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Aristo V54 bulb, Zone VI controller, and contrast?
I was recently doing some step-wedge testing and noticed
that anything higher than grade 3.5 looked prettmy much the same. Here are the details: Zone VI cold light head (Beseler 45) with Aristo V54 bulb, less than 2 hours total usage I guess Zone VI intensity controller Kodal Polymax filters (relatively new, high contrast barely used) Luminos Flexicon VC (= Kentmere Fineprint VC, I think), both in fiber and RC, also Forte Polymax fiber Silverprint Tektol neutral and Tektol standard developers The Aristo bulb is supposedly designed to work "better" with VC papers. It occurs to me just now (that I don't see any available darkroom time in the next couple of weeks, and being Sunday I can't ask Aristo) that I normally use my Zone VI controller with the intensity set at "F" to give me a little longer exposure at f/8. I can achieve stabilisation typically up to K or L once the bulb is warmed up. Here's my question - has anyone ever done experiments to assess contrast grades vs intensity with the Zone VI controller? If so, this could save me a bit of time and paper; if not, I'll do it myself and post the results, though it could be a while... TIA. Steve |
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Aristo V54 bulb, Zone VI controller, and contrast?
"Steve Goldstein" wrote
I was recently doing some step-wedge testing and noticed that anything higher than grade 3.5 looked prettmy much the same. Here are the details Zone VI cold light head Zone VI intensity controller I take it you have the ZVI single tube head and the 'cold light stabilizer' box with 'lamp intensity' and 'drydown' knobs. Kodal Polymax filters (relatively new, high contrast barely used) Luminos Flexicon VC (= Kentmere Fineprint VC, I think), both in fiber and RC, also Forte Polymax fiber Some possible causes: 1) Papers and filters are designed together: Kodak filters for Kodak papers, Ilford filters for Ilford paper ... I don't know what filters are best for Forte and Luminos [And Luminos can be _anything_, though if marked UK then it is probably Kentmere]. I would suggest giving Ilford filters a try. Looking at Forte's web site may give recommendations for filters. 2) Old paper looses contrast. Paper can sit on a dealer's shelf for years. 3) Cold light heads will shift spectrum with temperature, try leaving the enlarger on for 1/2 hr before printing. 4) Cold light heads and VC papers have never gotten along very well. However, the problem is usually that no low grades can be achieved. 5) Try developing for 5 minutes. VC and many graded papers are made from two or more emulsions with different contrasts. If the high contrast emulsion isn't developing fully then the print looses contrast though it may have full blacks. Try Dektol 1:1 as a check. Some papers and some developers have trouble developing fully: Forte and Arista developer are a bad combination - after 5 minutes the paper still hadn't developed fully. Forte graded will take 5 minutes in D-72 [Dektol] to develop to completion. -- Nicholas O. Lindan, Cleveland, Ohio Darkroom Automation: F-Stop Timers, Enlarging Meters http://www.nolindan.com/da/index.htm n o lindan at ix dot netcom dot com |
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