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  #21  
Old 22nd February 2018, 10:27 PM
Rob Sussex Rob Sussex is offline
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Thanks I had looked at community Darkrooms. I live mostly in Brighton & there are at least a couple of them here. The trouble is they want people to subscribe at something like £25 a month, whch is all very well, but within a year I could have bought myself quite agood darkroom for that kind of cash. The other thing looked at was the camera club in Crawley who have a darkroom for members use. I spend time in Crawley because my family comes from there.

I am aware of the comparitive costs of digits versus analog. I looked into all that. I have only used a darkroom once before probably 30+ years ago, but enjoyed the experience.
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  #22  
Old 22nd February 2018, 10:31 PM
alexmuir alexmuir is offline
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Originally Posted by Rob Sussex View Post
Thanks Marty.



Is one system better than the other ?


The simple answer is ‘no’. It’s really a matter of taste. Condenser enlargers are said to produce sharper, more contrasty prints. The downsides are that dust, scratches etc on negatives are more obvious in prints, and the illumination of the image on the baseboard can be uneven, with noticeably darker corners. Diffusers produce softer contrast, more even illumination and suppress negative faults and dust. The prints, however, appear less sharp and of lower contrast. Many recent models have the option of condenser (B&W) heads, or diffuser (colour) heads. You can, of course use either type for B&W printing. Colour heads have filters built in that can be used to alter contrast with variable contrast (Multigrade) B&W papers. That can be quite helpful as it saves you buying a separate set of filters.
The 35mm enlarger I use is a Leitz Focomat V35. It is a type of diffuser, but is designed for both mono and colour work. I use a Durst M601 for 6x6. This has a condenser head and an accessory colour head. With the condenser head, the condenser set works for either 35mm or 6x6. You need to change the lens to suit the format you are using, but not the condensers. I suspect this is because I have the 6x6 set, and they also work for 35mm. As Bob mentioned, you should look for an enlarger that comes with the bits you need for each film size. Negative carriers often have interchangeable inserts that are changed to suit the format. This all sounds complicated, but in practice it’s quite straightforward. It would be good to visit a working Darkroom before you make a purchase so that you can see what you are looking for. Buying from a dealer should also ensure that you end up with a complete enlarger with all the bits you need. Buying privately is cheaper, but you need to know what to look for.
Alex


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  #23  
Old 23rd February 2018, 10:31 AM
Rob Sussex Rob Sussex is offline
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Thanks for all this information, it's all much clearer now.
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  #24  
Old 23rd February 2018, 04:11 PM
Rob Sussex Rob Sussex is offline
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Another question.

What do you people do about keeping your chemicals at the right temperature ? I had thought about buying one of these thermostatically controlled aqaurium heaters to put in a tray/trough of water with the bottles of chemicals stored in it. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/NEW-EHEIM...53.m1438.l2649
T
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  #25  
Old 23rd February 2018, 05:12 PM
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MartyNL MartyNL is offline
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I use a large bucket as a water bath for stop and fix chemicals for film processing and the developer is made fresh. I've never found the need for a heater.

For paper processing there are tray warmers or a Nova vertical processing tank.
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  #26  
Old 23rd February 2018, 06:20 PM
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Bob Bob is offline
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Temperature control is mainly an issue with developing film for B&W and developing film and paper for colour. B&W is easier as the temperature is lower.

B&W is processed at room temperature (nominally 18-20C) and using daylight tanks, it can be done in a nice warm kitchen or bathroom . Likewise, for processing B&W prints, normal room temperature is sufficient.

For colour however, temperatures need to be kept to a closer tolerance and the temperatures used are higher so some form of temp control is generally necessary. I have little experience of colour, but when I did I have used a large warm water bath for the film and my heated Nova Vertical slot "processor" for the paper. You can google the Nova, but it's basically three or four vertical slots for the chemicals in a heated water bath. The prints are dunked into the slots/chemicals and kept warm by the water bath. Lots of other options are available of greater and lesser sophistication.

Cheers, Bob.

Last edited by Bob; 23rd February 2018 at 06:24 PM.
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  #27  
Old 23rd February 2018, 07:09 PM
Richard Gould Richard Gould is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Rob Sussex View Post
Another question.

What do you people do about keeping your chemicals at the right temperature ? I had thought about buying one of these thermostatically controlled aqaurium heaters to put in a tray/trough of water with the bottles of chemicals stored in it. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/NEW-EHEIM...53.m1438.l2649
T
Black and white processing is not to difficult, for Film processing I bring my tank with the film loaded in the darkroom, together withbthe bottles with the fix and stop into a warm kitchen, put the bottles onto the radioror for the duration of the developing, which warms them nicely to room remp, my developer of choice is RO9/one stop, which is used very dilute, in my case 1/50, so 10ml of dev to 490 of water, which is got to around 20 by mixing warm water with cold, and no problem with the temp in the warm kitchen, for prints I try to keep the darkroom to around 25, I have a central heating rad in there which I will switch on the night before I want to print, keeps the room at a nice temp, again keeps the chemistry around the correct temp, which is not crictical for black and white, in summer the problem is keeping the chemicals down to the right level, but thats another story,
Richard
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  #28  
Old 24th February 2018, 12:36 AM
alexmuir alexmuir is offline
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If you make up one litre each of stop bath and fixer, you can store these indoors where they will remain at a temperature close to 20c. Then you only need to make developer to the right temp. You can safely put 10 35mm or 120 films through one litre each of stop and fix before you need to replace them with fresh solutions.
Alex


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