Acutol S - Crawley's fx15 developer

[johnnywalker]

I've been thinking of trying this developer which used to be known as Paterson's Acutol S. I would have to buy the chemicals and mix it from scratch it appears.
Has anyone tried it, any opinions on the pros and cons of it? The Film Developing Cookbook speaks well of it.

 

[Kevin Caulfield]

I've been thinking of trying this developer which used to be known as Paterson's Acutol S. I would have to buy the chemicals and mix it from scratch it appears.
Has anyone tried it, any opinions on the pros and cons of it? The Film Developing Cookbook speaks well of it.

Sorry for the slow reply (9 years), but yes I tried it about six years ago and I loved the results. Since then I've pretty much settled on using FX-55, due to its keeping properties. However I have intended to revisit FX-15, and have mixed up a fresh batch. So, shortly I will be developing a roll of Acros 100 with it and will report back.
Again, sorry for the late reply but better late than never.

 

[RalphLambrecht]

I've been thinking of trying this developer which used to be known as Paterson's Acutol S. I would have to buy the chemicals and mix it from scratch it appears.
Has anyone tried it, any opinions on the pros and cons of it? The Film Developing Cookbook speaks well of it.

not done it but I'd trust that book.

 

[Kevin Caulfield]

Film is washing as we speak. Delighted with the results and will post at least one example. FX-15 is definitely back in my developing arsenal. It's the duck's guts.

The only thing that went slightly wrong is that it was my first use of a Kindermann reel and I had some slight film-loading issues. But that obviously has nothing to do with the developer.

 

[Trask]

Film is washing as we speak. Delighted with the results and will post at least one example. FX-15 is definitely back in my developing arsenal. It's the duck's guts.

The only thing that went slightly wrong is that it was my first use of a Kindermann reel and I had some slight film-loading issues. But that obviously has nothing to do with the developer.

I do look forward to seeing one or more examples — thanks.

 

[RalphLambrecht]

I do look forward to seeing one or more examples — thanks.

+1

 

[Kevin Caulfield]

I do look forward to seeing one or more examples — thanks.

I'll try to get into the darkroom some time in the next few days.

 

[Kevin Caulfield]

+1

I will try to get into the darkroom in the next few days, but I doubt that I will get anywhere near your level, Ralph Lambrecht.

 

[RalphLambrecht]

I will try to get into the darkroom in the next few days, but I doubt that I will get anywhere near your level, Ralph Lambrecht.

no magic;just remember the 10.000-hour rule.If you do something,anything for 10000h or more ,you get good enough to compete with the masters in the field. I've done this for over 50 years and sometimes 12/day.And I have many filled trash cans to prove it. Just keep at it.

 

[Kevin Caulfield]

Okay, Ralph, I have some way to go to get to the 10,000 hrs of printing, but I did spend an extra 1.5 hours in the darkroom this morning and I've posted a print in the gallery.

Apollo Bay Acros FX 15 (Acutol S)

• Kevin Caulfield
• Apr 19, 2019
• 5

Crayfish boat in Apollo Bay port at dawn. I'm using FX-15 again after a long hiatus.

 

[removedacct3]

Kevin, are you still using FX-15 and if so, any thoughts to share?

 

[Keith Tapscott.]

Check out Pentax Pete's photos on Flickr.
He often used FX15 and FX4 film developers.

 

[snusmumriken]

There's a review from 1964 online here. Seems appropriate for a 12-year-old thread. No hurry. The Photomemorabilia website covers Acu-developers and Paterson hardware in fine nostalgic detail.

 

[pentaxuser]

MrclSchprs, I have just come across a test by John Finch in which he compares the same scene in Pyrocat HD and FX15

Here it is:

 

[RalphLambrecht]

I've been thinking of trying this developer which used to be known as Paterson's Acutol S. I would have to buy the chemicals and mix it from scratch it appears.
Has anyone tried it, any opinions on the pros and cons of it? The Film Developing Cookbook speaks well of it.

I would trust the 'Developing Cookbook'. The authors know what they are talking about!

 

[runswithsizzers]

Does anyone know if there is any commercial, ready-made developer that is similar to Acutol S / Crawley's fx15?
(and available in the USA?)

 

[relistan]

Does anyone know if there is any commercial, ready-made developer that is similar to Acutol S / Crawley's fx15?
(and available in the USA?)

I know of nothing that has three developing agents in it like that (Spur developers do, but have lots of other things, too). Aside from 3 agents, FX-15 appears to be carefully pH-tuned and buffered. Neither of which can be said of D-76. However, D-76 would be the closest commercially available in look, but without the speed boost.

