Agfa Final
A universal fine-grain developer based on a boron-citrate buffer—a “timeless classic” for film and cinema with a history spanning nearly 80 years.
About the Developer
Agfa Final is a versatile, fine-grain, broad-spectrum developer for film and photographic materials that has been in production for over 75 years and has a huge following. Along with D-76 and Rodinal, it is considered a timeless classic that never goes out of style. Compared to D-76, it produces a wider range of negative densities within the same tonal range—some people like this, others don’t; it’s a matter of taste. The developer is extremely stable and retains its properties well even when partially used — largely thanks to the boron-citrate buffer composed of sodium tetraborate and trisubstituted sodium citrate, which provide the solution with a high buffer capacity.
Character
A versatile, fine-grain, general-purpose developer for motion picture and photographic film. It operates very cleanly, has a leveling effect, and is self-cleaning: oxidation products, along with gelatin impurities, precipitate as a coarse, flaky sediment that is easily separated from the solution.
Best films
General-purpose medium- and low-ISO films—Ilford FP4+/HP5+, Kodak Tri-X/T-Max, Fomapan 100/200/400, ORWO/Svema, motion picture negative—anywhere a universal developer is needed as a replacement for D-76.
How to Prepare and Use
- 1The developer is packaged in two bags: one contains the developing agents (metol and hydroquinone), and the other contains all the other components.
- 2Dissolve about half the contents of the large packet in approximately 750 ml of warm water.
- 3Once dissolved, add the entire contents of the small packet and wait until it is completely dissolved.
- 4Add the rest of the large package to the solution and stir until it is completely dissolved.
- 5Let the solution cool to room temperature, bring the volume to 1.0 liter, and filter it.
- 6One liter of developer is sufficient to process up to 10 rolls of 35mm film; use the standard processing time indicated on the film package for the first roll, and develop each subsequent roll for 1 minute longer.
Pros
- A wider range of negative densities than that of D-76, for the same gamma
- Excellent stability of the solution thanks to the boron-citrate buffer
- Self-cleaning—oxidation byproducts settle as flakes rather than as a cloud of sediment
Cons
- Not everyone prefers the wider tonal range compared to the D-76
- There are no ready-made time charts for specific modern films—only the times listed on the box
- Requires the two packets to be dissolved in the exact order
Recipe for 1 liter
The developer is packaged in two pouches—a large one (buffer salts) and a small one (developing agents). In warm water (~750 ml), dissolve half the contents of the large packet, then the entire contents of the small packet, and after it has dissolved, the remaining portion of the large packet. Cool to room temperature, bring the volume up to 1 L, and filter.
Chemical structures: PubChem (public domain)