Simple English steps to use FX-39

fabulousrice

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I've only processed in color before using the C41 kit from CineStill, but I bought some FX-39 because I read on here that it was good for Fujifilm Super HR Microfilm negative.
But the bottle doesn't come with very many detailed instructions, and looking up online only provided me very technical explanations that I'm not sure I understand.

1-If I shoot about half a meter of 16mm BW film, and load it in the tank, how much water to how much developer should I mix?
2-Do I mix them at room temperature?
3-For how long?
4-How long should the bath be and how much agitation?
5-How do I increase development times after each bath to compensate for chemicals slowly losing their efficiency?

I really want to get it right doing it at home, because I took my first roll of the Super HR to the lab (shot on Minolta MG16) and the whole strip of film came back totally transparent so I'd like to know if it was their chemicals or the film isn't good anymore.

I would very much like potential answers to this to address each numbered question so I can start trying right away. Thanks all!
 

Doremus Scudder

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First, the fact that your negatives came out blank from the lab points to a shutter problem with your camera. Yes, this can happen with processing, i.e., when the film is accidentally treated with fixer before it is developed. I doubt a lab would make this mistake. Check your camera first before anything else.

To answer your questions:

"1-If I shoot about half a meter of 16mm BW film, and load it in the tank, how much water to how much developer should I mix?"

Standard dilution for FX-39 is 1+9; that's 1 part developer concentrate to 9 parts water to make 10 parts total. Take the volume of your tank and divide it by 10. Use that volume for the developer and 9 times that volume for the water.
Example: 8-ounce tank: 8 ÷ 10 = 0.8 oz: that's your developer concentrate amount. 0.8 x 9 = 7.2 oz. - that's the water.
If your tank is a different size, just use that volume to do those calculations.

"2-Do I mix them at room temperature?"

Processing temperature is 68°F / 20°C. Use that.

"3-For how long?"

Not sure what you want here. If it's developing time, then see below.

"4-How long should the bath be and how much agitation?"

Go here: https://www.digitaltruth.com/devcha...r=FX-39&mdc=Search&TempUnits=C' target='_self and see if your film is listed. If not, use the time for the film that seems the most similar in speed and use. This is a starting point only. You will likely have to adjust your developing time to get the contrast range you want on the negatives. So, shoot test negatives to start with till you have things right.
Agitate your tank for 30 seconds initially and then for five seconds every minute thereafter till developing time is up. Then pour out the developer and pour in the stop.

If you're not familiar with basic film developing techniques (it kind of sounds like your aren't), then read up on that first before doing anything else relating to film development. Maybe home processing is not for you? Then back to the lab.

"5-How do I increase development times after each bath to compensate for chemicals slowly losing their efficiency?"

With FX-39, you don't. It is meant to be used one-shot. You mix what you need for the tank size you have, develop one batch of film and then discard the developer. That's the easiest and most consistent way of doing things.

Hope this helps,

Doremus
 
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fabulousrice

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Thank you so so so much for this thorough answer! Extremely grateful for you for sharing your knowledge.

I forgot to ask whether or not I should fridge the FX39?

Here's a slow-motion of the shutter - do you think it looks like it doesn't work? I'm asking genuinely because I am really confused.

(http://imgur.com/kSdrYV5)
 

Doremus Scudder

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Store your developer in room temperature or slightly under. Refrigerating concentrates can cause chemicals to drop out of solution.

Not sure about the shutter... The image links to a blank screen at imgur. If that is indeed your shutter firing, then it's not opening at all

Just open up the camera back, point the camera at a brightly lit wall or a light source and watch what happens when you fire the shutter. If you don't see the shutter opening and closing, something's wrong.

