Yikes!!! No More Rodinal? A question.

[Rick Waldroup]

😕 I know that the shelf life of Rodinal is legendary after the container has been opened, but does anyone know the shelf life of un-opened containers with the seal still intact. All I shoot is Neopan 400 and Tri X and I develop it all in Rodinal. I would really be bummed if Agfa stopped making it. I usually buy it mail order in the 16 oz. jar and I use it 1:25.

 

[Skinny McGee]

I am with you brother! I guess we have to start acting like Y2K with photo equip.

 

[rover]

You may want to find some of the statements released about AGFA's fate. I think I read that Rodinal would continue to be produced.

That being said, it took me some effort to find DDX and the shops I visited all say they have not seen an Ilford rep in ages.

 

[Gordon Coale]

I don't know how close it is but J&C sells RO9. "This developer is similar to Agfa Rodinal. It dates back to the post war days when Germany was divided. Production of Rodinal continued in the East under the name R09. Recommended dilutions are from 1:40 to 1:100. 250ml bottle." Also available in a 1 liter bottle.

 

[John Robertson]

If the worst comes to the worst, there is Calbe R09, and Fomadon R09 both are available from
http://www.retrophotographic.com/
They are both the same formula as the original Rodinal and work the same way.
However lets not start running around like headless chickens, Rodinal will survive. The Agfa business is more about politics than anything else. Ilford film and chemicals are still in production but there may be a few initial hic-cups in the supply.

 

[doubs43]

I've already posted this on another, earlier, thread but JandC Photo sell R09 which is the original formulation for Rodinal. It's made in one of the Eastern European countries, I believe. I have a large bottle of R09 but have yet to try it because I'm still working on the bottle of Rodinal that I bought from FreeStyle Photo.

I like Agfa products and I'm truly sorry to learn of their immediate problems. I'm not going to start pinging off the walls just yet though because I think they'll survive and still produce the products we all like. I can't be certain, of course, but I would expect the German government to step in and save an old-line company such as Agfa.

Lets all cross our fingers...............

Walker

 

[Gabriel M.A.]

I know that the bankruptcy news were a bit of a shocker to many of us, but I think that making threads on the Internet fueling rumors isn't going to help Agfa either.

The bankruptcy filing doesn't spell a disbanding of the company. It is a financial maneuver. Just like Polaroid; it just came out of bankruptcy itself after a few years, you didn't see the company disappear, did you? OK, so Polaroid's marketing department was worse than Agfa's, that's a bone to pick on in other threads.

So, again, Agfa products will be fine, just like Ilford's were while they were while in similar waters.

 

[wilt]

Glad to hear that there's a chance one will be able to continue using Rodinal, perhaps even made by Agfa or at least in the R09 variety. Hope the comments in this thread about the survival of Agfa b&w products will prove to be correct. Makes me feel a bit better, was not glad after hearing about the announcement the other day.

I've never used R09. How close it to present-day Agfa Rodinal? Also, out of curiosity, has Rodinal changed over the course of its long history?

 

[Roman]

Yes, Rodinalhas changed over the course of history, but don't ask me for the details, I don'T think many people outside of Agfa know them exactly.

I have tried R09 - you have to adjust your dev. times, since it has a different concentration (it alos looks already like dark coffee from the start, whereas Rodinal is much lighter the first time you open the bottle). It has a few crystals floating at the bottom of the bottle (that have to be there - just like in old Rodinal); and the bottles really suck - if you get R09, fill it into a glass bottle the first time you open it, the seams on the neck where the plastic halves of the bottle are joined, tend to break and leak.
I did not find it worth to get R09 instead of Rodinal for the few cents saved, and switched back to the Agfa product.

Roman

 

[Jan Cornelius]

Why not stock up on say 10 hal liter bottles, It#s still widely available (here in Europe at least) It's cheap and as mentioned it has a long shelf life.
And living in Germany at this point one is pretty well informed and I think we will not see AGFA emerge again in which case stocking up on rodinal is not a bas thing, you will be able to sell it in a couple of years at a good profit, for I am sure once taken out of production it will reach a "legend" status soon and everyone new to development will want to try it, like diafine for instance.

 

[wilt]

And living in Germany at this point one is pretty well informed and I think we will not see AGFA emerge again

Hope you're wrong 🙂