Enlarging meters RH Designs, Darkroom Automation etc

[Patrick Robert James]

I have the RHD Zonemaster, Darkroom Automations and the Ilford EM-10.

I used to use the EM-10 for small quick prints. I had it figured out that a value on the meter was equivalent to a certain highlight tone so I set the meter to that value and changed the aperture (helps to have a stepless aperture on the lens) until it agreed, then measured the shadows and used that value to read off a small chart I made through trial and error to get the contrast grade. IIRC I had to adjust the exposure a bit too. Pretty simple. I used it for making a lot of small proof prints since they weren't that important. Just needed a ballpark and I didn't care how sharp they were. I think there might be a chart out there, maybe in Way Beyond Monochrome, that describes how to use it. It is also used this way to keep your exposures constant if you are going to a different size print. Again, it helps to have a stepless aperture. They are cheap. It is probably worth your while to get one if you change sizes often.

I picked up the DA meter quite a few years ago and it is nice. Very well made. The problem I have with it though is it took too much math to arrive at an exposure/grade and I don't want to do math in the darkroom, I just want to print. I still use it though because one mode it has makes a comparison and it is great to check blank skies to make sure I get an even tone without having to do any tests. I do a quick measurement and then I can dodge or burn according to it without ever making a test. It is good for making comparisons too for different parts of an image.

I picked up the Zonemaster a few years ago. Yes the calibration is a pain. It doesn't use that much paper though, just time. I use it to get in the ball park. Just a decent enough print so I can see what is up with it. Then I go from there. It does save time with test strips for sure. Can you get a perfect print on the first try with it? I guess if you are not that picky with how you define perfect, sure. Personally I think the calibration is not super accurate over time since papers age, developers change a bit with time, etc. Lsst time I checked they had a page on their website that people would post their calibration numbers. You can just input those and it is decent enough. The only issue is what filters you use. That can change things. I have different enlargers and they are not the same. My 4x5 Saunders is a "constant exposure" head which is different than using the below the lens Ilford filters on my Leica and Minox enlargers. If you only have one enlarger though that is a moot point.

One thing to mention is you can buy a cheap Kodak projection print scale that you just place on the paper and expose for a minute. You might want to find one of those. Pretty simple way to find your exposure.


Hope that helps you...

 

[NoPixels]

I have the RHD Zonemaster, Darkroom Automations and the Ilford EM-10.

I used to use the EM-10 for small quick prints. I had it figured out that a value on the meter was equivalent to a certain highlight tone so I set the meter to that value and changed the aperture (helps to have a stepless aperture on the lens) until it agreed, then measured the shadows and used that value to read off a small chart I made through trial and error to get the contrast grade. IIRC I had to adjust the exposure a bit too. Pretty simple. I used it for making a lot of small proof prints since they weren't that important. Just needed a ballpark and I didn't care how sharp they were. I think there might be a chart out there, maybe in Way Beyond Monochrome, that describes how to use it. It is also used this way to keep your exposures constant if you are going to a different size print. Again, it helps to have a stepless aperture. They are cheap. It is probably worth your while to get one if you change sizes often.

I picked up the DA meter quite a few years ago and it is nice. Very well made. The problem I have with it though is it took too much math to arrive at an exposure/grade and I don't want to do math in the darkroom, I just want to print. I still use it though because one mode it has makes a comparison and it is great to check blank skies to make sure I get an even tone without having to do any tests. I do a quick measurement and then I can dodge or burn according to it without ever making a test. It is good for making comparisons too for different parts of an image.

I picked up the Zonemaster a few years ago. Yes the calibration is a pain. It doesn't use that much paper though, just time. I use it to get in the ball park. Just a decent enough print so I can see what is up with it. Then I go from there. It does save time with test strips for sure. Can you get a perfect print on the first try with it? I guess if you are not that picky with how you define perfect, sure. Personally I think the calibration is not super accurate over time since papers age, developers change a bit with time, etc. Lsst time I checked they had a page on their website that people would post their calibration numbers. You can just input those and it is decent enough. The only issue is what filters you use. That can change things. I have different enlargers and they are not the same. My 4x5 Saunders is a "constant exposure" head which is different than using the below the lens Ilford filters on my Leica and Minox enlargers. If you only have one enlarger though that is a moot point.

One thing to mention is you can buy a cheap Kodak projection print scale that you just place on the paper and expose for a minute. You might want to find one of those. Pretty simple way to find your exposure.


Hope that helps you...

Thank you for answer. It is very informative.

 

[logan2z]

How long did it take to you to do a first set up?

If by ‘set up’ you mean the complete calibration procedure, it’s not quick. It took several hours to get through it. It’s not difficult, just time consuming and tedious. There are published calibration values for various papers on the RH Designs web site that might help speed things up. If you are using Ilford papers, the data sheets for the paper includes some info (eg. contrast data) that you can use to help calibrate the meter as well. It might not be exact for your setup, but can probably get you close enough to get started. You can then refine from there.

Good luck.

