Acuspecial FX21 developer as alternative to stand development

Augustus Caesar · Jan 20, 2024

Try this formula instead of stand. It works very well. Keeps highlights from building too much density yet keeps shadow detail. This makes a 15x solution. For T-Max 400, use 1+9 for 11 minutes. For slower films such as Pan-F, try 1+14 for about 6-8 minutes. Use distilled water for the concentrate. Agitation: 2 inversions with rotation once per minute. Experiment with times for other films. All weights in grammes per litre.

Component	Amount in grammes
Metol	2.1495
Sodium Sulfite	30.0
Hydroquinone	1.0995
Phenidone	0.1245
Sodium Metabisulfite	6.15
Potassium Carbonate (monohydrated)	22.035
Sodium Bicarbonate	3.9
Sodium Citrate	3.9
Potassium Iodide	0.0825
Potassium Bromide	0.33
Sodium Hydroxide	0.33

chuckroast · Jan 21, 2024

Holding highlights and getting full shadow speeds are two benefits of semistand, but there is a third, which conventional development cannot typically deliver: It increases mid-tone local contrast.

lamerko · Jan 21, 2024

This formula may need to be tweaked a bit. It is probably meant anhydrous potassium carbonate (I don't know if this monohydrate is sold freely at all and how expensive it is) - maybe 19.5 g.
The amount of sodium hydroxide is for a working solution, not for 15x concentrate - the correct amount is 5 g.

Error in the FX-21 formula ('Acuspecial') in the 2nd Edition

Keith Tapscott. · Jan 21, 2024

Interesting formula, but fiddly fractions of a gram to weigh.

koraks · Jan 21, 2024

This formula was published earlier here: https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/330905-acuspecial-fx-21-formula-better-than-rodinal/
In that link, the errata highlighted by @lamerko are also discussed in part.

@Augustus Caesar when posting an existing developer formula, please include the original name and reference to its maker (Crawley in this case). As proven here, this contextual information is crucial in e.g. preventing errors from being copied over and over again. I've updated the thread title to include the developer name and remove the implication that this would be your original work.

Augustus Caesar · Jan 21, 2024

lamerko said:
This formula may need to be tweaked a bit. It is probably meant anhydrous potassium carbonate (I don't know if this monohydrate is sold freely at all and how expensive it is) - maybe 19.5 g.
The amount of sodium hydroxide is for a working solution, not for 15x concentrate - the correct amount is 5 g.

Error in the FX-21 formula ('Acuspecial') in the 2nd Edition

OK

Augustus Caesar · Jan 21, 2024

chuckroast said:
Holding highlights and getting full shadow speeds are two benefits of semistand, but there is a third, which conventional development cannot typically deliver: It increases mid-tone local contrast.

This is supposed to do that, too.

Augustus Caesar · Jan 21, 2024

Keith Tapscott. said:
Interesting formula, but fiddly fractions of a gram to weigh.

I bought a high-precision digital scale for about $20. It works very well for this.

Andrew O'Neill · Jan 21, 2024

Another benefit of semi-stand (if wanted) is the ability to enhance edge effects and sharpness. Doubt very much that FX-21 will. Not to the extent of what semi-stand can do, anyway. It may emphasise grain, though.

Augustus Caesar · Jan 21, 2024

Andrew O'Neill said:
Another benefit of semi-stand (if wanted) is the ability to enhance edge effects and sharpness. Doubt very much that FX-21 will. Not to the extent of what semi-stand can do, anyway. It may emphasise grain, though.

FX-21 is a fine-grain developer. Try it, you will be impressed.

Andrew O'Neill · Jan 21, 2024

Augustus Caesar said:
FX-21 is a fine-grain developer. Try it, you will be impressed.

It's on the list! I've been quite pleased with many of Crawley's developers.

Keith Tapscott. · Jan 22, 2024

I remember that Johnson's Of Hendon Photo-Chemistry used to sell a high acutance developer called Definol.

Barry Thornton reckoned that it was the best developer of it's type that he had ever used.

It would be nice to find out that formula too along with Unitol standard fine grain developer.

pentaxpete · Jan 22, 2024

I would like the Formula for ACUTOL !

Keith Tapscott. · Jan 22, 2024

pentaxpete said:
I would like the Formula for ACUTOL !

Me too Peter.
Not the Acutol-S developer which is a well known formula.

John Wiegerink · Jan 22, 2024

pentaxpete said:
I would like the Formula for ACUTOL !

I've been trying forever to find it. It was never published, but I'm sure the formula is hiding somewhere? It would be nice to see Adox bring it back, but I'm not holding my breath.

