Can someone tell me about a #13 safelight filter?

I seem to be on the verge of an RA-4 darkroom and I wonder if the safelight is even worth trying. Any thoughts? Thanks.

Useless, as far as I am concerned.

Do you have problems becoming disoriented when you are in complete darkness? If so, the #13 filter can help.

I am pretty good in the dark.

I can load film holders.

And I have color printed without a safelight.

Dear Jim,

The only one worth it (that's easy to find) is a Thomas Duplex. I don't know if the filters are even available any more but I printed with them on in a community darkroom a few times and it was amazingly bright (still much darker than b&w) and caused no fogging.

Neal Wydra

I have one that I use when printing RA-4. I have a roller processor, and find loading exposed prints in in the dark is fine, but sometimes things have been set down on the lid, and they go flying when I open the lid in the dark.

Mostly it helps figuring out where you are turned in the room. It was more useful before I had fitted the Omega D5 in as my primary enlarger. It has illuminated dials for flitration that help me not bash my head against the enlarger head, as I was wont to do with the prior enlarger without use of the #13 safelight.

Mine is an indirectly aimed little safelight - glass of the size of the Kodak duplex safelght. 7.5W bulb.

You need to be in the dark for quite a while before your eyes begin to sense that this thing is even spilling any illumination out at all unless you are looking directly at it.

I have printed RA4 with a Duka sodium - that's considerably brighter than the #13 even set for darkest setting and bounced off the ceiling, which is what I did with RA4, but I can say that even being able to make out the outlines of things in the dark is a benefit, at least to me.