Announcing a new meter for pyro negatives

[Nicholas Lindan]

As the subject of metering pyro negatives - or using a densitometer with pyro negatives - is a constant matter for muttering, we have decided to produce a meter designed for pyro:

http://www.darkroomautomation.com/pem.htm

The meter won't be shipping until mid November. So far there is only the one pre-release web page for information on the meter.

More information will be supplied as it becomes available.

We will have an application note on metering pyro negatives in general on the web site before the meter releases. Hopefully also the instruction manual - usually the last thing that gets done...

 

[David A. Goldfarb]

Nice, and very reasonably priced.

I'm not sure it would work like a densitometer for large negs to be contact printed, which is a popular application for pyro negs, just because I'm not sure how you would push the button with a neg positioned over the sensor and both sitting flat on a table under the light source. Is there a remote switch?

 

[Nicholas Lindan]

I'm not sure it would work like a densitometer for large negs to be contact printed

Funny, neither do I.

It is possible to reconfigure the unit to be like one of the old small graphic arts Xrite densitometers that were used with light tables. The evenness of illumination on the light table was always an issue with these 'pocket densitometers'.

In this unit it is possible to mount the photodiode to the back of the case. The metering would be done on a light table, as with the old graphic arts densitometers. A cradle or spotting arm would define the area to be measured and the meter would then swing down on the arm or nestle into the cradle to take the measurement.