 

[Pegajoy]

I have all the european gears from Heiland in Germany, the Splitgrade Prozessor with Comfort Module and automated Magnifax 4 head as well as the RH Designs Analyzer Pro and the Stopclock + Zonemaster. Bought all used over years to compare what fits my needs best, and to sell afterwards what I do not need.
Still have all and I am not really sure what is the best. Calibrating the Analyzer/ Zonemaster needs 14 test strips for each Enlarger / Paper combination . I totally failed with this. I get always different results any time I do it with same combination. I gave up, and use it with the under the lens filters where calibration values are populated for most used papers by RH Designs.
On the other side the Heiland system doesn't need any calibration if you use it with an automated or LED enlarger head. And with manual mode you need just 4 test strips and it is easy.
I personally like the RH Designs more, better usability, cheaper and it works better for very dense negatives. But only with the Ilford filters, calibration is horrible.
At the end the Heiland system is really better, more flexible, gets new papers via firmware updates, etc.

 

[Saganich]

That is my idea too. As I see it helps you to avoid the first technical trying and to do just a fine tuning. How long did it take to you to do a first set up?

I would block off a weekend for first time calibration especially if your newish to printing. You will likely need to make some one time tools to help with the process. I've done calibrations using different methods. I like this one. Once a paper is calibrated it can save you time and paper while increasing your enjoyment and understanding of the process. Always remember when metering with analyzer or zone master ALL safelights have to be OFF.

 

[Frank53]

If you want to spend a bit more, the Heiland split grade controller doesn’t need any calibration. Of course it’s best if you use the whole system, but if you don’t want to split grade, you can use it stand alone.

 

[NoPixels]

Thank you guys for sharing your experience and thoughts.
I think I could find the way of using of this kind of device in my darkroom.
From our discussion, I understood that any Analyser will not do it your way, but could bring you much closer to desired result.
In case if someone will have this kind of device (220v) for sale - please let me know: https://www.photrio.com/forum/threads/darkroom-analyser.220713/

 

[Joel_L]

I'm a little late but will toss in my thoughts.

I have the RH Stop Clock Pro and a Zonemaster2. It takes a little work to calibrate a paper but not too bad and it's a good learning process.

Once I got that done, I can consistently make a descent ( not perfect ) first print. Good enough I would show it to someone. I played around with split grade printing and found that negative that were a challenge, the split grade print was better than the single grade print.

Many years ago, I would just guess for my first pass then adjust. Then I bought an Analite 2, that was great. I have had different flavors of meters of the decades. I have found the Stop Clock + Zone master the most useful. What camp am I in, I like gadgets that help.

The only thing I have not found useful so far are color analyzers.

Some of the guys here are really sharp and I value their comments, me, I just like to tinker and maybe do something good once in a while.

Joel

 

[NoPixels]

I'm a little late but will toss in my thoughts.

I have the RH Stop Clock Pro and a Zonemaster2. It takes a little work to calibrate a paper but not too bad and it's a good learning process.

Once I got that done, I can consistently make a descent ( not perfect ) first print. Good enough I would show it to someone. I played around with split grade printing and found that negative that were a challenge, the split grade print was better than the single grade print.

Many years ago, I would just guess for my first pass then adjust. Then I bought an Analite 2, that was great. I have had different flavors of meters of the decades. I have found the Stop Clock + Zone master the most useful. What camp am I in, I like gadgets that help.

The only thing I have not found useful so far are color analyzers.

Some of the guys here are really sharp and I value their comments, me, I just like to tinker and maybe do something good once in a while.

Joel

Joel, thank you for your opinion.
I am on the same side, especially when have to do quite a lot of prints which are more or less technical - my wife experimenting with macro and I am printing all of it. Sometimes she is bracketing or changing a lite, and after it is hard to understand what it has to be, till it is printed.
It is always better to use high quality tools which helps you to get the same result faster and easier. I have 2 enlargers, and Focomat is much faster and easer to use than Meopta, and in the end of the day it is better for me to use electric screwdriver instead of standard one... The same is here.

 

[blacksquare]

I use a Darkroom Automation Meter and Timer. Unlike other systems, I still decide on the process. I have to know what I want to achieve. Its very similar to using a zone system in negative process. In addition, both the meter and the timer can be used independently and the meter itself has many uses.

I picked up the DA meter quite a few years ago and it is nice. Very well made. The problem I have with it though is it took too much math to arrive at an exposure/grade and I don't want to do math in the darkroom, I just want to print.

Even when I use a fully calibrated DA system, the only math I do is simple subtraction of two values to determine contrast/exposure. I need more math for chemistry preparation.

 

[Huub]

I have been working with a RH Stop Clock Pro for over 20 years now and I love the thing. As MattKing and several others stated, it gives me a pretty decent first print, which i use to evaluate and improve by visual inspection. Second or third print often satisfies my needs. It speeds up the process considerably, as it brings you into the ball park contrast and time wise with it's first print. In the days I still worked with test strips I often had to make two orthree test strips to get the same information and even then I needed an extra print to reach to same level as I do now ti the Stop Clock.

