If you have never heard of FX-37, don’t worry. I didn’t know about the developer either until I saw a post from Flic Film about it on their Instagram feed. It fits in with the plethora of other “FX” developers, some of which I have reviewed on the blog (FX-39 II and FX-2). FX-37 is the invention of noted British photographer Geoffrey Crawley to solve the problem of sharpness in T-Grained emulsions. As a developer, FX-37 is a non-solvent developer designed to maximise the sharpness of these modern emulsions but can also work with traditional cubic-grained films.
Nikon D750 – AF Nikkor 50mm 1:1.4D
Technical Details
Manufacturer: Flic Film
Name: Crawley’s FX-37
Primary Developer: Hydroquinone & Phenidone
Type: One-Shot
Mix From: Liquid & Powder
Handling
The Flic Film kit comes in three parts mixed into a single 1L stock solution. Starting with 750mL of distilled water at 23°C (73°F), mix Part A until dissolved, then add in Part B, pour in Part C, and then top up with distilled water to make up the 1L solution. When I mixed this up, I stirred the developer by hand. It took a long time to get Part A completely dissolved, so I think some form of mechanical assistance would help out. I wouldn’t turn up the speed too much as it might negatively affect the developer. There is also no documentation saying that you must stir by hand. The solution, when stored in a cool, dry location, will last up to six months. However, the stock solution is not useable and must be diluted with water in several different dilutions. The most common is a 1+3 dilution, which gives you eight 500mL sets of working solutions and allows you to expose the film at its box speed. In most cases, there are a few that you have to either shoot faster or slower than the box. There are more dilute mixes, which include 1+5 and 1+9, to increase the number of rolls per litre, but if you are using those more dilute mixes, you do have to under-expose the film (expose at a faster speed). FX-37 is a one-shot developer, meaning that you will dispose of the working solution after use. Then, use a standard acid or water stop bath and a regular rapid fixer. The developer works well in hand tanks and rotary systems with the appropriate adjustments to times. One thing I have noticed is that most of the time, are no more than ten minutes, with only three over the ten-minute market. There are a few films that have developing times under five minutes; again, don’t be afraid of these; if it’s coming from Crawley, I’m trustworthy in his experience rather than what ‘other’ people say. FX-37 is also a developer that you can mix at home yourself from base chemistry. Starting again with the 750mL of distilled water, add 60g of Anhydrous Sodium Sulfite, 5g of Hydroquinone, 5g of Sodium Carbonate, .5g Phenidone, 2.5g Borax, .5g Potassium bromide, 5mL 1% benzotriazole, then top up to 1L with distilled water.
Applications
The number one application for this developer is the use of T-Grained film. This is, of course, the Kodak TMax (100, 400 and 3200) line of films. It also does wonders with Ilford Delta (100, 400, and 3200). And with the Fujifilm Neopan line (Acros 100 (II), 400 and 1600). This is a developer that you reach for when you want to maximise the sharpness that these modern emulsions are known for without dissolving some of the silver to reduce the visibility of the grain. The one thing that you will also note is that in some cases, you are also going to see an increase in the film speed for slower films; on average, you’re looking at a third to full-stop increase. Like Diafine, FX-37 has a way of levelling out of the playing field to a speed that works best for the developer. But don’t just use modern emulsions with FX-37. It also works with traditional cubic-grained films like FP4+, HP5+, and Tri-X. But does so without increasing the visible grain.
Qualities
Going into this review I had no benchmark on what the final results should look like, I’ve worked with non-solvent developers before so I had some idea of grain. But it also helped out that I was working with films that already had fine-grain and good sharpness. So when I went into this I was expecting some visible grain, but I was blown away by how sharp the images were without having that visible grain. And that’s even in a few cases where I had to expose the films slightly faster than box speed (usually one to two thirds under) to compensate for using a more dilute developer. But even when using the standard dilution and shooting at box speed the results are spectacular. You get excellent edge sharpness without it being too noticeable, and it shows off that modern grain structure on all films. I noticed this uptick in sharpness in the slower films like Delta 100 and TMax 100. The TMax 400 was amazing with the usual sharpness I’ve come to expect from the stock and the Delta 400 turned out good also but a bit more gritty. But it also does an excellent job with traditional films like Ilford FP4+, which did not get overly grainy either. The one thing I noticed is contrast, FX-37 seems to be a low-contrast developer, which also helps with the overall sharpness of the images, you get long tonal range with lots of greys between your black & white points.
Additional Times
The one thing that is missing in a lot of the online resources for Crawley’s FX-37 is available times, even the massive dev chart is missing a handful of times and more specifically times that allow for the use of a film’s box speed and a 1+3 dilutions. Thankfully Flic Film has provided a short list that is included in the box. So I’m going to list those combinations below. The one film that I would have liked to have tried is Fomapan 200, maybe next kit I get I’ll try and workshop a combination. I’ll also note that I did try all of these times except for the P3200 times and got excellent results.
- Ilford Delta 100 @ ASA-100 – Crawley’s FX-37 (1+3) 7:30 @ 20C
- Ilford Delta 400 @ ASA-400 – Crawley’s FX-37 (1+3) 8:00 @ 20C
- Kodak TMax 100 @ ASA-100 – Crawley’s FX-37 (1+3) 8:00 @ 20C
- Kodak TMax 400 @ ASA-400 – Crawley’s FX-37 (1+3) 9:00 @ 20C
- Kodak TMax P3200 @ ASA-3200 – Crawley’s FX-37 (1+3) 8:00 @ 20C
- Fujifilm Neopan Acros 100 II – Crawley’s FX-37 (1+3) 6:30 @ 20C
Lowdown
The trouble with these reviews is that I can only include so many types of films, and that’s on me. I designed and framed these reviews from the beginning. But I did make it through the entire bottle of FX-37 and included some of the other T-Grain film stocks I could find developing times for. Now, I couldn’t include these, but if you pop over to YouTube, you can see all the images, including results from Delta 400 and TMax 400. I like FX-37. It is a developer who surprised me with how nice it made the film look without blowing out the visible grain. Crawley was on to something that didn’t make me want to tape up my eyes with how sharp the images are (Remember FX-2?). Another nice touch is that a Canadian company, Flic Film, is located in Alberta. They have made it available through several Canadian suppliers, including Studio Argentique in Montreal, Quebec, where my kit came from. I can see myself using FX-37 again if I have a specific project with T-Grain films or using Acros for portrait work. Plus, the developer’s cost and the number of rolls per kit make it an economical developer. I can add FX-37 to the list of developers I can bring back when the situation asks for these qualities. The more tools in your kit, the better.
Recommended Reading
Don’t just take my word on FX-37 check out these other blogs on the subject!
Photographicanalysis – What is FX37?