Keith Tapscott. · Nov 19, 2024

Augustus Caesar said:
Try this formula instead of stand. It works very well. Keeps highlights from building too much density yet keeps shadow detail. This makes a 15x solution. For T-Max 400, use 1+9 for 11 minutes. For slower films such as Pan-F, try 1+14 for about 6-8 minutes. Use distilled water for the concentrate. Agitation: 2 inversions with rotation once per minute. Experiment with times for other films. All weights in grammes per litre.

Component
Amount in grammes

Metol

2.1495

Sodium Sulfite

30.0

Hydroquinone

1.0995

Phenidone

0.1245

Sodium Metabisulfite

6.15

Potassium Carbonate (monohydrated)

22.035

Sodium Bicarbonate

3.9

Sodium Citrate

3.9

Potassium Iodide

0.0825

Potassium Bromide

0.33

Sodium Hydroxide

0.33

Where can I get a suitable weighing scale in the UK for accurately weighing such small measures of the components?
Also, where to source the components required to make this formula?

Augustus Caesar · Nov 19, 2024

Keith Tapscott. said:
Where can I get a suitable weighing scale in the UK for accurately weighing such small measures of the components?
Also, where to source the components required to make this formula?

Look on amazon. They sell scales for tiny weights.

Amazon.com

Amazon.com : digital scale

Components are available from Formulary.

Photographers Formulary

Hard to find Chemistry, Labware, Alternative processes,photography

stores.photoformulary.com

Pixophrenic · Nov 25, 2024

lamerko said:
This formula may need to be tweaked a bit. It is probably meant anhydrous potassium carbonate (I don't know if this monohydrate is sold freely at all and how expensive it is) - maybe 19.5 g.
The amount of sodium hydroxide is for a working solution, not for 15x concentrate - the correct amount is 5 g.

Error in the FX-21 formula ('Acuspecial') in the 2nd Edition

Thank you for pointing this out. It seems nobody paid attention, since the tread continues. IMO, the correction changes everything, so much so that we are looking at three different developers, two originally published in FDCII (with and without correction) and the one suggested by OP. Furthermore, the OP is talking about a fine grain developer with density limitation, while FDCII (and Crawley) presented it as acutance developer. May I ask the OP what his working pH is?

Augustus Caesar · Nov 25, 2024

Pixophrenic said:
Thank you for pointing this out. It seems nobody paid attention, since the tread continues. IMO, the correction changes everything, so much so that we are looking at three different developers, two originally published in FDCII (with and without correction) and the one suggested by OP. Furthermore, the OP is talking about a fine grain developer with density limitation, while FDCII (and Crawley) presented it as acutance developer. May I ask the OP what his working pH is?

I have no idea. The first batch I mixed up was too weak, because the sodium hydroxide had been omitted from the formula, by Bill Troop. With the SH, 1+9 for 11 mins on T-Max 400 is gorgeous (@68F).

Augustus Caesar · Nov 25, 2024

The correct formula:

For 15x concentrate:

All weights in grammes per litre. For T-Max 400, use 1+9 for 11 minutes. For slower films (FP4+, T-Max 100, Delta 100), dilute more (1+14). For Pan-F, dilute 1+19, try 8 minutes to start. For Delta 400, try the same as for T-Max 400, to start with.

I am not sure how well Delta 3200 or T-Max 3200 will do in this developer, but try 1+5 dilution for 10-12 minutes.

Component	Amount in grammes
Metol	2.1495
Sodium Sulfite	30.0
Hydroquinone	1.0995
Phenidone	0.1245
Sodium Metabisulfite	6.15
Potassium Carbonate (monohydrated)	22.035
Sodium Bicarbonate	3.9
Sodium Citrate	3.9
Potassium Iodide	0.0825
Potassium Bromide	0.33
Sodium Hydroxide	5.0

Keith Tapscott. · Nov 26, 2024

Is the carbonate definitely monohydrate rather than the anhydrous form?

snusmumriken · Nov 26, 2024

I’m no chemist, but I can’t believe it’s necessary to weigh any of these ingredients more precisely than the nearest 0.1g.

pentaxuser · Nov 26, 2024

snusmumriken said:
I’m no chemist, but I can’t believe it’s necessary to weigh any of these ingredients more precisely than the nearest 0.1g.

Me neither and I have major doubts that a reasonably priced set of scales from Amazon is accurate to what is 4 decimal places but no others seem to be questioning this so maybe we are wrong and 2.1496 or 2. 1494 is sufficiently wrong to affect FX21's efficacy.

pentaxuser

koraks · Nov 26, 2024

The numbers don't make any sense. But what gives; just round them to .1. Except the phenidone. That one can best be mixed as e.g. a 1% concentrate in glycol and then dosed with a pipette unless very large batches are being made.

Augustus Caesar · Nov 26, 2024

Keith Tapscott. said:
Is the carbonate definitely monohydrate rather than the anhydrous form?

Yes!

Acuspecial FX21 developer as alternative to stand development

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Acuspecial FX21 developer as alternative to stand development

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