FX-15 Film Developer
Geoffrey Crawley’s FX-15 (Acutol-S) film developer. A sharpened up D-76 if you like.
Recipe
| Chemical | Amount |
|---|---|
| Water (50 °C) | 750 ml |
| Metol | 3.5 g |
| Sodium sulfite (anhydrous) | 100 g |
| Hydroquinone | 2.25 g |
| Phenidone1 | 0.1 g |
| Sodium metabisulfite | 0.5 g |
| Borax | 2.5 g |
| Sodium carbonate (anhydrous) | 1 g |
| Potassium bromide | 1.5 g |
| Water to make | 1000 ml |
Mix chemicals in the listed order. Make sure each chemical is completely dissolved before mixing the next one. Mix a pinch of the sodium sulfite before mixing the metol. Use distilled or deionized water for improved keeping properties. The stock solution may be diluted with tap water at the time of development.
Usage
Use stock solution or dilute 1+1 and develop at 20 °C. Starting development time is unknown. I suggest starting with D-76 times or slightly shorter.
| Film | Dilution | EI | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ilford Pan F+ | 1+1 | 80 | 7:00 |
| Ilford FP4+ | 1+1 | 160 | 8:00 |
Comments
Multiple slightly different formulas are found in internet searches. I don’t know which one is correct. The formula listed above is Ian Grant’s.
- Ian Grant, https://www.photrio.com/forum/threads/anyone-know-where-to-find-reliable-crawley-fx-formulas.49723/
- John Finch, http://pictorialplanet.com/advanced_photography/fx-15_crawley_developer.html
- Pentax Pete, http://www.film-and-darkroom-user.org.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=693
Supposedly this developer yields box or higher film speed.
Footnotes:
Measuring small quantities of phenidone, see Phenidone Solution