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> Check your safelights! |
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#21
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#22
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Thanks Mike |
#23
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Safelights
I have two. one is an ancient Patterson which is to the left of where I work and is fitted with a red filter I have never noticed any fogging at all whatever paper I use. It is about 12" from the ceiling and the light is reflected downwards.
The other is my Duka colour safelight which is on the opposite side of the room angled to reflect off the window blackout. For colour I do have to be careful with a low setting, it can create a cyan cast if exposed for over 1 minute, but with B&W I use it on full power for as long as I like and it never fogs the paper. I experimented a while back and left a strip of MG5 for 15 mins and it was still pure white when developed. |
#24
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My safelights are currently two simple cheap LED replacement bulbs for car taillights. No specs available, just what I had lying around when I set up my darkroom.
When using the "CD-test" to view its color spectrum they appear to be pure red, but it's very difficult to tell the exact wavelengths ofcourse. I've connected them to my homemade darkroom timer (so they're switched off during exposure) and I've programmed a dimming feature for it. Ilford papers (I tested MGIV and MGV) are insensitive to it and like John King I can leave paper exposed directly under it for over 15 minutes without fogging the paper (at full power and 1.5 meter / 5ft distance). OTOH with Foma paper it starts to show signs of foging after about 4 minutes already. So when using Foma (or older Agfa Brovira-speed papers which behave similar), I set the safelight output power to 25%. That still gives me just enough illumination for comfortable working and at 25% they're safe for over 12 minutes. Still need to do the proper "Kodak test" someday, with the several papers I use... |
#25
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The light that I bought on eBay UK, is a multi LED E27 bulb, bought from a seller in China. Recently, I looked up the seller again to get another of the same bulb, as it is very good and I wanted to see if I could brighten up the darkroom a bit, mainly for when I do lith work. Finding him wasn't too hard, but he has closed his listings and after looking through 100's, if not 1000's of other LED bulbs, on both the UK and dot com versions, I could not find anything that looked similar. Not one to give up, I have ordered six different red LED bulbs to try, having bought a few of the small globe coloured variety, as some really old paper I bought didn't like the red bulb and I thought that I would try some other colours, but without success. (I eventually just had to limit the time the paper was under the red LED bulb, when using it.) Luckily-ish, if one is in no hurry, one can buy rather cheaply from sellers in China, other bulbs to try out, whilst not spending too much. I will soon though, have nearly enough bulbs to open a shop, to almost rival my local B+Q, just around the corner! I will keep you updated on this. But, in the mean time, find attached pictures of the bulb and the unit that I use it with, which I have also found to be very useful, so useful in fact that I have now also purchased a double headed one, in anticipation of at least one of the new LED bulbs being usable. Terry S |
#26
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On youtube a chap was using an IKEA Orange Bucket for a safe light.
When I was in the store a while ago I looked at them, but picked up a TROFAST Orange storage box to give it a go. They have nice flat sides that can be cut into discs or rectangles to suit your safelight. Don't buy the matching lid, as it has a couple of moulding dimples in them. The boxes are cheap as you can see in the link. https://www.ikea.com/gb/en/p/trofast...66281/#content My beehive now has two pieces of orange plastic from the Trofast and does not get hot with a 15 watt tungsten pygmy bulb. I cut out a couple of 5 x 7 rectangles and a few discs to fit a Kodak Beehive Lamp. There is a faint grain in the plastic so I oriented two discs with the grain at 90 degrees to each other. If you do decide to give it a go, do not go crazy with a high wattage bulb. Use common sense and keep an eye on the temperature until you are confident that your set up is safe and reliable. Do not forget to give your own set up with the plastic filter a proper Kodak style safelight test. Cheers. Looking at the photo on their website it looks pink, but the actual colour on mine is orange.
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It will all be over by Christmas. Last edited by Nat Polton; 3rd April 2022 at 06:56 PM. |
#27
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Update: Usable LED light as safelight
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They were all given a rigorous test, and rather than the usual 3 foot / one meter distance rule, the bulbs were tested with MGV paper being just about 18 inches / 45 cm away, as that is the distance to my Nova processor. I could move them further away but ideally I want to put them where plug sockets are. Anyway, I tested them in one minute strips up to SIX minutes and the final one passed with flying colours. So much so that I have just bought some more as backups and to try and brighten up the area, mainly for lith. Using more than one is another test that I will have to make when they arrive. Here is a link to the bulb and seller whom I bought from, but you may find them slightly cheaper if you look, but I prefer to err on the safe side and use the same seller. You will also find similar bulbs in the UK, for a few quid more if you are in a hurry: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/353939556530 Terry S |
#28
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LED bulb
I found a small batch of red golfball Edison-screw LED bulbs in a French bazaar, alongside party hats and bangers.
At FADU's suggestion I did the coin test on MG IV - no fog at all after 10 minutes, one naked lamp (no filter) at 1,6m. The tricky bit has been finding a fitting to support it safely in a darkroom situation. I haven't yet got past the sticky tape stage. |
#29
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Although I haven't done the previous test yet, there has been no paper fogging in general use and the area around them is a LOT brighter! I now have to test as before and try out some lith work with them. I'll report back when I have. Terry S |
#30
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https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/254748917...r=554542153196 Terry S |
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