Using FX21

A couple of weeks ago I mixed some FX21, it’s a Geoffrey Crawley creation and one that was produced commercially by Paterson back in the day, and known as Acuspecial. I have a vague memory of using it in those days, but not much. When I started out, I guess like most people, Paterson Universal developer (FX26) was easy, economical and could be used for both film and prints.

I’ve now developed my first roll with FX21- Ilford Delta 100, and I rather like it’s characteristics.

Even with scanning, (rather than printing) I like the way that the highlights almost seem too bright, and yet there is still detail, it’s almost like another half stop of brightness has been added. Likewise at the other end, the shadows seem to hold a little smidgen of extra detail before going to black. It’s nice and sharp, and the grain is low. Maybe not quite as low as FX55, but I like the fact that at the point of use, it’s a simple single solution to dilute. True, it’s more complicated to make in the first place, but not much, stirring is a simple enough task.

I’ve got a litre of it to use and at 1+14 that’s quite a bit of developer. At 600ml per 2 rolls, I’d get 50 rolls! So I look forward to trying a few different films in it – not least good old FP4. Of course I’ll show my results here!