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Darkroom Luxuries

Frank53 said:
-the Heiland split grade filter module that came as a free extra with the LPL7452 I won on a local auction site
- the Heiland split grade control unit + Comfort unit. The best investment I ever did.
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Agreed. I have the Heiland units on my 4550XLG. Truly remarkable pieces of equipment.
 
does beer fridge count? although I wrecked a print one day when I thought it was a good idea to grab one during the development phase... oops!
 
Time to spend there.
 
A luxury? A film loading / unloading table with built in dedicated vacuum for cleaning film backs and holders. I get a *lot* less dust on negatives now.
 
Always considered my dry mount press a luxury. Makes EVERY print look better.
 
A sink. And running water in it.

I have neither and need to bring empty trays and containers to the kitchen sink for washing as it's the only one in the house that's big enough. Bleaching also happens in the kitchen.
 
Agree on Heiland items, they are so nice to work with. I can't believe how quick they are to update firmware when new papers come out, or refine profiles. I have an LED head in my 4550XL. I really would like to purchase an 8x10 LED for my Zone VI enlarger, but the cost is prohibitive. Maybe someday! The cost is high upfront for the LED but if you can swing it, time is money, and paper is a lot closer to money. It's 2020 and there is no shame in speeding up the process a bit.

Now if only they would come out with a color analyzer.
 
Intellifaucet K250 and Elkay chiller. Not really luxuries, but essentials.
 
Electricity: I have to run an extension cord into the hallway.
 
I got a full set of these Stainless Steel Leedal graduates at Photorama for almost nothing. I don't know how I got along without this 4 liter one all these years. I was using a common bucket. This is perfect for mixing Dektol, because of the accurate graduated markings.
 
High humidity is the bane of all photography equipment. I monitor humidity with a sling psychometer. The nice thing about a sling psychometer is that as long as the mercury columns of the thermometers stay intact, it never needs to be re-calibrated.

 

Those look great. Much better than the various old plastic jugs / buckets that I tend to use.
 
Rick Jones said:
Always considered my dry mount press a luxury. Makes EVERY print look better.
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Agreed. I lucked out and found a lightly used Seal 210M a few years ago for a decent price. So far I've only used it to flatten fiber prints, but I would like to start dry mounting prints as well.
 
Steve Goldstein said:
A sink. And running water in it.

I have neither and need to bring empty trays and containers to the kitchen sink for washing as it's the only one in the house that's big enough. Bleaching also happens in the kitchen.
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I fully agree !
 
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