Enlarger question at rental darkroom

The following enlarger setups are available at my local rental darkroom:

Omega D5XL (Super Chromega D Dichroic II) w/ Chromegatrol Timer
Omega D5 XL w/ Saunders LPL Digital Timer
Omega D5 XL w/ Beseler Audible Timer
Omega D5 w/ Beseler Audible Timer
Open Station / Workspace
Omega D5 XL (Super Chromega D Dichroic II) w/ Omega Chromegatrol Timer
Omega D5 w/ Beseler Audible Timer
Beseler 23C III Dichro Colorhead w/ Beseler Audible Timer

I'm unfamiliar with the different heads, are the dichroics appropriate for
B&W?

I haven't received a response regarding the non-dichroic setups yet. This
is a B&W only darkroom so I assume they're ok. I'm only familiar with the
Beselers so if the dichro is ok I'd probably use that 23C III.

Thanks,
Greg
--
http://lodesertprotosites.org

Dethink to survive - Mclusky

G.T. wrote:
The following enlarger setups are available at my local rental darkroom:

......
I'm unfamiliar with the different heads, are the dichroics appropriate for
B&W?

I haven't received a response regarding the non-dichroic setups yet. This
is a B&W only darkroom so I assume they're ok. I'm only familiar with the
Beselers so if the dichro is ok I'd probably use that 23C III.

There are three kinds of lights used in enlargers. The most common is an
incandescent lamp, similar to the ones that are (or used to be) in your
home.

Dichroic heads are incandescent bulbs with stepped filters between them
and the negative. Since they are designed to always be the same color,
they are often low voltage bulbs with electronicaly controlled (stabilized)
voltage, so the color and intensity does not vary. With the filters set to
000, they are just brighter lamps as far as B&W printing is concerend.
They may also have a slightly higher color temperature as they tend to
run "hotter". Again no problems.

You can also use the dichroic filters to make the equivalent of variable
contrast filters for variable contrast paper. Charts can easily be found
on the web. Make sure to get the right ones for your paper. AFAIK all
modern papers use the same ones, but different companies recommend
different settings.

If I were you, I would pick one enlarger and stick with it. That way any
variations between color heads, bulbs and filters won't affect you.

Geoff.

--
Geoffrey S. Mendelson, Jerusalem, Israel N3OWJ/4X1GM

It's all good equipment and the dichro gear is a nice way to deal with
variable contrast papers. There is much information on the filter use
for this on the net. If you have trouble finding or understanding
what you find, let me know and I'll email you some charts to get
started.

If the enlargers are well maintained and aligned, the lens quality and
your focusing technique will be a big determining factor in the
sharpness you achieve. With these nice enlargers, my guess is that
there are some decent optics attached and your learning should be
initially on learning your materials and understanding tones, etc.

Have fun and don't be afraid to ask for help. It can be a bit
confusing anf frustrating to sort it all by yourself and it becomes
much more enjoyable once you've gotten the basic skills mastered.

On Mon, 28 Jul 2008 13:22:03 -0700, "G.T."
wrote:

The following enlarger setups are available at my local rental darkroom:

Omega D5XL (Super Chromega D Dichroic II) w/ Chromegatrol Timer
Omega D5 XL w/ Saunders LPL Digital Timer
Omega D5 XL w/ Beseler Audible Timer
Omega D5 w/ Beseler Audible Timer
Open Station / Workspace
Omega D5 XL (Super Chromega D Dichroic II) w/ Omega Chromegatrol Timer
Omega D5 w/ Beseler Audible Timer
Beseler 23C III Dichro Colorhead w/ Beseler Audible Timer

I'm unfamiliar with the different heads, are the dichroics appropriate for
B&W?

I haven't received a response regarding the non-dichroic setups yet. This
is a B&W only darkroom so I assume they're ok. I'm only familiar with the
Beselers so if the dichro is ok I'd probably use that 23C III.

Thanks,
Greg

Craig Schroeder
craig nospam craigschroeder com

"Craig Schroeder" wrote in message
...
It's all good equipment and the dichro gear is a nice way to deal with
variable contrast papers. There is much information on the filter use
for this on the net. If you have trouble finding or understanding
what you find, let me know and I'll email you some charts to get
started.


Thanks guys. I have my own Ilford filters that I bought when I took a
class, and I'm way more familiar with using them than I would be with using
a dichroic head. I don't want to waste too much time relearning if I don't
need to.

Here's the lenses that they currently have:

Nikon EL Nikkor
50mm 2.8 (2)
63mm 2.8
75mm 1.4
80mm 5.6
105mm 5.6 (2)
135mm 5.6 (2)

Rodenstock Apo-Rodagon
150mm 1.4

Rodenstock Rodagon
50mm 2.8 (3)
105mm 1.6

Rodenstock Rogonar
90mm 1.4

Schneider-Krauznach
50mm 1.4

My negs so far are 35mm, 6x4.5, and 6x7.

Greg

On Mon, 28 Jul 2008 13:22:03 -0700, "G.T."
wrote:

The following enlarger setups are available at my local rental darkroom:

Omega D5XL (Super Chromega D Dichroic II) w/ Chromegatrol Timer
Omega D5 XL w/ Saunders LPL Digital Timer
Omega D5 XL w/ Beseler Audible Timer
Omega D5 w/ Beseler Audible Timer
Open Station / Workspace
Omega D5 XL (Super Chromega D Dichroic II) w/ Omega Chromegatrol Timer
Omega D5 w/ Beseler Audible Timer
Beseler 23C III Dichro Colorhead w/ Beseler Audible Timer

I'm unfamiliar with the different heads, are the dichroics appropriate for
B&W?

I haven't received a response regarding the non-dichroic setups yet. This
is a B&W only darkroom so I assume they're ok. I'm only familiar with the
Beselers so if the dichro is ok I'd probably use that 23C III.

Thanks,
Greg

Craig Schroeder
craig nospam craigschroeder com

"G.T." wrote in message
...
The following enlarger setups are available at my local
rental darkroom:

Omega D5XL (Super Chromega D Dichroic II) w/ Chromegatrol
Timer
Omega D5 XL w/ Saunders LPL Digital Timer
Omega D5 XL w/ Beseler Audible Timer
Omega D5 w/ Beseler Audible Timer
Open Station / Workspace
Omega D5 XL (Super Chromega D Dichroic II) w/ Omega
Chromegatrol Timer
Omega D5 w/ Beseler Audible Timer
Beseler 23C III Dichro Colorhead w/ Beseler Audible Timer

I'm unfamiliar with the different heads, are the dichroics
appropriate for B&W?

I haven't received a response regarding the non-dichroic
setups yet. This is a B&W only darkroom so I assume
they're ok. I'm only familiar with the Beselers so if the
dichro is ok I'd probably use that 23C III.

Thanks,
Greg
--
http://lodesertprotosites.org

Dethink to survive - Mclusky
Variable contrast paper usually has color head settings
listed for various contrast grades. The color head works
fine but you may lose the constant speed property of the
fixed filters and, on some heads, the extremes of contrast
may not be available. You can use filters by setting the
color head for minimum filtering although you may have a
problem finding a place for the filters. Once you get used
to the color head you will find it convenient.
The D5 is an excellent enlarger, the XL means Xtra-Long
and refers to the support column. I can't tell you anything
about the various timers.


--
---
Richard Knoppow
Los Angeles, CA, USA