Down the rabbit hole: The Agfa Rapid film system

Down the rabbit hole: The Agfa Rapid film system.

At the moment I have nine Rapid canisters. One is an expired Rapid film from the 90s, and another is always in the Welta Penti II for the Frugal Film Project (FFP). Five more are filled with Harman Phoenix film for the FFP, so that leaves me with just two canisters to play with, and one of those might end up in another camera as a take-up canister, so that leaves one. Dammit, I need more.

This sudden passion for using Rapid canisters seems to have come from nowhere, but now I can't really think about using 35mm film in any other way. Originally it was a format that I hadn't tried before, or even thought about, really. But then I received my first parcel of Agfa Iso-Rapid cameras and something ... clicked.

The average length of a Rapid film is about 60cm, perfect for 12 exposures (or 24 exposures in the Welta Penti II), which is much easier to use up in a single session than a 36 exposure roll of 35mm film. It's also really easy to decant 35mm film from a cassette to a Rapid canister in a dark bag, and also to try new techniques with film. And that's what really appeals to me. I can cut a length of film from a 36-exposure roll and try out something new, or switch between emulsions, and I'm not having to use a whole roll in one go.

For example, with Rapid canisters trying out redscale film is simplicity itself. I just take a 35mm film cassette, turn it over so the emulsion side is facing outwards, and push a length of film into the Rapid canister. Easy. I'm also keen to try other techniques with Rapid canisters, like EBS (Expose Both Sides) photography, where I can load a length of film into a Rapid canister and expose one side of the film then decant the exposed film back into the original canister, but reversed so that it exposes the other side of the film. 

The only fiddly bit of the whole process is decanting the exposed films from Rapid canisters back into 35mm cassettes before taking them to the lab. I'm not in a position to develop films myself, and I don't really want to leave my precious and rare Rapid canisters with the lab in case they disappear. This is one reason why I'm never likely to try film soups, although that is a technique that has long fascinated me, since labs are reluctant to accept films that have been 'souped' in case the treatment affects the chemistry in their  machines. Understandable, really. 

Aside from that, though, I'm absolutely enjoying my new experiences with the Rapid film system. Just this past week I ordered two more cheap Rapid cameras from the Kamerastore. One was another Agfa Iso-Rapid IF,  and the second an Agfa Silette Rapid F. Each contained one Rapid canister, so now I'm sure that I have more than enough canisters to keep me going, not only through the Frugal Film Project but for future experimentation, too.

I also have a lovely little collection of Rapid cameras to play with. Obviously there's the Golden Wonder, the lovely little golden half-frame Welta Penti II with its unique plunger wind on mechanism, and the basic square-frame Agfa Iso-Rapid IFs, that I still have to use.

But I also have the Lomo Smena SL that's a fabulous Rapid version of the Smena 8M, and now the Agfa Silette Rapid F. There's even the Ricoh 35K Rapid camera, but I'm not sure that one is working properly, so it's on the back seat. So I reckon that this year is going to be Rapid film year, and I'm really looking forward to it. 

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