agfa fast film patents AGFA mgmt buys film division

(Bob Monaghan) said:


Agfa has the patents on the new formic acid enhanced film technology, see
http://www.cnrs.fr/cw/en/pres/compre...ionsphoto.html - it is about
due to hit the market (overdue, but then, Agfa has been in a financial
fix that probably explains the delays; then again, now that mgmt owns the
film division, maybe those delays will be dealt with expeditiously? ;-)

On the assumption that this is really a viable technology, it seems
really strange that they have taken so long. I understand that there
may be some difficulties making colour film with this technology,
but it seems to me that a B&W film with an honest 3200 speed and
the same or less grain than APX 400 would be a really hot product
for anyone doing available light photography.

The last really major advance of this kind from Agfa (gold sensitizing
in the mid 1930s - which merely doubled speed for the same grain) was
a shipping product pretty soon after the discovery.

I hope that you are right, that we will soon have superfast films and
super fine grain films of medium speed, but I can't help feeling that
if they were serious about it we would have seen something before now.

Peter.
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