Cold light or Condenser?

[Dave Wooten]

Which is your weapon of choice and does it change with format?

 

[jmdavis]

Which is your weapon of choice and does it change with format?

23c with condenser, DII with Zone VI vc cold light. I mainly use the ZoneVI for everything but 35 (no negative holder).

Mike

 

[lee]

I have one of each. I use the Omega with the Aristo VCL400 cold light for smaller negs and a Durst 138s condenser for the larger negs

lee\c

 

[lee]

Neither. I use a diffusion color head, and wouldn't have it any other way.

Jay

too many moving parts for me just a switch to convert the color of the light from green to blue.

lee\c

 

[Dave Wooten]

Will any color head work ok for b and w....there are a lot of really cheap enlargers out there.....I have always used my Omega D2V...bought 30 years or so and have used only the condenser head and for all formats 35-4 x 5

 

[Guillaume Zuili]

I have one VCL4500 for the Omega D5 and a Durst Cold Light (made by Aristo) for the Durst 138.
I still have the condensers for the Durst but when you get into cold light it's difficult to go back.

 

[Loose Gravel]

Coldlight for 2 1/4 and up and condenser for 2 1/4 and down. I'd like to change the condenser over to an LED source, but I haven't had the time to make one.

 

[Gay Larson]

I have a besler 23c with a cold head and I love it. I also have a besler with a condenser sitting next to the cold head and it is just gathering dust. I can't give it up though.

 

[jp80874]

Saunders/LPL dial in diffusion 4550 XLG for 6x7cm and 4x5”

Durst 138S with Aristo cold light 12x12” for 8x10” with RH Designs StopClock Vario. I've only been using this for about two months, but the more I learn the more I like it.


John Powers

 

[George Collier]

I had (still have, sort of) an Omega B22 with condensers, in the mid 70's, used for years for 35 and 6x6, used a rental darkroom for 4x5. Someone gave me a D2 missing the condensers. I bought an Aristo cold light (Fred Picker convinced me not to get condensors), and the first neg I printed had a very long range, including some harsh sunlit areas (internal atrium shot with 4x5). The burning in was so painless, I continued to use it and never went back. My current bulb is the V54 high intensity (made by Aristo), Forte Fiber Polygrade, can't beat it. My condenser B22 is now in my sister's darkroom in Boston.

 

[Chuck_P]

I use an Omega B8 with an Aristo v54 cold light lamp.

CP

 

[Charles Webb]

Cold light for me, I use an Omega D2 diffusion color head, two Aristo heads and a florescent set up on an E3. Woulden't trade for anything out there!
Charlie.....

 

[removed account4]

durst m301 with a condensor
omega d3v with condensors + an aristo v54
omega e4 with the "stock omegalite", an aristo cold light head ( ek57sp) and a condensor set that adapted from an e5 ...

 

[Ole]

Condensor for 6x7 and up (Durst L138S), diffusion for 6x6 and down (Opemus 6 with colour head).

 

[David A. Goldfarb]

I've got a current Aristo head and a condensor head for my D-II, and I pretty much always use the cold light head. I keep the condensor head around mainly in case I decide to do color again, though I suppose I could find a dichro head easily enough.

 

[Neal]

Diffusion color head.

Neal Wydra

 

[rbarker]

My preference is for condensors. Collimating the light through the condensors just seems more logical to me.

 

[André E.C.]

2 condensers on my current set-up!
One old Durst F80 for 35mm and 6x6, and one even older Meopta Magnifax for 6x9.

Cheers

André

 

[fschifano]

Will any color head work ok for b and w....there are a lot of really cheap enlargers out there.....I have always used my Omega D2V...bought 30 years or so and have used only the condenser head and for all formats 35-4 x 5

Short answer is yes. You can dial out all the filtration and use white light or you can experiment with the magenta and yellow filters for use with variable contrast papers. More magenta = higher contrast, more yellow = lower contrast. Somtimes there are facilities for using standard VC filters in the head as well, which is my preference.

 

[Earl Dunbar]

Beseler 45MX with Aristo cold light head. I don't think I could go back to condensors. But I would like voltage control on the cold light head.

Earl

 

[vet173]

45vxl II with condencer, but it is a get by till I can put an Ilford 500 head on it.

 

[k_jupiter]

Beseler 45MX with Aristo cold light head. I don't think I could go back to condensors. But I would like voltage control on the cold light head.

Earl

Ok,

I have a 45MCRX with condensor, and I have a D2R Aristo cold light. Now, where do I get an adapter to put the two systems together?

I also have a DII with all the condensors 35mm, MF, and the huge 6 inch 4x5 condensors. Along with numerous neg holders, what am I going to do with this?

I have a B22XL with both condensor and color dichro heads for it and a Beseler 67S color with both mixing boxes for it. Somethings gotta give. Any and all offers for trades will be considered.

tim in san jose

 

[jeroldharter]

Beseler 45 Dichro on 45 VXL enlarger for 4x5 and smaller negatives. I like it although I too would consider an LED light source. I keep waiting for Calumet to start shipping theirs. I get tired of dialing in the filtration for split contrast printing. Also don't like the noise of the cooling fan and the light leaks.

 

[Gerald Koch]

Saunders/LPL 6700 dichroic for everything 6x7 and smaller.

 

[Phillip P. Dimor]

I used to use an Omega D2 with both an aristo coldlight head and matching condensers for mf and 4x5. I like the condensers, atleast for mf. The 4x5 glass condenser for the Omega D2 is fragile and a scratch, pitt or bubble inside the glass (Mine had all three) will show up in the print. The Coldlight solved this, but the prints seemed to have more 'snap'.

Especially my MF negatives with condenser, pushed tri-x with acufine. I _loved_ the grain and grit. With the coldlight, the prints lacked this 'snap'. It could all be subjection but I saw the difference.