Color head + condenser... or not?

[jernejk]

I have a meopta opemus 5 enlarger with color head.

Maybe a stupid question but... am I supposed to remove the condenser when using the color head?

Well I tried and the light is not even without the condenser, so I guess I have to use it regardless.

 

[John Koehrer]

Shouldn't there be a diffuser with the color head?
I don't know about Meopta but am pretty sure other brands use them.

 

[jernejk]

Shouldn't there be a diffuser with the color head?
I don't know about Meopta but am pretty sure other brands use them.

I really don't know... It looks like there is a diffuser:


But as I said.. removing the condenser makes the light uneven, with visible falloff from the centre.

 

[jernejk]

Shouldn't there be a diffuser with the color head?
I don't know about Meopta but am pretty sure other brands use them.

I really don't know... It looks like there is a diffuser. Underneath the black sphere is a ground glass where the light comes from.
View attachment 79293

But as I said.. removing the condenser makes the light uneven, with visible falloff from the centre.

 

[John Koehrer]

It sounds like there is a diffuser then. Typically the diffuser sits directly above the negative. I think thats what you're saying, yes?
You say there's a ground glass. Diffusers are usually a white translucent plastic/glass. Unlike a ground glass they won't form an image but look like you would be viewing through milk. IE:white, with a pretty even light, no hot spot.

 

[jernejk]

Huh, the diffuser sits directly above the negative?

With meopta 5, you mount the color head in place of "normal" head, so everything else stays the same:


But look at this, it seems there's another model, Axomat 4, which is using the same color head, but is missing the whole middle part where condenser is:

 

[John Koehrer]

Makes life interesting doesn't it?