Ethol U.F.G. Developer

J

jhthomasii

Established
Local time
10:21 AM
Joined
May 18, 2011
Messages
99
I can't find a whole lot of info on this developer but it seems interesting to me. I want to shoot Tri-x around 1250-1600 and I'm looking for a good developer for it. I don't know if I should give this a try or go with Diafine. Hopefully someone knows more about this stuff or even has some examples.
 
I have used UFG for at least 4 years. Very good stuff, it has a few tricks to it like most non standard dev.
I use it replenished, but the replenisher has been discontinued. I'm fairly certain that its possible to use the stock as a replenisher but haven't worked that out yet, I still have a few cans of the replenisher left.
It does produce a speed bump, yes that is correct, Tri-X I rate at 1000-1600 depending on the lighting.
Even though it makes a speed bump, negs that are over exposed are still very printable, the grain never reaches 'brick wall' status. This is only applicable to optical printing, where you can let the neg get an extreme amount of light, scanning you have to be more careful not to go to far unless you have a strong lamp in the scanner!
The grain size is pretty close to Rodinal, but I'd say that UFG has a bit more 'edge' to the grain. On very fine grain film it gives a pleasant texture and on coarser grain film that extra edge gives it a very nice crispness.
Agitation is a controllable variable that you need to focus on. Initial strong agitation for the first 30-45 sec (fuji films need more IMO) and then progressively softer and lighter agitation is what works well for me. Over agitation especially at the end of the development will take the highlights dense, very nice when looking for a bit more low light detail. Time and temp need to be pretty tight as well, keep in mind that the recommended times are based on 69.8 degrees F and not 68, I make a bit of adjustment (10%) as my replenished batch gets seasoned.
Overall it is a very good developer, very stable and long lasting. I mix up a liter (quart) and replenish that for at least a year, my record is 2 years. I used to hear about this developer being used in newspaper darkrooms in deep tanks and I can see why: Stable, super long lasting, speed boost, fine grain especially for the speed, smooth tonality.

Here is a link to my blog that has a very low light image shot on Ilford HP5+ with a Zeiss Planar ZM 50mm on a Leica M4, film rated at 800, printed on fiber and then the print scanned. Web jpeg doesn't do the print justice, enlarge the image to see the smooth but apparent grain.

http://four-silver-atoms.com/2012/02/24/twirl-st-regis-princeville-hanalei-kauai/

Send me an email from my blog if you want more advice on UFG.

Oh, in case it's in question, I've extensively used Diafine and vastly prefer UFG.
 
thanks. thats very helpful.

one question, can you reuse the developer without replenishing? i dont really now anything about replenishing.
 
Yes, you can do that, it takes a time modification for each set of 4 rolls. IMO that's not the best way. I would mix up a quart and then only use 1/2 for a two tank, saving the rest in another glass bottle, and after each 2 rolls pour off about 1 oz of the used developer and add back 1 oz from the fresh. Its not the very best way, the actual replenisher is more concentrated and has no restrainer but it will do for the 30 or so rolls until your fresh dev is done. You might have to adjust the amount you add but start with 1/2 oz.
 
I have a bunch of this developer in unopened cans. Use to use it all the time when I pushed Tri-x but with digital I don't push film. Has any body ever tried shortened developed with Tri-X or Plus-X at rated speeds?
 
Shorter development can work but IMO you're not going to get the most out of the film or developer. Instead you can use it with medium speed or slow speed films to gain some flexibility, for example I love love Fuji Acros at 200 or 250 in UFG. Beautiful tonality, and just enough bite to the grain to let viewers know it's really film and not digital.
For those of you who scored Freestyle bulk rolls of Acros at 23.99 for 100ft (like me :) having an extra stop on cheap Acros is pretty sweet.
 
if i buy a can that will make a gallon, do i have to make the whole gallon or can i just measure out enough for a quart? doesnt seem like the powder would be homogeneously mixed enough for that.
 
Trying to cut powder developers into smaller amounts never works too well. At least not for me. Works for fixer, but not developer.
 
Mix the whole gallon, split into 4 glass bottles, I use green mineral water bottles, hardware store has black pure rubber stoppers. Designate one as your working bottle, label it as such and then label the other 3 as 1,2,3 and replenish like I indicated. I would work on the 1st quart of replenisher and figure out what you need to do to keep it stable, my guess is 1/2-3/4 oz per roll of 36 exp. I'd dump the Working Bottle after about 10-12 batches of 4 rolls to start, but with the actual UFG replenisher I can keep the working bottle going pretty much indefinately. It is remarkably stable, so even if you don't use the other 2 bottles for a while (like years IMO) it will still be good. Sometimes I get busy with other projects and I check my notes and I can go 2-4 months without a roll thru it, and I'll do a test roll and yup, still works fine. Amazing stuff really....I sure hope they continue making it! I've got enough replenisher stocked up to last me a few more years and then I'll work out how to do the repenishment with just the stock, which is what I'm suggesting unless you find some of it around. Its in the aqua green can rather than the red can.
 
ok, so let me work this out. i only have 2 roll tanks so i will use the normal amount from bottle one. when i finish, i save it all except for an ounce or so. next time, use the same and add an ounce of fresh. figure out specific amounts and times as needed. hope i got that.
 
Also an easy way to test beforehand is to shoot one whole roll of an often used film at the same exposure, just rattle off a whole roll at correct exposure of what ever you rate it at, then pull out 2-3 exposures and process and check. One roll done like this can give you 5-7 test rolls that can help keep track if the dev is drifting.
 
heres a few shots from my first couple of rolls. i dont know if i did it right but this is exactly the look i was hoping for.

tumblr_m65ky08xJt1qmfeyto1_1280.jpg


tumblr_m6b9tv3K9p1qmfeyto1_500.jpg


tumblr_m6cynmy9cF1qmfeyto1_1280.jpg
 
Great! That really gets into the character of what that developer is all about. Did you scan the negs? If so, you can really see how it holds the detail in the highlights, even in pure sunlight. What film did you use?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom