Originally Posted by
Drew Wiley
If you define "sharpness" in relation to edge acutance, that can affect your developer decision. I prefer PMK pyro for FP4 sheet film for a combination of traits, in which excellent acutance is just one. A developer which I previously used was Perceptol. When used at the usual 1:1 dilution, Perceptol creates a very highly detailed image but with relatively gentle acutance. When used at the higher 1:3 dilution, the solvent effect exhausts, and edge acutance is significantly enhanced, but with it, also grain crispness, and hence the appearance of grain itself. It's a tradeoff, depending on what you want. Pyro is a staining developer, so has that benefit, helping to hold highlight printability. FP4 is a lovely versatile film. You can use almost any common developer with FP4 with decent results.
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