Agfa Vista 400

The legendary and highly sought after Agfa colour film, particularly the ISO 400 36 frame make to its ISO 200 sibling. This film was once cheap and dispensable, but today they are hard to come by and if you do see one, they're definitely expired and twice its original price. 

That said, does the Agfa really stand up to its reputation? Why is it highly sought after and why the hype now? To be honest, most of the inflationary pressure is from hype and that it is an ISO 400 film. Hype because this particular film stock is discontinued with the last batch of film expiring in late 2019. ISO 400 in my opinion is also more sought after because of its versatility, forgiveness and that the professional flagship film stocks like Kodak Portra 400 and Fuji Pro400H are also in this ISO category. For me, ISO 400 is my ultimate go to because you can overexpose this by shooting at 200 and still achieve decent results with manageable shutter speeds. Also, Agfa 400 is somewhat sentimental to me as well because I started out film photography with this. In 2014, I used to have at least 20 rolls of this ready in my stash. At one point I also hated this film stock because it was the only film I had since it was "cheap-ish". Looking back, I feel so foolish to have wasted so many frames simply because I had many rolls and was trying to finish them quick. Today, I only have a few rolls of this left thanks to lovely friends (June and Vanessa).

This was the film stock I grew up with. This was the filmstock I'd send to the labs to get developed expecting to get less than average quality photos (because of my photography) but end up getting blown away by the results. I don't know what they do but Agfa made me feel like my photography was of a decent standard (anyone feel this way too?). This being said, I cannot review this film without bias. The following pictures will not demonstrate dynamic range, or tonality, but will instead show how I feel about the shots I've taken. 


My first favourite picture I've taken. I've since gravitated towards taking "medium portraits" - my own term for people in their environment. (Little India, Singapore)

Agfa actually has a slight pinkish skin tone (Bali, Indonesia)

Another medium portrait. I should copyright this term (Little India, Singapore)

Sim Lim tower. I like how from this angle it has a gradient effect. (Sim Lim Tower, Singapore)

Dont know why this pic is here. Maybe cos it has the chill vibes. (Haji Lane, Singapore)

Gloomy England (Exeter, UK)

Gloomy and wet England (Exeter, UK)

Mangrove logs before they're turned into charcoal. My first ever inspo/tumblr worthy picture (Raub, Malaysia)

The shophouse my mum grew up in (Kampong Bharu, Malaysia)

Home-based aunty chef serving up breakfast noodles in my mum's home town (Sitiawan, Malaysia)

Random Hong Kong people at a junction (Junction, Hong Kong)

Fed Ex truck in a tight alley (Hong Kong, Hong Kong)

I really like how the blues are complimented by the yellow land area (Bali, Indonesia)

Shooting my favourite flat peaches with my favourite film stock (Borough Market, London)

Another brick in the wall (Tate Modern, London)

My first walkabout in London (St Paul's, London)

Somewhere near Bank station (London)

St Paul's cathedral in London. People like to chill here during lunch. I like the leading lines in this pic (St Paul, London) 

Me (Little India, Singapore)

I tried to do an artsy street photog thing here (Little India, Singapore)

Photographing my murderous adventures (Home, Singapore)

This was a rescan of my family shoot. The original colours were slightly cooler and punchier (Home, Singapore)

Uncle photog friends (Sungei Buloh, Singapore)

Me taking things they're not taking (Sungei Buloh, Singapore)

I question my fashion sense (Sungei Buloh, Singapore)

Grandpa and aunt admiring cobblestones in HK (Some bridge, Hong Kong)

Misty bay (Hong Kong)

What architects look like (pipe area, Singapore)

Classic Singapore greens (pipe area, Singapore)

Nat Cheung doing her thing (underneath MCE, Singapore)

A slit of drainage, also someone's fav fishing spot (MCE, Singapore)

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