Enlarging Time - Soft Filtration

Hi Everyone,

Long time lurker, first time poster. I've been working at home on RA-4 prints and I have a question about enlarger exposure time. I've been trying to create prints that have a softness/glow. My current recipe I've been playing around with is introducing Hasselblad Softar Filters 1,2,3 in different combinations for a portion of the enlarging time. My exposure times have been under 10s for the last couple of prints I've been working on. I got to wondering last night if there would be any benefit to closing the aputure more and increasing the exposure time. I'd be curious to hear other people's thoughts? I'm currently out of chemistry, otherwise I'd experiment more.

I don't have a link available on SOFTAR lenses, but you should find one. SOFTARs are unique filters are only really work of certain focal length lenses and at certain apertures. They are meant to be used on longer focal length lenses (portrait length for the format) and at wide apertures. With shorter focal lengths or stopped down, the many "mini-lenses" on the SOFTAR start to show up, instead of spreading the highlights in the image around evenly.

In addition, if used on an enlarger, the SOFTAR will be spreading around the light from the clear areas (shadows), instead of the highlights -- if used on negatives. That's the exact opposite of what you want. They are intended to be used on TAKING lenses, not enlarging lenses.

Clark123 said:

any benefit to closing the aputure more and increasing the exposure time

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Yes, this evidently works. You'll lose some sharpness due to diffraction, but given your use case, this may not be much of a concern at all. And in many cases it's not really visible anyway.

Printing from a negative on RA-4 paper is a proces where more light will result in a darker area. The softar will scatter the light resulting in a darker halo. That effect is the opposite of softness/glow.It will emphasize the shadows.

koraks said:

Yes, this evidently works. You'll lose some sharpness due to diffraction, but given your use case, this may not be much of a concern at all. And in many cases it's not really visible anyway.

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another tip from more experienced printers is to use a clear filter and spread a thin layer of Vaseline onto it.

xkaes said:

SOFTARs are unique filters are only really work of certain focal length lenses and at certain apertures. They are meant to be used on longer focal length lenses (portrait length for the format) and at wide apertures. With shorter focal lengths or stopped down, the many "mini-lenses" on the SOFTAR start to show up, instead of spreading the highlights in the image around evenly.

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Are you referring to Carl Zeiss Softar filters? Is it your direct experience that they are supposed to be used at wide apertures?

The "Hasselblad Manual" from E. Wildi suggests that "the diffusion effect does not change while opening or closing the aperture" (p.264 on the 5th edition). I sometimes use a Softar 1 at f8 with the Sonnar 150 CF f4 and I get pleasing results, but now I wonder if the effect would change with a different aperture? I mostly use f8 because it's slightly more "forgiving" when focusing a portrait than wide open.

sterioma said:

Are you referring to Carl Zeiss Softar filters? Is it your direct experience that they are supposed to be used at wide apertures?

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Yes, but I can't remember exactly where I read it. Still, I tested it out myself, and it's true. They were designed for portraits -- which are usually longer lenses at wider apertures. As you stop down the lens or shorten the focal length, the "dots" start to become clearly visible. Stop down a wide angle lens to f11 and you'll see the "dots" clearly -- some might like the effect.

They're great is used within their limits.

Test it yourself -- easy to do. You see the effect in the viewfinder/ground glass.