High-accutance developers?

Pan-X was very nice film, and different than Pan-F in useful ways. The ones I'd want back are Agfapan 25, traditional Tri-X and Verichrome Pan...

PK... I completely agree with you regarding Agfapan 25. I loved that film in Rodinal.

Tetenal has been tinkering with Neofin Blue for quite some time. Phenidone was added at least two decades ago and IIRC correctly hydroquinone at nearly the same time.

I should correct a previous post. Sadly Ethol TEC is no longer made another victim of the ever contracting film market.

There are acutance developers, developers that claim to give high acutance, and others. It gets pretty confusing, especially because technique, as mentioned above, plays a big role in getting results. Most depend on local exhaustion, so agitation becomes crucial - not much, but just enough.

The Beutler developers cause a lot of confusion. First, Beutler formulated a lot of developers, and not all of them were designed for high acutance. People get them confused on a regular basis. Next, there have been many derivations from the Beutler developers. More confusion.

The simplest acutance developer I've seen is AH-18, listed in Haist - just a quarter of a gram of metol and 10 grams of sulfite in a liter of water. Most acutance developers are pretty simple. The working solutions are generally quite dilute (which supports local exhaustion), and the sulfite content is generally quite low (avoiding solvent effects and bad changes to the grain structure). But Crawley's FX-37 was touted as an acutance developer, and it doesn't follow these rules. Several developers, like GSD-10, claim both fine grain and high acutance, qualities that usually do not go together. But Xtol is known for fine grain and excellent acutance. Ilford Hyfin is a high acutance developer of the traditional sort:

Metol 0.5 g
Sodium sulfite 5 g
Sodium carbonate 5 g
WTM 1l

Like many acutance developers it has very specific agitation instructions and a warning that at least 600 ml of solution is required for each roll of film. Notice that this developer has a pretty high pH. That is also a characteristic of many high acutance developers. Many use sodium carbonate or sodium hydroxide to keep the activity up in the dilute solution. Suzuki's DS-2 is an acutance developer using both metol and ascorbic acid.

Gerald C Koch said:

I should correct a previous post. Sadly Ethol TEC is no longer made another victim of the ever contracting film market.

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If anyone is in need, Denver Pro Photo had a large stock last time I was in.

nworth said:

Metol 0.5 g
Sodium sulfite 5 g
Sodium carbonate 5 g
WTM 1l

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Reminds me of Perceptol, though with less sulfite.

Slixtiesix said:

Reminds me of Perceptol, though with less sulfite.

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The Beutler formula and Perceptol are very different. The high sulfite concentration in Perceptol destroys any acutance.

nworth said:

Ilford Hyfin is a high acutance developer of the traditional sort:

Metol 0.5 g
Sodium sulfite 5 g
Sodium carbonate 5 g
WTM 1l

Like many acutance developers it has very specific agitation instructions and a warning that at least 600 ml of solution is required for each roll of film. Notice that this developer has a pretty high pH.

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Hyfin also contains Glycin. Mason gives the above formula as an example but adds that KI or Pinacryptol Yellow are sometimes used also Glycin in the same proportion as the Metol. I still have some Hyfin and you can clearly see the oxidised Glycin.

Ian

Michael R 1974 said:

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Just a correction to nworth's post above re AH-18. It also contained 20g/l Kodalk.

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You are correct about the Kodalk in AH-18. It is needed to bring the pH up to a level where the developer is sufficiently active. Somehow the secondary reference I copied from omitted it. (Beware of secondary references.) My reference for Hyfin is Mason's book. Once again, this is a secondary reference. Grant has noted the additions before. Glycin in this developer makes sense. It is fairly common in similar developers.

So, I'm in the market to look for a new developer to try out. I have most experience with HC-110 and just finishing up my first bottle (finally). I'm honestly quite happy with it, and it's convenience. The only others I've tried (with much less experience) are Rodinal and D-76. I also like these with my first few rolls of D-76 perhaps being the most satisfactory, but it's far too early to say.

I've been looking into the Photographer's Formulary developers...the amount of developers is bewildering! And the description of half of them basically say 'pick me, I'm the best developer you'll ever try...'. So I've come for some guidance!

I use pretty much all the Ilford films available with FP4 and HP5 being the main ones and Delta 400 and Pan F right behind them. Things I would like in a developer with these films in order (but they're all pretty important so if one is lacking huge in one area, I probably won't like it much).

-Good tonal gradation: from shadows to highlights
-High acutance with moderate to fine grain (I actually don't mind seeing grain, but I'm particular with grain structure. I really enjoy FP4 in HC-110 for example, even if the grain is a bit big)
-Shadow detail
-Expansion and contraction capabilities (this is a grey area for me. In reading the tech sheets, the stain developers seem to handle contrast well without the need for N+ or N- development)
-Good Speed

I think I've come to the conclusion I'd like to try one of these four (in no particular order):

-F-1027
-DiXACTOL Ultra
-Pyrocat HD
-TFX-2

I shoot across all formats and would like to boil my choices two one, maybe two developers. I would LOVE to be able to develop using rotary systems so I don't have to sit there to agitate for every roll I process. I have a diffusion enlarger and I use VC FB paperts. I do high-key, low-key, and 'regular key(?)' photos often on the same roll. I know I'm asking for a lot, but some advice on how to get as close as I can to my goals is always better. Like, I said, I'm pretty happy with my results at the moment, but I can't settle on D-76 when I keep reading about all these 'wonder' developers I've never tried!

Perhaps I should post a new thread?!

KidA said:

Perhaps I should post a new thread?!

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Good idea.

the reference to Altman & Henn's AH-18 seems to be missing the kodalk 20g/L according to this reference here.