 

[runswithsizzers]

I know of nothing that has three developing agents in it like that (Spur developers do, but have lots of other things, too). Aside from 3 agents, FX-15 appears to be carefully pH-tuned and buffered. Neither of which can be said of D-76. However, D-76 would be the closest commercially available in look, but without the speed boost.

Thank you.

 

[pentaxuser]

Does anyone know if there is any commercial, ready-made developer that is similar to Acutol S / Crawley's fx15?
(and available in the USA?)

No but the ingredients do not seem hard to obtain. If you then don't like the look of FX15 you can always sell what you bought on Photrio

Yes I know this is not what you asked but it may be the only way to try it out

pentaxuser

 

[Augustus Caesar]

I have used it. It's excellent.

 

[relistan]

No but the ingredients do not seem hard to obtain. If you then don't like the look of FX15 you can always sell what you bought on Photrio

Yes I know this is not what you asked but it may be the only way to try it out

pentaxuser

They aren't hard to obtain but if you're not a person who is going to do a lot of experimenting, it's a fair bit of cash to lay out for the first test. You'll need three developing agents, restrainer, sulfite, metabisulfite, and two alkali. So probably $100 minimum to get started. Unless you have a friend who has some of it.

A much easier/cheaper place to get started with home mixed stuff would be something like D-23.

 

[runswithsizzers]

And in addition to the cost of the chemicals, I would also need to buy a scale that can accurately weigh 0.1g, right?

My concern with mixing up developer at home is not so much the initial cost, or the difficulty, but I wonder about stability of the necessary chemicals? I assume, if any one ingredient goes bad, the mixed developer will not work as expected?

I may try mixing my own developer one day, but there are several interesting commercially made developers I'd like to try first. I suspect factory-made developers are more precisely controlled for consistancy of results than what I could manage in my basement (but after getting burned on a bad batch of Kodak Xtol, maybe not?)

However, there may be a few diy formulas that produce results which are noticeably different from what can be obtained from any commercially prepared product, and therefore may be worth the effort. Is Acutol S / Crawley's FX-15 developer is one of those?

 

[runswithsizzers]

The information which appears on <this webpage> discusses the chronology of Patterson's film developing chemistries. I wonder why the chart shows Acutol S as an active product from 1964-1974, while they continued to promote their other film developing formulas long after the mid 1970s?

Can we assume Patterson thought their other developers offered some advantages over Acutol S?

Of course the "advantage" may have been something like cost, availability of ingredients, or stability issues -- so maybe does not suggest Patterson thought FX-15 was inferior to their other products with respect to the quality of processing results...?

 

[RalphLambrecht]

They aren't hard to obtain but if you're not a person who is going to do a lot of experimenting, it's a fair bit of cash to lay out for the first test. You'll need three developing agents, restrainer, sulfite, metabisulfite, and two alkali. So probably $100 minimum to get started. Unless you have a friend who has some of it.

A much easier/cheaper place to get started with home mixed stuff would be something like D-23.

true; there is too much to try for a lifetime. I settled on D76H twenty years ago but trying something else once in a while still itches me.

 

[relistan]

And in addition to the cost of the chemicals, I would also need to buy a scale that can accurately weigh 0.1g, right?

My concern with mixing up developer at home is not so much the initial cost, or the difficulty, but I wonder about stability of the necessary chemicals? I assume, if any one ingredient goes bad, the mixed developer will not work as expected?

I was not trying to discourage anyone from trying! Honestly it's not hard and the chemicals if stored properly will last many years in most cases. I was simply explaining that something like FX-15 is not maybe the place to start unless you are willing to make an investment.

I may try mixing my own developer one day, but there are several interesting commercially made developers I'd like to try first. I suspect factory-made developers are more precisely controlled for consistancy of results than what I could manage in my basement (but after getting burned on a bad batch of Kodak Xtol, maybe not?)

If you do the same thing each time with the same chemicals and equipment, it will be accurate enough to use your testing/times repeatably.

However, there may be a few diy formulas that produce results which are noticeably different from what can be obtained from any commercially prepared product, and therefore may be worth the effort. Is Acutol S / Crawley's FX-15 developer is one of those?

There are, for sure. I have not tried FX-15 myself so I can't say. But you could try one of the simpler DIY formulas to start with if you are nervous or don't want to pony up the money up front for all those ingredients.

true; there is too much to try for a lifetime. I settled on D76H twenty years ago but trying something else once in a while still itches me.

It is also fun to experiment! I enjoy it thoroughly