Can I use Ilford PQ Universal to develop 35mm film?

[ColdEye]

Hi! I just bought my darkroom chemicals and equipment. I picked it up in Nelson Photo. The developer they have there is Ilford PQ Universal. Then while I was reading the label (after I bought it, stupid me) it says do not use on 135/120. Is there a way to use this on normal BW film (fuji neopan 400)?

[MattKing]

Hi! I just bought my darkroom chemicals and equipment. I picked it up in Nelson Photo. The developer they have there is Ilford PQ Universal. Then while I was reading the label (after I bought it, stupid me) it says do not use on 135/120. Is there a way to use this on normal BW film (fuji neopan 400)?

How much do you like grainy negatives?

Unless the answer is "a lot", you don't want to use this developer for 35mm film.

It is very good as a paper developer.

[ColdEye]

I like grain, but too much is not good. how grainy are we talking about?

[MattKing]

Tough to describe - and actually, my experience was with either HP5 or Tri-X, not with Neopan.

Personally, I'd wait until I had an appropriate film developer in hand.

[2F/2F]

It is not recommended by Ilford for 35mm film, because it causes a lot of graininess. They say it works OK with larger formats. If you want grain, I'd go right ahead! Using paper developer to get grain is a common trick.

[ColdEye]

Hmmm. Yeah, I guess I'll wait, the ones I'm gonna develop are quite important to me. How about kodak xtol? the one in powder form? Is that suitable? Can't remember if that was the other developer they had or if it is dektol.

[2F/2F]

Hmmm. Yeah, I guess I'll wait, the ones I'm gonna develop are quite important to me. How about kodak xtol? the one in powder form? Is that suitable? Can't remember if that was the other developer they had or if it is dektol.

Check out the Kodak Webpage for a listing of their developers, and what they are intended for. X-Tol is a film developer. Dektol is a paper developer. They both come as powders.

[ColdEye]

Thanks, will do that. Can't wait to try developing.

[mr.datsun]

I like grain, but too much is not good. how grainy are we talking about?

Although Ilford do not recommend this developer for 35mm, I've used it for 35mm TX400. It's quite fine grained, imo. I think more so than Rodinal at 1+25. Actually, I was almost disappointed in its finess.

So I used PQ on TX400 @ 320ASA. Diluted 1:19 for 4mins with agitation for 30s + 5s every 30s. Personally I'd like to try 1:9 but the shorter dev time would be hard to handle!

Worth exploring on a film you can afford to experiment with.

[2F/2F]

It's called a universal developer for a reason and I've used it for 35mm film. It's quite fine grained, imo. Actually, I was almost disappointed in its finess.

I used PQ on TX400 @ 320ASA 1:19 for 4mins with agitation for 30s + 5s every 30s.

Well worth exploring.

I do not doubt it with tabular-grained films. It would be hard to make T-Max all that grainy in almost any developer.