Doremus
 

lamerko

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FX39 does not need to be refrigerated - it is a metol-hydroquinone developer.
For the MG-16 - I have one in excellent condition. Pay attention to the following things:
- the selenium cell is severely limited in poorer light - it will let you down. This film must be shot at 6-25 ASA to obtain acceptable results, which is below the lower sensitivity limit of the cell. It is also possible that it is not working correctly for you. Do a test with an external measurement;
- the protective cover of the lens blocks the shutter button, but it is possible that this does not work and you shot in the closed position;
- camera shutter problem - check if it works. Turn the aperture/speed dial to 30 at the black point and press the shutter button while looking into the lens. If it's ok, increase the speed to about 80 and try again. You should clearly see the difference in operation. If it doesn't open at all - then maybe it's better to look for another camera.
 
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fabulousrice

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Hi!

Re-reading your answer to get to processing, I am realizing I still have some confusion.

When I mix 1 part of the chemical and 9 parts of water, how much chemical is enough to make a usable “part”?

Can it be 10ml of developer and 90ml water?

Can it be 20ml dev and 180ml water?

How much of the stuff will process how much film surface?

And if I process using 10ml of developer and 90ml of water for a short strip of 16mm film, should the math be different if I process a whole roll of medium format?
 

koraks

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fabulousrice said:
How much of the stuff will process how much film surface?
Click to expand...

According to the FX39 datasheet, the capacity is determined primarily by tank volume. They give the example of 3-4 films per 100ml of concentrate assuming you use 250-300ml tank volume per film in the 1+9 dilution, and that the capacity will be higher if the weaker dilution of 1+14 is used, since you then use less concentrate.

fabulousrice said:
Can it be 10ml of developer and 90ml water?

Can it be 20ml dev and 180ml water?
Click to expand...

Both are possible, for smaller strips of film. I'd expect the 100ml final volume to be good for at least one 12-exposure strip of 35mm film. However, I expect it'll develop a 24-exposure or even 36-exposure roll just fine - but at some point, extension of development time will be necessary.

fabulousrice said:
And if I process using 10ml of developer and 90ml of water for a short strip of 16mm film, should the math be different if I process a whole roll of medium format?
Click to expand...

You will probably use a larger volume of developer for a 120 roll. The math is only different in the sense that the entire volume scales up. For instance, I usually do medium format in a Jobo 1520 tank with rotary agitation and I use 250ml for this. With FX39 in its default 1+9 dilution, this would be 25ml concentrate + 225ml water. Since 25ml concentrate should be fine for a single roll of film, this would work just as well as the 10+90 developer for a short strip of 16mm film.

So the math doesn't change, only the parameters change.
 

250swb

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You just need to have enough developer to cover the film in the tank plus a bit. So whatever is 'enough' divide that by ten and whatever the answer is will be the amount of developer you mix with water. So a 35mm film in a Paterson tank needs 300ml of developer (strictly 290ml but it is easier to round up), if the dilution is one part developer to nine parts water dividing 300ml by ten is 30ml of developer topped up to make 300ml of developer solution. If you are using a Paterson tank to process medium format it needs 500ml of developer solution to cover the film, so divide 500 by ten and you get 50ml of neat developer topped up with water to make 500ml. So you just need to look up the amount of developer needed for different films for the tank you are using, of if you are using an odd sized film measure how much you will need to cover it.
 

Augustus Caesar

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I recommend filling the tank almost completely, not just covering the film. If you put just enough to cover the film, the developer will slosh around violently, causing surge marks and uneven development.
 

john_s

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I advocate non-violence, especially for film development. Seriously though, the amount of air in the top of the tank makes quite a difference to the effectiveness of agitation and is often ignored in endless debates about how much agitation is too much or not enough.
 

koraks

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john_s said:
the amount of air in the top of the tank makes quite a difference to the effectiveness of agitation
Click to expand...

Can you illustrate this difference between a Paterson tank with one roll of 35mm and 300ml of developer (just covering the reel) and 500ml of developer (surface level well above the reel, but well below the top of the tank)?
 

250swb

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Augustus Caesar said:
I recommend filling the tank almost completely, not just covering the film. If you put just enough to cover the film, the developer will slosh around violently, causing surge marks and uneven development.
Click to expand...

You could use the twiddle stick instead of sloshing. And filling nearly to the top of the tank isn't going to move the developer much, if your aim is to reverse the developer from the top to the bottom of the tank a few air bubbles won't do it, just as filing the tank completely the developer wouldn't move at all.
 

john_s

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koraks said:
Can you illustrate this difference between a Paterson tank with one roll of 35mm and 300ml of developer (just covering the reel) and 500ml of developer (surface level well above the reel, but well below the top of the tank)?
Click to expand...

Well, my response was to a post about violent sloshing, and if one wants to agitate violently, having a large air space will indeed make the agitation greater in effect compared to a small air space. In the case cited to which I'm now responding, if one agitated the way I do, the difference would be fairly small, perhaps not even noticeable. I agitate by tipping the tank over 360 degrees twice with a small rotation between each turn, so that the developer moves quite a bit but not fast or with much turbulence. I have read that some people agitate much more vigorously and in those cases the air space would make more difference. Probably not much of this matters as long as one is consistent. I prefer to have not much air space in my tanks, perhaps because I became used to using a developer which was prone to oxidation, often reported, but not experienced by me to a noticeable extent.
 

koraks

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@john_s I agree that there's a difference between an entirely full tank, and one with a considerable amount of air in it. The latter will make agitation by inversion easier or more vigorous. However, that's quite different from the more general statement that the amount of air in the tank matters! That's why I nitpicked on your post (sorry about that). Thanks for clarifying your reasoning.
 

MattKing

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It is probably best to just make clear that one should have at least some air space, because otherwise the fluid isn't as easily agitated.
When I help newbies learn, I recommend that with most tanks agitation should cause the fluid to tumble through the reel and film and gurgle, and you should be able to hear and feel that.
AS is probably obvious, I'm not a fan of reduced agitation.
 

Augustus Caesar

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koraks said:
No. As long as the developer covers the film entirely, there's no problem. Thousands upon thousands of photographers have done it this way for many decades.
Click to expand...

You must keep the level of solution close to filled to obtain consistent results. No matter how many people "just cover" the reels, a moment's reflection will show that this is not good practice.
 

Augustus Caesar

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The purpose of agitation is simply to disperse bromide, and very little agitation is required to do that. I use Paterson tanks, and almost fill the tank. I invert the tank and rotate it as I invert. I do this two times in succession, once per minute. My negatives look uniform. I use 35mm format.
 

koraks

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Augustus Caesar said:
You must keep the level of solution close to filled to obtain consistent results. No matter how many people "just cover" the reels, a moment's reflection will show that this is not good practice.
Click to expand...

Again, thousands of people do it this way and make it out of the woods without surge marks. E.g. 300ml for a 35mm roll in a Paterson System 4 tank just covers the reels and it works perfectly fine, every time. Heck, the manufacturer of the tank even recommends it (actually, it's 290ml...)
 

Augustus Caesar

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That figure is not a "recommendation" but simply data on the minimum volume required to cover the film when using the swizzle stick. They do a disservice by including the swizzle stick, as agitation using that stick is not as good as inversion. For inversion, it is best to fill the tank almost all the way. This allows the developer to move enough to disperse the bromide and avoid streaks.
 
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koraks

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Augustus Caesar said:
This allows the developer to move enough to disperse the bromide and avoid streaks.
Click to expand...

A smaller volume of developer will also allow the different development byproducts to disperse evenly. There's really no difference in this respect from a practical point of view.

Experiences with the twizzle stick vary. I've used it plenty of times without trouble, even for color. I'm not the only one, either. I guess the people who have trouble with it are being too gentle. The stick should be twisted in a brisk manner, changing directly abruptly. Test with a similar setup in a glass beaker and a little dye added to some water to observe the hydrodynamics. You'll understand.
 

Augustus Caesar

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koraks said:
A smaller volume of developer will also allow the different development byproducts to disperse evenly. There's really no difference in this respect from a practical point of view.
.
Click to expand...

Not so. The solution will move faster than is necessary, and may cause surge marks. I invert and twist all in one motion, twice, once per minute. I would be inclined to believe that more film is over-agitated than under-agitated (except among the "stand" people).
 
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