Help with colors

Nicholas Dellerba

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Hey everyone,
Does anyone know a way to get the color right without......
a. a color analyzer-used them and they didn't help
b. doing a bunch of test prints adjusting as you go
or
c. the print analyzers-which I can't find anywhere.

Or is there a kind of chart I can use to know what to add or subtract for example if my print comes out too blue?

Any help would be appreciated. !!!
Thanks,
Nick
 

btaylor

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Kodak Viewing Filters! They work a treat and are cheap. Shouldn't be too hard to find on eBay or similar. It includes a simple chart of complimentary colors too- to get you headed in the right direction quickly.
You still have to do some test prints to dial it in, but once you do if you stick to just a few films, one brand of paper and lighting colors (tungsten/daylight, etc) you will be close with your filter pack.
 
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Nicholas Dellerba

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Jul 23, 2020
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Dublin, OH
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Nicholas Dellerba

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Jul 23, 2020
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Location
Dublin, OH
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35mm
I can't find them cheaper than $157 on Ebay. And those aren't in good condition. Any suggestions on anywhere else to find them?
 

gdavis

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Learn to judge the color, it takes practice but is an essential skill. I have a set of the viewing filters but never found them to be of much use (I seem to be in the minority with this). They're getting hard to find at a decent price (I don't think they're made anymore), I would just keep practicing. It's frustrating at first, doing a ring around will be very helpful. I have a mask with 8 "doors" that lays over the paper in the enlarger allowing to do like a test strip for color on one sheet that I find very useful. Make sure your process is consistent, otherwise you'll just be chasing your tail.
 
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koraks

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Nicholas Dellerba said:
b. doing a bunch of test prints adjusting as you go
Click to expand...
This works fine and is the way I still do it. Color analyzers so far didn't do much for me although they do work in principle. But I didn't find they had much benefits over the old fashioned way for me.

Nicholas Dellerba said:
Or is there a kind of chart I can use to know what to add or subtract for example if my print comes out too blue?
Click to expand...
Learn about complementary colors and the color wheel. If your print is too blue, you add blue to the exposure, and that means subtracting yellow.
The tricky bit is to distinguish between the neighboring colors, eg blue and cyan, red and magenta etc. Sometimes you think you're dealing with too much blue in the print, but it turns out to be too much cyan in reality. Experiemce goes a long way. Don't expect to be able to get it right after having done only a couple of dozen prints - it takes time to learn. As you learn, you'll find you need fewer and fewer test strips before you get it right.
 

MattKing

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foc

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If you want to learn how to judge colours be sure you start by viewing in light that is consistent and colour correct. Daylight can vary so much, I would suggest you get yourself a daylight/cool white (5000k) led bulb lamp to view prints.
Then follow what has been said above.
 

DREW WILEY

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No need for fancy color analyzers. Simple viewing filters already described will tell you the direction to go; but there's no substitute for actual test strips. To get less blue in an RA4 color neg print, you actually increase blue (it's a negative process) - that is, either less Y on your colorhead setting, or else, more M&C. And as and just suggested, you need a good viewing light; but common LED, CFL, and fluorescent sources are awful. Order high-quality bulbs actually designed for color matching.
 

halfaman

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Viewing light is a tricky thing. It should have the same quality like in the place where the print is going to be watched, otherwise you can get unpleasant deviations from what you want to show. My darkroom has warm LED lightning, outside there is cool fluorescent, and I have also some windows for daylight ilumination. I check depending on where the print is going to end. Fluorescent for home, daylight for informal exhibition on unkwown site (never exhibit on a proper gallery).

If you really want to nail it, you should consider also the ammount of light the print is going to get.
 

pentaxuser

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It might help us help you if you were to show us some of your RA4 prints that you believe do not have the right balance. A digital picture of the actual prints would probably be best but if it has to be scans then all you can do is used the scanner controls to get the result as close as possible to your "eye-balled" RA4

Thanks

pentaxuser
 

jamesaz

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You may be able to find some used 3x3 in. cc filters and make your own viewing filters for less than the asking price on eBay. Just a thought. Good luck.
 
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Nicholas Dellerba

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I was able to snag a set of filters on Ebay for only $50. So I will see if that helps. But before that I was able to just play with the colors and I think I got it about right and adjusted. I had gotten new lamps in the color head and the color was just funky.
 

mklw1954

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I use the the attached guide to get RA4 print colors right; I don't have the reference from which this was excerpted.

I have Kodak viewing filters and an analyzer built into my Minolta MOD3 enlarger but I do not use them. Check that your whites are truly white and check items whose color you know. With experience you'll know how to make adjustments without consulting the guide.
 

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Nicholas Dellerba

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Dublin, OH
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Thanks for the guide. I'll take a look at that. I do hope I can get to the point where I will just know what to do!
 
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