Benefits of an analyzer

[hblad120]

I am at the point in my developing where I have the luxury to upgrade my current enlarger. I currently own an Omega D2 with a V54 cold light and I hope to upgrade to a D5 with a dichroic head. In the process of researching available equipment I notice that some enlargers for sale come with an analyzer. Before I continue I should say that I do strickly B&W photography from 35mm (just started) to 6x6 (most work) and soon to 4x5.

What benefits could I expect in terms of time savings, print quality, etc? Which units should I consider, if any?

Thanks

 

[Robert Budding]

Are you starting to print color? Because otherwise, the D2 is an excellent enlarger for B&W.

 

[glbeas]

An analyser is great for getting the first work print of with the fewest tries. If you are using the same paper and film all the time you can probably get spot on the first try for quite a few prints. You just have to learn to read a negative properly with the probe.

 

[srs5694]

To the best of my knowledge, the main point of an analyzer is to analyze the colors in a color negative. (These devices are often called "color analyzers," and I don't know of any other sort of analyzer that would be likely to be sold with an enlarger.) This results in an ability to get a print with good color balance in fewer tries than without an analyzer, at least in theory. It's pretty much useless for B&W work -- except that you might be able to use an analyzer as an exposure meter, which in theory should enable you to get the exposure right with fewer test strips. I'm a bit foggy on the details of this use, though. I've seen references to it, but didn't pay that much attention to the process. It'd probably be simpler to just get a B&W exposure meter to help with B&W exposures.

 

[jeroldharter]

If you calibrate the analyzer properly (trial and error initially), you can save time be zeroing in on the initial exposure for a print. Also, you can take spot readings of shadows and highlights to get a measure of the contrast needed for the print.

Also, you can determine equivalent exposure times when you change print sizes, e.g. you have determined the exposure for an 8x10 print and now you want to make a 20 x 24 print you take a spot reading of a particular area on the 8 x 10 print, recompose for the larger size, and then read the same area to determine exposure time for the new size.

 

[Nige]

In addition to the above, I find my anaylser works great determining new times after filtration changes. I've never worked how to measure the contrast to determine the paper grade but have read the theory. I tend to look at the proof sheet and go from there.

 

[Ronald Moravec]

They are a waste of time for black/white. Well exposed and properly developed negs always print the same. Unless you are always changing paper in which case you need to calibrate the machine for each one.

I tend to do what Nige does and the analyser is only used for color. Then you need to pick out specific colors to balance. Whites are good, flesh is poor as it varies too much. Black is good, but the space between frames is best for setting color balance.
Actually the emulsions change little batch to batch, but the color of the orange mask would vary and you had to zero that effect out. Portrait photogs set up on their background as it is always the same.

Don`t pay much for one for black and white.

 

[Ed Sukach]

My analyzer is the JOBO (Or used to be JOBO) ColorStar 3000. I have nothing more than minimal experience with others.

I have tried printing without the ColorStar - it can be frustrating beyond belief, especially when it involves "other than standard" ambient light sources. I was forced, once, to try to print a negative taken of a white house in a green field, taken on a heavily overcast day in November. Not fun, and it took a LOT of paper and chemistry... trying.

As you might know, I work a lot with images of models illuminated by the projected images of color transparencies. The color temperature of the lamp in the Hasselblad PCP80 projector is something like ~ 3600K; at any rate, all bets are off after the light passes through the transparency - and the film is, and will be, daylight balanced color negative (~5500K). Strange color balancing - lately, I've been using an 85B filter over the enlarging lens - is necessary in printing, and I have *NO* doubt I would go *Bonkers 1st Class* without the ColorStar and a channel set up for "Fair Caucasian" (or others, if need be) skin.

For black and white ... the obvious application for the ColorStar is exposure - there is an optional mode expressly for Black and White - and I've found it invaluable for determining a contrast filtration starting point for VC papers. Not perfect, but it saves a tremendous amount of time, paper, and chemistry.

Operate without an analyzer? I can, and have ... but believe me, I'd rather be struck in the eye with a burnt stick.

 

[TimVermont]

I'm with Ed on this. When I added a Durst Digitim S3000 to my enlarger (and followed the directions) my costs went down, quality went up. As analog materials are going from commodities to over-priced art supplies, I don't want to be without it.

Of current products (the Durst I use is long out of production) I'd suggest looking at RH Designs, or the Heiland Splitgrade for even greater automation.

 

[ras351]

I built my own version of an analyser a little while ago and for me it's invaluable. If you're already able to nail down proof type exposures and contrast on the first try then you probably don't need one. If you find you can proof the first negative on the roll and all the others will follow the same settings, you probably don't need one. I use a lot of Infra-red film as well as box brownie type cameras where I don't have a large amount of control over exposure so negatives tend to wander around quite a bit with regards to densities. What the analyser gives me is the density range of the negative (automatically converted into paper grades for the paper I'm using) and the time required to print it at the sampled aperture. Mine uses a colour sensor which I minimally use to keep an eye on the lamp as it changes over time. It also has an integrated timer so I can generate test strips based around the anticipated exposure. They can also help with exposure changes as you change enlargement sizes although this can be done manually anyway if you feel so inclined. Some of the better commercial units add things like burn-in/dodge times, adjustments for toe/shoulder, timer sequences, visual zone displays etc. Ultimately it depends how much extra you're paying for the analyser as to whether you think it's worth the cost. Some of the colour analysers are not as useful for the B&W photographer as the dedicated B&W ones.

Roger.