ADOX CHS11 vs ACROS 100 vs FP4

[leica dream]

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I have been enjoying my reentry into analogue photography in recent months using, for simplicity and reliability, Ilford FP4. Particularly useful as I can get 24 exp films to see results sooner than waiting 36 or wasting film.

Reflecting back to the 70's and 80's I still have very successful negatives on Adox film so have been researching, but as things have moved forward at lightening pace I am now quite confused.  I do favour slower films for my needs so have been trying to track down Adox and found that Fuji still do Acros 100 even though it seems difficult to track down.

When I browse comparisons I read about shooting Adox 100 at 80 or FP4 at 100 for better results whereas I set at box speed. There are some old threads here but I would welcome advice from experienced regulars on the forum about present day pros and cons.

I use leica R6.2, process at lab then scan myself.

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[Pyrogallol]

I buy B&W film in bulk and recently loaded a whole 30 metres of Ilford Pan F into FILCA and IXMOO cassettes, with a few plastic cassettes for other cameras and Nikon rangefinder cassettes, Now I need to use them up !

 Using Pan F at 30ASA in Ilford Perceptol was to simulate the exposures the old timers had to use with slow films.

I have also been using Foma 100 and 400 which I have found to be as good as FP4.

I have Adox sheet film, some old CHS100 that lives in the ‘fridge in 5x4, 5x7 and 10x8 sizes.

Edited September 13 by Pyrogallol

[250swb]

If you like FP4 Plus you will probably like Acros 100, not least because they are both made in the same factory in Cheshire. If you used FP4 in the 70s and 80s before it became FP4 Plus you can still buy it from Analogue Cameras. They found a massive stash that had been spooled for movie making (called FP4 517) and they load it into 35mm cassettes for the bargain price of £3.99 for 36 exposures. It is 100 ISO instead of 125 ISO of the Plus.

https://www.analoguecameras.co.uk/product/ilford-fp4-type-517-100-35mm-36exp/

It's a long time since I used Adox CHS 100 but I recall I liked it a lot. I like a lot of Adox films, currently my standard film is Adox HR-50 which is a 'breathed on' copy film to give full tone negatives with very fine grain. It's also known as Leica Monopan film but don't buy that unless you want to pay more or collect the boxes. Adox also make a great range of developers, pretty well all direct copies of the usual popular choices along with some slightly more exotic formulas. My own standard developer that works extremely well with all types of normal speed films is Adox FX39.

[leica dream]

Yes, I must get around to home developing again but I want to settle my regular film choice first. Way back I had my dedicated darkroom with enlarger and all "wet" processing so the seeds are still there. 

On the film front, interesting to hear about the common stables where some films emanate. I did mean FP4 Plus because I just assumed that the original FP4 had been superceeded.

[TomB_tx]

4 hours ago, leica dream said:

Yes, I must get around to home developing again but I want to settle my regular film choice first. Way back I had my dedicated darkroom with enlarger and all "wet" processing so the seeds are still there. 

By all means make it happen. After some decades I retrieved my darkroom stuff and converted the guest bath to set up quickly as a darkroom. I shifted from Kodak to Ilford for B&W since Panatomic-X is extinct, and just started experimenting with Adox HR50. My favorite chemistry is no longer available, but there are good choices still, and after getting comfortable with B&W I added C41 & E6 - just save up enough rolls to make a reasonable batch. While my enlarger is available, I just scan now...

[username]

19 hours ago, leica dream said:

There are some old threads here but I would welcome advice from experienced regulars on the forum about present day pros and cons.

I guess it very much comes down to the different looks of the films in question? That would be my main concearn at least.
Shoot a roll of each of the three, get them developed, scan them - and see what you like the most 👍

 

Maybe these will be of value as well -

 

 

 

[leica dream]

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Thank you, everyone. I guess my thought that Adox was more mainstream resulted in less comment than I had hoped. I should have realised when I found that browsing around was the only way to find regular retailers.

[250swb]

1 hour ago, leica dream said:

Thank you, everyone. I guess my thought that Adox was more mainstream resulted in less comment than I had hoped. I should have realised when I found that browsing around was the only way to find regular retailers.

I'm not sure you indicated you were looking for somewhere to buy Adox film, but here are two just to get you started.

https://analoguewonderland.co.uk/collections/buy-35mm-film?sort_by=manual&filter.v.price.gte=&filter.v.price.lte=&filter.p.vendor=Adox

https://firstcall-photographic.co.uk/collections/black-white-film?filter.p.vendor=Adox

[leica dream]

Thank you. No, I was looking for comments about modern day thinking or experiences with Adox. One thread somewhere indicated that it needed to be shot at ISO 80 instead of 100, but that was presumably just a personal preference but I always like to know why there are such opinions. I used Analogue Wonderland for my source. I had discounted Firstcall (even though the Adox site says they are their UK retailer) because they have a minimum delivery charge of £9 which I find difficult to justify for just a couple of films. I see Bristol Cameras also hold stocks.

[250swb]

11 hours ago, leica dream said:

Thank you. No, I was looking for comments about modern day thinking or experiences with Adox. One thread somewhere indicated that it needed to be shot at ISO 80 instead of 100, but that was presumably just a personal preference but I always like to know why there are such opinions. I used Analogue Wonderland for my source. I had discounted Firstcall (even though the Adox site says they are their UK retailer) because they have a minimum delivery charge of £9 which I find difficult to justify for just a couple of films. I see Bristol Cameras also hold stocks.

Knock yourself out with the Massive Development Chart

https://www.digitaltruth.com/devchart.php

How can exposing and developing a film not be a personal preference? If starting out just copy somebody else's personal preference and see if you like it.

 

Edited September 18 by 250swb

[PCPix]

On 9/12/2025 at 7:58 PM, leica dream said:

I use leica R6.2, process at lab then scan myself

As you have good experience from the ‘film days’ - I would hazard a guess that the lab processing element of your workflow is very likely to be a source of inconsistency and hence difficult to decide on which of the films you would prefer. 

I’m sure a Paterson tank, a few reels and a changing bag will allow you to maintain the consistency, allow you to try all the emulsions and tweak chemistry/timing as necessary.

Everybody has their favourites, I’d go for FP4 in ID11 at 1:1, with changes in development times to get the contrast you like.  

Edited September 21 by PCPix

[leica dream]

You are, of course, quite correct. I am sure it is just a matter of confidence. Back in the 70's it all seemed so simple. Pushing and Pulling and varying development times were not common place (maybe not yet invented). I just bought "a film" and some "developer" and did the job. 

[250swb]

1 hour ago, leica dream said:

You are, of course, quite correct. I am sure it is just a matter of confidence. Back in the 70's it all seemed so simple. Pushing and Pulling and varying development times were not common place (maybe not yet invented). I just bought "a film" and some "developer" and did the job. 

Pushing and pulling the 'film' development has been a feature since wet plates, etc. were invented. Don't feel the adjustments for film type, speed, and consequent exposure and development values have changed since 1826, photographers have always adjusted the values according to the light and film speed etc. But the only way to know how these things affect you is to try because nothing is universal in film photography, it all starts with everybody's ideas on which tones they expose for.