50 etc. Fomadon R09 NEW is the same. Adox Adonal too.

The rest is all marketing of course and due to the licence agreement for Lupus to use the Agfa Photo name brand. Original Rodinal you can keep almost forever. The last change in receipture was done in 1991 by Agfa.

Best regards,

Robert
 
Only some minor changes were made in 1991. My last contact for this was in Agfa Leverkusen around 2002.
The discussion at that time was a possible transfer of AXP 25 film to Foma in Hradec Kralové.

More actual now is (again) the higher speed film Fomapan T800 which was discontinued by Foma around the same time. But it should be a real 800 iso speed film with an easy push to 1600. It should fill the gap of the Neopan 1600.

Robert
 
Fotohuis said:
More actual now is (again) the higher speed film Fomapan T800 which was discontinued by Foma around the same time. But it should be a real 800 iso speed film with an easy push to 1600. It should fill the gap of the Neopan 1600.
Click to expand...

An encouraging development (cough). Is this a sign that the future of film lies eastward?
 
Is this a sign that the future of film lies eastward?
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Apart from the photo division, Foma SRO has also an X-ray division (medical). And under the actual Kodak circumstances your chance for Foma films in the near future are maybe even bigger then the Kodak production in the coming years.

Although Neopan 1600 is a very small gap in the actual market, it could be interesting to fill it up when a regular Foma T800 production can be sold worldwide. However the old T800 film had a lot of grain and was effective iso 640 only. But with some improvement they can re-design and put this film back in the market and ask now a more reasonable price for it.

The Foma factory in Hradec Kralové, Czech Republic. Shot on Neopan 1600. 🙄

622167011_121a3fab0d.jpg
 
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