Beseler VC Head Long Exposure Times

[Nathan King]

For the first time today I tried a Beseler 67VC as I am out of town and do not have access to my Beseler 45. I made a print using unfiltered white light and a 15 second exposure. I wanted to try the filtered light to increase contrast on my next print. I fully expected to need to adjust my exposure time as the filtered light was visibly dimmer; however, I wasn't expecting to need a 46 second exposure time to reach the same exposure as the unfiltered light! Is this normal for a vc enlarger? I'm accustomed to using gels below the enlarger lens, and they do not require such a large time extension.

 

[wiltw]

I just consulted my very old Kodak darkroom dataguide, and a 15 second white light exposure turned into a 32 second exposure with #3 Polycontrast filter and an 80 second exposure with the #4 Polycontrast filter.

 

[Nathan King]

I just consulted my very old Kodak darkroom dataguide, and a 15 second white light exposure turned into a 32 second exposure with #3 Polycontrast filter and an 80 second exposure with the #4 Polycontrast filter.

Wow. It appears everything is normal then. I simply wasn't expecting quite such a large jump!

Thank you.