John Wiegerink
Subscriber
Paul,Most likely it's because the shutter speed was 1/125th and it was quite windy, (I tried to wait for things to calm before exposing each frame) so there may be some motion blur in some frames.
I chose FP4 because it is so flat when dry, so there shouldn't be any issue with scanner focus. I might scan one of the other Xtol frames and see if it looks any difference. I suppose it's possible that FX-55 might not have the same grain solvent ability that Xtol has, due to the lack of sulfite.
I wouldn't waste my time doing that extra scanning unless you feel like it. The difference could be just as you say, but whatever it is it isn't worth fretting over. I've been using mostly Foam films for testing cameras after repair/tune-up and find the curl and cupping makes a pretty fair film almost unusable for anything but testing. That's a problem I don't have with Ilford films, which makes it worth paying a few pennies more. I have pretty much given up trying to experiment with non-staining developers. Adox XT-3 replenished does all I want it to do and it lasts nearly forever. So, as for a Vitamin C developer it's my magic bullet. I did use Mytol, Karl R's PC-512 and Gainer's PC-TEA and there is nothing wrong with any of those. I guess it's different strokes for different folks!