Another LED enlarger head thread

[David Brown]

What's the latest trend (if any) in a simple led enlarger head similar to a cold light? Ya know, simple. No multicolored lights, no computer controller, just a white light panel on top of the enlarger. I ask because there are now so many flat panel led lights for studio lighting, most adjustable for color temp; and it seems such a device could be adapted. Anyone experimented with this?

Oh, and adaptation should not require a soldering iron or electronics trade school.

Cheers.

 

[koraks]

Anyone experimented with this?

Yeah, there's a couple of reports on things like these. Mostly people simply swapping their frosted tungsten bulb for a LED bulb. It seems to work fine in many cases. I imagine the LED panels will work, too, provided they offer decently even illumination (that will be their Achilles' heel for the most part), or measures are taken to even out the light.

I've never tried any of this because I don't really see much of a benefit to it as long as regular enlarger bulbs are easy to get and somewhat affordable.

 

[Chan Tran]

I don't see much benefit if not using for color control either as color enlarger or variable contrast enlarger.

 

[Dustin McAmera]

Sorry if I'm stating the obvious. I guess you know Intrepid Camera offer an LED panel kit to use their camera as an enlarger.

 

[btaylor]

As stated by Dustin, the Intrepid head seems great for variable contrast B&W printing. “The Naked Photographer” video on it is encouraging, and it is up to 4x5 in size.
There are discussions a few years old on the Large Format Forum on using LED panels for a light source. I built one for my Omega F 8x10. Originally it had massive condensers, a huge incandescent bulb and bad wiring. An LED panel was a very simple solution and cheap. I worked out the illumination evenness with some diffusion gels and spacers. Works quite well. Under the lens Ilford filters work out the variable contrast duties.

 

[AZD]

A few years ago I wanted to see what would happen if I rigged up my LED shop light in place of the bulb on my old Federal 219. I used cardboard and tape for the mounting and some waxed baking paper as a diffuser, nothing fancy. It actually worked pretty well. Using old Kodak polycontrast filters under the lens I could get a normal range of contrast, and a bit harder by 1/2 grade or so using the #5. The only real downside, other than being a mechanical disaster, was the turn on lag time. I found this could be solved with a short blip from the timer to charge the circuit (while covering the paper) before starting the main timed exposure. But I had to remember to do it…

Anyhow, it proved the basic approach, but not enough for me to iron out the problems and make it functional for 35mm printing. However, for really big light sources (large format stuff) it seems like a reasonable place to start experimenting and modifying.

 

[titrisol]

Yeah, there's a couple of reports on things like these. Mostly people simply swapping their frosted tungsten bulb for a LED bulb. It seems to work fine in many cases. I imagine the LED panels will work, too, provided they offer decently even illumination (that will be their Achilles' heel for the most part), or measures are taken to even out the light.

I've never tried any of this because I don't really see much of a benefit to it as long as regular enlarger bulbs are easy to get and somewhat affordable.

use dimmable LED lightbulbs to avoid a lot of issues with flickering and lag

 

[David Brown]

I've never tried any of this because I don't really see much of a benefit to it as long as regular enlarger bulbs are easy to get and somewhat affordable.

I totally agree, but on this forum I figured someone had attempted it.

At the former Dallas Center for Photography, where I used to teach darkroom, the center Director switched out all of the bulbs in our squadron of Beseler 23C enlargers with LED bulbs. I was a bit Leary, but they worked. Contrast filters, the whole bit. I think I have a lifetime supply (for me) of bulbs to fit my condenser head.

 

[David Brown]

Sorry if I'm stating the obvious. I guess you know Intrepid Camera offer an LED panel kit to use their camera as an enlarger.

I do know. As I stated, no proprietary controllers or multicolor leds. I've seen multiple threads here (and elsewhere on the net) about people building led heads from scratch. I just wondered if anyone had taken a flat panel led studio light and set it on top of an enlarger. Just curious. I have no plans to do this.

 

[koraks]

on this forum I figured someone had attempted it.

You bet! Here's a recent one, with some relevant testing: https://www.photrio.com/forum/threads/ilford-multigrade-and-e27-off-the-shelf-ots-led-bulbs.202881/
Not a LED panel, but a bulb, and of course the outcome of the measurements will vary depending on the products you're getting & combining, but the principle is similar.

On the large format photography forum, there has been some talk about actual panels, but I'm not sure if the talk has already progressed to the stage of actual experiments.

In theory, a panel has the benefit of being a diffuse light source. In practice, the question is how even it is, exactly. For B&W, you can get away with some slight unevenness; with color, a small deviation tends to be a problem.