josephs@ttidcb.UUCP (Bill Josephs) (12/27/85)
As a long time user of Agfachrome Speed -- let me step in an offer a
defense.
I originally was introduced to Agfachrome Speed by using it in a Day-
lab. My results were so good that I was encouraged to set up a darkroom in
a spare closet with a real enlarger. However, not having running water
(and not wanting to shell out the money for Kodak's processor), I continued
using Agfachrome Speed but, after exposing a sheet, I loading it into the
Daylab base for daylight processing in my bathroom.
My kitchen wall, dinette wall and den wall attest to its quality --
prints of slides taken all over the world. Obviously, I've never run com-
parison prints -- but those I have seem not to have faded and are still
technically faithful one or two years later.
As noted, its major drawback was its expense -- $2.50 to $3.00 per
print (including activator). It was consistent -- little or nor variation
from batch to batch and almost completely temperature insensitive -- the
only processing caution was to make sure that the Daylab base was com-
pletely dry (otherwise it would water spot badly). My only other objection
was the inability to get a pure white -- either a blue or a yellow white
was the best I could every achieve. But, when gazing at the great wall of
China -- who remembers that the print took four sheets to get right?
My response to the notice in Modern? I ordered four 25 sheet boxes
from Adorama at $29 with two jugs of activator. The paper went into the
back of the freezer -- the activator lasts forever. Now, at $1.16 per
sheet, it is truly cheap!
Bill Josephs