[rollei_list] Re: OT: Enlargers/darkroom (again) (longish)
- From: Bernard <bernard_cousineau@xxxxxxxx>
- To: rollei_list@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Tue, 29 Nov 2005 20:30:58 -0500
All of these setups seem like overkill to me - it's a hobby (one of
several), I have a very young child (takes time) a new business (takes
time) and a girlfriend (takes time). On the one hand, I'd like to find a
setup I can use the next 20 years (or more), i.e. do it right the first
time. On the other, I'm thinking this is a lot of money for a hobby, and
I could probably get by just fine for now with a cheapo Meopta or
similar, and pick up something more solid in a few years time. On the
third hand, it feels easier to use money on lenses and camera gear than
on darkroom stuff, for some reason.
I think that a 4x5 enlarger can be less practical than a proper 6x6 enlarger for
Rollei negatives. Large format enlargers typically have huge neg carriers and
are meant for lenses of 150mm or longer. This means that you will be fiddling
around more trying to position your negatives (or unmounted chromes), and you
may have a harder time focussing against a fully compressed bellows (or you may
need a recessed lens board, which is a pain).
Another problem is that a light source which is designed to make huge prints
from 4x5 negs is probably much too powerful for dodging and burning smaller
prints from medium format negs.
Ideally, I want to have exposure times between 15 and 30 seconds at my lens's
optimal stop (5.6 for a good 80mm). If you are pumping 500 or more watts into an
area 54mm square, you may be looking at printing times of less than 5 seconds.
This makes perfect sense in a commercial lab, but it is practically useless for
fine printing.
If you later start shooting large format, you may find (as I have) that having
two enlargers is the better setup.
Bernard
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