When it comes to callibration: first time it took me a whole evening to callibrate one type of paper. But once you figure out how to get it done, it takes about an hour to go through the whole cycle.

 

[polyglot]

Hello colleagues,
Last 3 months gathering information regarding enlarging meters as RH Designe Analyser Pro, Zone master, Darkroom Automation Enlarging Meter and similar.
I have 2 favorites- RH Analyser Pro and Darkroom Automation Enlarging Meter. This devices are very different, but both could probably make my life easier, or not)).
1st question is - calibration - video tutorials seems easy but on many forums people telling that calibration is complicated and long process. Asking myself- am I smart enough to do it right? Does it have sense to do it for each paper?
For example yesterday I took a pack of Foma baryt worm tone mat, which is totally different with all papers I used before, especially in combo with Foma PW developer. It was fun, but to use it with any type of Analyser I will need to make a calibration which will take a long time and a lot of paper.

Could you please share your experience regarding using and calibration of your devices?
I did not find much regarding Darkroom Automation Enlarging Meter, maybe someone is using ?

There are a few options, like the one I built. Link in my signature.

It does make things much faster once you have calibrated it for each of your papers, or paper/filter combinations.

I strongly suggest having a read of Way Beyond Monochrome (2e), which contains all the guidance you need.

 

[Alan Townsend]

Could you please share your experience regarding using and calibration of your devices?
I did not find much regarding Darkroom Automation Enlarging Meter, maybe someone is using ?

I find that a home made meter, calibration using my phone with a luxmeter app to be helpful in making enlarged positives and negatives for alt process printing. This reduces time and material waste for me. The meter gives a starting point for the iterations needed for a final result, but that's very helpful. In this case, the negatives have a wide range of density ranges and the output positives and negatives often have specific density ranges needed. I often use ortho litho film which has a very narrow exposure range for a given density range.

Normal printing is more subjective so most of us learned the trial and error method for that, but I would think metering would also help them save time and materials. Being forced to stop and think interferes with the creative process of printing for many people, I believe. Material costs have greatly increased over the years as well. I rarely make traditional prints, but when I have, I found metering did not help as much as it does working with enlarging negatives, which is more objective than printing.

 

[Nicholas Lindan]

It should be said that meters don't need any calibration - they come pre-calibrated and there is no need to do any calibration work to make use of a meter. What is often referred to as calibration is really calibration of the paper, the developer and the enlarger, using the meter as a standard.

The three techniques below are paper independent and completely free of calibration of any sort. They make use of the Darkroom Automation meter's http://www.darkroomautomation.com/em.htm Delta feature. With this feature a reference reading is taken at one spot in the image; the meter is then moved around the image and the meter will show the relative easel illumination in stops.

1) Measuring film density: If a reference reading is made of the film's clear rebate then subsequent readings will show the negative's density in stops above base + fog. To convert to the usual OD values just multiply the stops reading by 3.3. However, the negative's density in stops is far more useful for darkroom work, "OD timers" not being much of a thing.

2) Determining dodges and burns: Use a straight work print to identify the areas to dodge or burn; take a reference reading of the part of the image to be altered; then move the meter to a part of the image that is the tone you want. The meter will show the number of stops to dodge or burn.

3) Resizing a print: Take a reference measurement at the original size; adjust the enlarger to the new size; the meter will show the required change to the exposure time in stops.

It is a bit of a semantic point, but what folks call calibrating a meter is really calibrating a paper by finding its tone Vs exposure relationship - normally shown by an HD curve. However, there is a faster and easier visual method for determining the relationship of a meter's reading to a paper's tones. All that is needed is to make a grey-scale test strip that is made at equal stop exposure intervals. Making and using a grey scale strip is described in the DA support file http://www.darkroomautomation.com/support/zonestrp.htm Each grey scale test strip represents one grade of one paper. This may prove daunting at first but most folks use a limited set of contrasts for 90% of their prints. Just make grey scales for the grades you use the most and add to them as you make the occasional #0 or #4 1/2 grade print.

This grey-scale strip is useful by itself when it comes to finding dodge and burn exposures. Match the tone you have to a patch on the strip and note the exposure distance, in stops, to the tone you want. This distance is the number of stops of exposure for the dodge or burn.

When used with a meter the grey scale strip provides the paper's calibration data. There is no need to use a densitometer or make any calculations outside of simple subtraction.

The basis for this is the Darkroom Automation exposure system, described in the application note at http://www.darkroomautomation.com/ex-faq.htm In DA's system each tone has it's own speed - giving the amount of exposure needed to produce that tone. This is no different from a film's speed - except that the published film speed gives the amount of exposure required to produce a ~0.65OD density on the film when the meter reads an 18% grey card.

The problem with grey scale strips is that the information isn't easily transmissible to other photographers. To this end, Darkroom Automation provides "Paper Speed Charts" for popular papers and developers. These charts are published in the support files section of DA's web site http://www.darkroomautomation.com/support/index.htm The charts show the exposure required for each of the standard Zone System tones.

 

[Bill Burk]

Nice overview Nicholas