AGO Film Processor

The motor head came broken, and they sent me a replacement product as quickly as if I had bought it in Korea. People like me who buy it from abroad don't have to worry. It was faster than any other domestic site. It's the best. And I finally developed my first Kodak 200 with ADOX c41, which I bought from Vintage Visual. It was such an amazing experience. It ended so easily that I couldn't trust myself. If I had to say it in addition, it was so hard to buy the developer from overseas that I hope Vintage Visual sells a lot of various products. Thank you VV.

I am neurodivergent, so manually manipulating the tank has always been difficult. I was skeptical of the claims made on the website, but it worked on the second try. I say that because it is very important to drain the chemicals from the lid of the tank and not from the spout that was used to pour in the chemicals. Its presets are great, but the manufacturer recommends checking a table from an app to make sure the times are accurate for your film. Yes it is pricy, but it is definalty worth the price.

I reviewed the AGO after processing my first 2 B&W films; I've now had the opportunity to process 6 x C41 Colour films so I am adding some additional thoughts.
Having processed B&W for over 50 years this was my very first C41 excursion and I was a little anxious to say the least - the main difference is that B&W is effectively a room temperature process whilst C41 is at 38c, and the temperature leeway is quite small.
I used the Cinestill TCS1000 to maintain the temperature of the chemistry in a water bath - the TCS is reviewed elsewhere, it gets the water bath to temperature very quickly but it does take a long time for the chemistry in the bottles to reach the temperature in the water bath. So be prepared for it or you find like I did that the developer was only at 36c which is outside range.
Also when processing rolls 5&6 I adjusted the developing time as per the instructions and inadvertently turned off the AGO feature that reads the temperature and adjusts the developing time, so there was a bit of guesswork but it seems I got away with it. On rolls 1-4 the temperature adjustment worked perfectly, with at least 1 minute added both times to the development stage.
I have now processed a Kodak Gold 200, Candido 800, 2 x Portra 160, Harman Phoenix and Amber T800, all apart from the Candido were taken on my ME Super (the Candido was on the Pentax 17). I've 3 more Portra 160's to go.
I used the Bellini C41 kit (which AW don't sell) as I like the idea of a liquid kit and it has separate Bleach and Fix. Also there are no wash steps its straight in with chemistry and finish with stabiliser.
My conclusion is that there is nothing to fear from C41 but the AGO certainly makes things much easier. From start to finish, processing 2 batches of 2 films took about 40 minutes, plus the time to get the chemicals to temperature and the clean up afterwards.
The AGO didn't cause any issues, it doesn't leak and I found pouring chemicals in and out to be really simple. Emptying the tank is easy if you pick the tank + AGO up and pour the fluid out from what is the top lip of the tank. Don't try and use the AGO itself as it will be messy. I bought 3 cheap funnels to avoid spillage and had none at all.
Despite the savings on development it will take quite a while to get back the investment in the AGO and Cinestill even though the AGO has come down in price and I was able to use a £100 Wonderpoints voucher. However its a very enjoyable and rewarding additional Analogue adventure and I highly recommend it as a fun way to increase your enjoyment of film.
When I have all 7 rolls of my recent trip to India I might just post a few - but for now I've attached some images from rolls 1 & 2. Bluebird at Coniston and Arnside.

I have been pondering buying an AGO since it was in Crowd Funding some time ago - however when AW reduced it in price by 18% I cashed in quite a lot of Wonderpoints and got what I now think might just be a bargain.
The AGO came last week. You get the processor, and a Paterson 2 reel tank with a modified funnel. This allows the developing chemistry to flow into the tank and also to contact the temperature sensor which is the silver bar you can see on the photo.
So I developed 2 B&W films almost immediately. The developing time at 20c was 9 minutes but this is reduced by 15% due to continuous agitation - the spirals are rotated backwards and forwards the whole time. Because it is horizontal I used only 250mls of liquid, 5mls of Adonal for a 1 in 50 dilution so very economic.
The temperature probe adjusts the developing time - my developer was a bit cooler than 20c and I had 34 seconds added automatically. Its just a matter of pouring chemistry in and out when you are told to.
The interface takes a bit of work to get right but I was able to use it pretty quickly.
Results? Perfectly developed films.
The Washing phase consisted of running the setup vertically which allows you to fill the tank (several times) over 10 mins.
So far the main benefit was that B&W has just become a pour and empty process but with temperature adjustment. The next step will be to go for C41 at 28c, for which I will need the (still unused) Cinestill TCS 1000 which I received for Christmas. I have 2 x C41 films waiting to be developed so watch this space!

I decided to not download the owners manual until after using the AGO Film Processor. Using one of the pre-installed recipes the interface made it easy to develop 5 rolls of film on my first use with no issues. Watching the AGO adjust the developing time based on the temperature changes to the chemistry during the development cycle makes me wonder how different my pre-AGO film might have looked. Based on the current cost of lab development the AGO will pay for itself in short order. An additional bonus is the fact that less chemistry is needed. 5 stars all the way.

I've used Paterson tanks for processing my B&W film for over 50 years. My issue has always been temperature control and consistency. I've thought of a Jobo on many occasions but they're big, expensive and use a different tank and spiral system.
I signed up to the AGO when it was a IndieGoGo campaign. For me the advantages are cost, size, a clever way of compensating for changes in temperature, uses less chemicals and uses the Paterson tanks and spirals I'm familiar with.
I've used my AGO processor many times now with all sizes of Paterson tank right up to the Multi-reel 8. Works so well.

