Beseler PM1A Color Analyzer???

[User Removed]

I came acrost a brand new BESELER PM1A Color Analyzer, and I would like to know some more information about it from someone who has one, used one or could possibly dirrect me to a website about them. I would like to know how this may benifit me when I get into color photography, and if it will be useful for anything. Any tips on using it would be nice too.

Thanks for your help!

 

[David A. Goldfarb]

I have one that I haven't used for ages.

First off--Don't turn it on in room light. This can damage the sensor. Only turn it on in the darkroom under the enlarger.

The basic idea is that you start by making a good print with tones that you want to reproduce in later prints (skin tone, neutral grey, sky blue, etc.). I recommend owning a set of print viewing filters for judging filtration from a dry print.

You calibrate for each tone by putting the sensor on the easel, probe toward lens, with safelights off if you use them, reading the calibration tone. Set the probe for each channel (CMY) and zero out the meter with the corresponding dials (if I remember correctly--it may be that you set the dial so that the meter reads the filtration value), and note the exposure time on the Black channel. Write down the dial settings and exposure time for each calibration tone.

Now, when you get a neg or slide with that tone that you calibrated for, you dial in the settings you wrote down, read the tone on the easel with the probe toward the lens, just like you did for calibration, adjust filtration to zero out the meter for each channel and adjust aperture to get the exposure time you wrote down earlier (or adjust exposure time, if you don't get an aperture value that you like), and you should be pretty close.

You can use it with just the black channel for B&W as well.

 

[User Removed]

Thanks David. I sorta figured that is what it's used for. I have a similar product made by Ilford exposure meter which does the same thing in black and white. I think I used it ONE TIME...then decided it was not worth the time and effort. haha!

 

[David A. Goldfarb]

It depends on what kind of work you do. I find it easier just to judge with print viewing filters.

 

[Nick Zentena]

If you can find a colorstar 3000 you'll find it a dream for colour printing. You calibrate the analzyer for the paper not the negative. Once you've done that it's possible to make very good first attempt prints. It's wierd to just put a negative in the enlarger. Hit the analzye button then move a couple of filters but it's that easy.

 

[ZoneIII]

"It depends on what kind of work you do. I find it easier just to judge with print viewing filters."

Actually, viewing filters and analyzers of this type serve different purposes and they are not interchangeable. Viewing filters help you arrive at a good color print by helping you in choose the right filter pack to do that. Once you have a good print, you can then use an analyzer to quickly dial in the proper filter pack for subsequent prints. But you have to have a good print before you can use the analyzer. The print viewing filters can help you do that more efficiently and, once that is done, you can use the analyzer for subsequent prints that have something in them with a similar density and color as what you calibrated the analyzer for. You can get by without the viewing filters or an analyzer, of course, and many color printers find them both unnecessary. But unlike viewing filters, an analyzer can't help you arrive at the proper filter pack and exposure until you first make a good print. Once that is done, an analyzer can be very helpful.

 

[mtjade2007]

You use viewing filters after a print is already made. You use a color analyzer before a print is made. That's a big difference.

Practically you should use the analyzer to set the filtration for neutral gray (or black) for shadow on the negative. This can be a brightest spot on a negative which will be printed black. You can also use the analyzer to set the filtration for a proper skin tone. This is harder to do but once you build up some experience you will be able to do it fairly well. If you have a small gray card image in the image the analyzer can easily use the gray card image to set the filtration for 18% gray. It is just about impossible to use the analyzer to randomly measure a few spots on the image trying to set the filtration. If you know Photoshop's color sampling tool you will know what I mean by this. I have collected several old color analyzers. I gave up using them when I gave up printing in the traditional darkroom. If you turn on your color analyzer with light on the meter will be likely damaged due to a possible violent move of the needle. It won't damage the photomultiplier tube sensor. Those PMT sensors will last forever until you break the glass. If you know electronics you can try to convert your color analyzer into a color reflection densitometer. It will be much more useful in analyzing a print.