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  #1  
Old 7th September 2012, 04:05 PM
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Default Which enlarger bulb???

I have to get a bulb for my Durst L1200 but prices seem all over the place ranging from a few pounds to £25. It's an ELC 24v 250w with a faceted reflector. I think some have a lifespan of 50 hrs and others 500 hrs. I don't mind paying the extra but it would be bloody annoying if a 500 hr rated bulb packed up well short of that. On the assumption that not all bulbs are created equal, can anyone offer advice about makes/prices/longevity?


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Old 7th September 2012, 08:35 PM
paulc paulc is offline
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Me being a cheapskate, purchased a few from a local electrical wholesaler - Branded SoundLab, I figured that at a few pounds each, I could afford to replace them every three to six months. They seem to last quite well, and I've yet to notice any problems with them.
The only advantage of the expensive branded lamps is there may be some guarantee as to the quality of the light emitted.
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Old 7th September 2012, 11:17 PM
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That's good to know, Paul, as I've seen them advertised at reasonable prices. There's a guy on Ebay selling ten of them for £27. Maybe that's a bit over the top number-wise but I certainly wouldn't be running out any time soon! If you haven't noticed any difference in the results you've been getting I'll maybe just go for the them.


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Old 8th September 2012, 07:30 AM
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I think I have quite a few which are projector bulbs and they haven't been any bother for the short bursts that we tend to use them for.
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Old 8th September 2012, 09:53 AM
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Would anyone fancy splitting the cost if I bought ten bulbs? Including all postage, we'd be talking about five bulbs each for around £15.


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Old 8th September 2012, 08:23 PM
Mike O'Pray Mike O'Pray is offline
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It's a good idea Brock but I get by on a 75W bulb as I only have a 605. Actually a 100W is recommended but I found that 75W was better for colour negs. A 100W gave very short exposures.

Mike
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Old 10th September 2012, 07:04 PM
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[QUOTE=Brock;72083]Would anyone fancy splitting the cost if I bought ten bulbs? Including all postage, we'd be talking about five bulbs each for around £15.

Hi Brock,

I have a couple of spare lamps (i think i bought ten from a whole seller a while back) and a friend I work with lives in Carnoustie.

If you pm me, we can set something up.

Mike
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Old 11th September 2012, 06:10 AM
cesare cesare is offline
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I'm using inexpensive bulbs in my L1200 and Durst Pictochrom, and these have been really good with no problems. The longer life bulbs appear to be not as bright, well, at least the one I tried was, so i'd avoid these ad stick to the 50 hr rated bulbs.

Since ELC bulbs are used by DJs in lighting rigs, they are readily available from typical shops like maplins, and I think they typically come in around £5 - £10 a pop.

I'm using osram ELC bulbs I seem to remember, I can check the exact model if you like.

Cesare
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Old 11th September 2012, 01:28 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by cesare View Post
The longer life bulbs appear to be not as bright
This was also the case with so called "long life" domestic bulbs. The longer life is achieved by running the filament at a lower temperature so as a consequence it doesn't burn out so quickly, but that means it's also dimmer. Presumably it would also have a higher red content which means it would be dimmer still as far as photographic paper is concerned!

A life of only 50 hours is still a lot of prints ...
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Old 11th September 2012, 09:01 PM
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And just to confirm, i'm using osram xenophot 64653 HLX ELC 24v 250w GX5.3 bulbs and these are working well for me.

I've got a couple of other random ones here, the 500H bulb I tried which wasn't so bright was a Sylvania ELC/500.
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