If you’ve been shooting film for more than a few months, you’ve almost certainly used or at least heard of the golden trinity of developers: Kodak D-76, Ilford ID-11, and HC-110. They are reliable, predictable, and frankly, a little boring.
In the Darkroom with Osiris F1: The Alchemist’s Alternative to D-76 osiris f1 film developer
Osiris F1 produces what I call "structured grain." It’s not the invisible, plastic-y grain of XTOL or DD-X. It’s also not the volcanic, artistic grain of Rodinal. It sits in the middle. Under a loupe, the grain looks tight and sharp, like fine sandpaper rather than jagged rocks. Scans come out looking detailed without requiring heavy sharpening in post. If you’ve been shooting film for more than
But every so often, a niche chemist or a small-batch manufacturer releases something that makes you question why we all settled for the standard formulas. is one of those developers. It’s also not the volcanic, artistic grain of Rodinal