FX-39 shelf life: not too bad

I have a bottle of Paterson FX-39 at home. It's about half full and has been for six or seven months. Having heard about it's limited shelf life I had no high hopes for it. But I did a quick snip test and noticed that it darkened a strip of film in less than 45 sec, after a few minutes the strip was close to black.

So I mixed up a standard dilution and developed two rolls of MF Fuji Acros, 8 minutes with normal agitation. Negs look pretty nice. I'm not saying it's ideal to use old FX-39, but it works well, and you don't need to toss the developer after a few months in a bottle.

For some reason, FX-39 has a reputation for having a short life, but I've been using it for many years and have found it lasts well. And by the way, I also agree that it does a great job.

I think FX-39 keeps quite well. So there are two threads on Photrio about the lifespan of FX-39, and I have some Adox FX-39 which was made in mid 2016, and I have just done a clip test of frames from -3EV to +3EV like Blakemore would suggest, of a white towel. To my eye, its done a great job. I've also just done the same with some Compard R09, made in 2022, and its also been absolutely fine. I've not been storing these particularly well, they have been in my garage, which is not heated. Both developers were unopened. I guess with more exposure to oxygen, the results could have been different.

I have an unopened bottle of Fx-39II which is probably four years old. I wasn't planning to use it but I can't find it in the US anymore so now I'll test it. Thanks for sharing.

choppastyle said:

I have an unopened bottle of Fx-39II which is probably four years old. I wasn't planning to use it but I can't find it in the US anymore so now I'll test it. Thanks for sharing.

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FX-39II must be a hot seller. I just bought some a short while back after waiting months for Cinestil or Freestyle to get it back in stock. I bought two 500ml bottles and now I'm glad I did. I have them both in the fridge waiting for me to run some more HR-50 film through my Contax.