Rollei Superpan 200: A Versatile Black and White Film for Infrared and Reversal Processing

Key facts

• Rollei Superpan 200 is a super panchromatic black and white film with sensitivity to about 775nm and cuts off at 340nm.
• The film is made by Agfa-Gevaert in Belgium and distributed by Maco Direct in Germany.
• Rollei Superpan 200 is believed to be identical to Agfa Aviphot Pan 200, an industrial and aerial surveillance film.
• It has a clear polyester base, making it a successor to Agfa Scala 200 for reversal processing.
• The DR5 lab praises Superpan 200 as the closest thing to Agfa Scala.
• Superpan 200 has similar IR sensitivity to Ilford SFX but with less grain.
• Behind an R72 filter, Superpan 200 is rated at ISO 6 with a five-stop filter factor, while Rollei Infrared requires six stops.
• The film is available in 35mm and 120, but not 4x5; Aviphot 200 4x5 can be found on eBay.
• Superpan 200 has narrow exposure latitude and becomes grainy with overexposure.
• It handles reciprocity well for exposures between 1 and 30 seconds, requiring about one stop of extra exposure.
• The film is part of Rollei's Retro line, including Retro 80S and Retro 400S.
• The review is brought to you by Blue Moon Camera and Machine in Portland, OR.