Great product, will likely buy another. Had trouble with the charging cable so I used my IPhone charger for now.

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good delivery & good as

Absolutely five stars. Has increased my confidence in processing C41 at home immensely, saves time and is a joy to use. My key recommendation, though, is to get the quick-pour funnel as well. Will make your whole experience that much better. Highly recommended.

I have to admit, I was very skeptical if this would be worth the cost, but even as a hobbyist who only develops ~3 rolls a week the AGO has been so worth it! You really cant beat the "set it and forget it" aspect and along with the temperature compensation I have been getting the most consistent results I have ever seen. I have developed film for years in both my college darkroom as well as at home using old school steel tanks and inversions. Like so many others I was not immune to occasional mistakes, losing track of time, and others. The AGO has eliminated the likelihood of those mistakes occurring and I have yet to make an error.

My recommendation is to do away with the wash and rinse agitation cycles in your programs, rather just take the tank off the AGO and use the ilford wash method.

Last little thing to add is that I did buy the quick pour funnel which makes the whole process incrementally easier.

I did a dryrun test so far and it seems working. If I may make a comment about the wifi - configuration: If the processor could connect to an existing wlan, it were able to download fw updates easier san config works should be possible from any computer in the wlan.

Un accesorio muy útil para el revelado de película, sin tener que estar pendiente de la temperatura del revelador, por otro lado gran ahorro de líquidos para el proceso.

This thing rules. It really does. I only took a star off because my rolls had weird chemical spots on them, probably the result of insufficient washing. My b/w rolls also had streaks. I think the programs should have more washing time built into the mix. For now as an adjustment I will do a nice rinse before final wash.

I started developing B&W film 60 years ago. After using digital cameras for the last 20 years, I decided to use film again. The AGO Film Processor guarantees uniform development and real-time adjusted development times for consistent negative densities. It's automated, easy to use and has a small footprint that makes it convenient to use in my kitchen. I'm looking forward to developing color negatives next. It's a great product.

Got the AGO as a self Birthday-Xmas present and it made life easier by miles. Very reliable, constant agitation and temperature compensation work flawlessly and produce pristine negatives. Time saving, cleaner all the way. Just keep an eye on any leakage at the start but otherwise it's something i should have got ages ago....
No brainer spend...go for it

The tool itself is absolutely great, very consistent agitation, clean negatives with no issues on the film. However, the machine did break on me, not sure if I got water inside of it or it was a software bug, it was an older model from 2024. I instantly got a response from customer service and I'm being sent a new one, and I have read that the newer models from this year are better suited for water.

The AGO Film processor makes film development easier, more efficient, with consistent results.

I love the fact that I can do longer development times for say Kodak d76 1 3. Something that I would never have the patience to do by hand. Waiting 20 minutes for a roll of film to develop. I set the development timer and run and do a few other chores or clean while the timer is running.

I also love the fact that I can develop more color c41 rolls at a time since the tanks are developing on their side. I can in theory develop 3x 120 rolls in a Patterson 5-tank in one session.

Also the temperature time compensation helps with better results, there were times where I didn't realize my developer was much cooler than required and the AGO took care off it. Just compensated the time and developed perfectly.

If you develop film often, this will help save you on tons of stress and make the process much more enjoyable. Very easy to use, just follow the instructions and give it a go!

The Best And No Issues With It. I Recommend It!

Have recently purchased my unit. The customer service was great. I have only used the Ago once so far with bw dev. It was rather easy to use and the results were as expected, of a high standard.

Like my headline says, the AGO is the goldilocks solution for me when it comes to at home development. It's for more convenient and less fatiguing then hand spinning Paterson tanks, but much more affordable then getting into a Jobo system. Now don't get me wrong, I believe all 3 have their place. I mean I would love a hole room dedicated to developing with a industrial grade film developer. However, if you're like me where you're limited on room but need something better then hand spinning then this is a solid solution.

Also, I see that people have complained about leaking. Perhaps that was an old issue with early models because my does not. However I suspect some people might have had leaking issues due to pouring the liquids improperly. All in all this device has taken the ugh out of developing film and I'm excited to see what else the company will bring out in the future.

Stream lines the process and removes guess work. As a grad student it is saving me

I’ve processed and scanned about 10 120 rolls since I bought this a few weeks ago. Before the AGO I used the normal Patterson tank so the misery, boredom and variability of manual agitation has now just gone away. Once you’ve mixed your chemicals and got close to 20c the AGO makes the rest very easy indeed.
Note: I would suggest to anyone starting out to place the AGO+tank within another container – just in case you did not double-check the connection between the AGO and the tank and get a leak. This only happened to me once, and I am pretty sure now you can avoid this by just carefully inspecting the ‘connection’.

I've been very pleased with the AGO film processor. it's easy to use and takes all the guesswork out of timing and temperature.

I found this particularly useful when doing c41 processing, where the time/temperature is critical to good results.

During last few months I was wondering which way to take with my film development. I've chosen AGO over other solutions (powerful but huge JOBO CP* series, Chinese made rotating bases, filmomat devices) it's small, it compensates time-temp, it simplifies and shortens my development workflow.