How to use meopta reproduction device?

[jacksonwade]

I just got a meopta enlarger. There is an unusual accessory - reproduction equipment. I want to learn how to use it in detail. Where can I download its manual? Thank you!

 

[Don_ih]

I have not seen that one. However, it seems similar to the Leitz one. You put the film you wish to reproduce in there emulsion-to-emulsion with the copy film (which is normally orthochromatic), line the frame up in the window under safelight, then expose through the window under the enlarger. Dust and scratches show up like neon signs, though.

 

[AnselMortensen]

Maybe butkus.org has a manual?

 

[jacksonwade]

I have not seen that one. However, it seems similar to the Leitz one. You put the film you wish to reproduce in there emulsion-to-emulsion with the copy film (which is normally orthochromatic), line the frame up in the window under safelight, then expose through the window under the enlarger. Dust and scratches show up like neon signs, though.

Thank you for your reply. And how to calculate the exposure time? If I did not misunderstood your explaination, the unexposed film should be put inside this cassettle. But where to put the film to be reproduced? Between the light source and the cassettle?

 

[jacksonwade]

Maybe butkus.org has a manual?

Unfortunately, I can't find it on butkus.org.

 

[revdoc]

Google around for "meopta 78414". I couldn't find a manual, but this has a general description for use:

KAMERASAMMLUNG.CH - Meopta Reproduktionskassette 78414

Die virtuelle Kamerasammlung ist ein Nachschlagewerk für Kameras und Zubehör aller Marken und Epochen. Die virtuelle Kamerasammlung zeigt fotografische Kameras und Zubehör in kompakter Form. Mitmachen ist möglich und erwünscht.

www.kamerasammlung.ch

It's fairly obscure. I'd never seen one, and I've used some slightly unusual Meopta gear over the years. Then again, I never wanted to use my enlarger as a camera.

 

[Don_ih]

Thank you for your reply. And how to calculate the exposure time? If I did not misunderstood your explaination, the unexposed film should be put inside this cassettle. But where to put the film to be reproduced? Between the light source and the cassettle?

You put the film you want to copy and the copy film emulsion-to-emulsion, placed together in the device. As for exposure, that will depend on the film you're using to copy, how dense the film you're copying is, and the light source. You would need to experiment. It's a good way to make slides - not as good slides as actual slides but passable.

 

[jacksonwade]

Google around for "meopta 78414". I couldn't find a manual, but this has a general description for use:

KAMERASAMMLUNG.CH - Meopta Reproduktionskassette 78414

Die virtuelle Kamerasammlung ist ein Nachschlagewerk für Kameras und Zubehör aller Marken und Epochen. Die virtuelle Kamerasammlung zeigt fotografische Kameras und Zubehör in kompakter Form. Mitmachen ist möglich und erwünscht.

www.kamerasammlung.ch

It's fairly obscure. I'd never seen one, and I've used some slightly unusual Meopta gear over the years. Then again, I never wanted to use my enlarger as a camera.

Thanks for your help!

 

[jacksonwade]

You put the film you want to copy and the copy film emulsion-to-emulsion, placed together in the device. As for exposure, that will depend on the film you're using to copy, how dense the film you're copying is, and the light source. You would need to experiment. It's a good way to make slides - not as good slides as actual slides but passable.

Thank you for your explanation! I also learnt that for reproduction, a special copying film is needed which kodak doesn't produced any more. Is that true?

 

[Don_ih]

I also learnt that for reproduction, a special copying film is needed

Kodak made a direct positive film for copying black and white negatives. That's a bit hard to find, now. There's probably a lot of it around - it ages very well - but people charge too much for it. It's not that easy to use. It's orthochromatic.
There are also lith films that you could use, also orthochromatic.
One option currently is probably Ilford's Ortho,. although the speed is very high (iso80). Your exposure times would be very short.

Maybe the best option for actual duplication would be to get some release film (used for making positive copies of negative movie film), if you can buy less than 2000 feet of it. It's on a clear base so you could reverse process it to make duplicates or regular processing to make negatives (or positives, if you're copying negatives). It's much slower than Ilford Ortho - slower than Kodak Lith Type III, also.

 

[Kino]

Kodak 5302/2302 is the release print stock. You can also use Kodak 5366/2366, which is the inter positive film. Both are ortho and can be handled under an OC type safe light.

The stock numbers that begin with "5" are acetate and the ones that start with "2" are Estar/polyester; otherwise exactly the same emulsion.

If there any motion picture labs anywhere near you, contact them and ask to buy a "short-end" or "re-can" of either of these stocks, as labs routinely discard 100 foot + lengths for silver recovery.

While they have no established ISO/ASA, figure about "3" and go from there.

 

[jacksonwade]

Kodak made a direct positive film for copying black and white negatives. That's a bit hard to find, now. There's probably a lot of it around - it ages very well - but people charge too much for it. It's not that easy to use. It's orthochromatic.
There are also lith films that you could use, also orthochromatic.
One option currently is probably Ilford's Ortho,. although the speed is very high (iso80). Your exposure times would be very short.

Maybe the best option for actual duplication would be to get some release film (used for making positive copies of negative movie film), if you can buy less than 2000 feet of it. It's on a clear base so you could reverse process it to make duplicates or regular processing to make negatives (or positives, if you're copying negatives). It's much slower than Ilford Ortho - slower than Kodak Lith Type III, also.

Thanks a lot for your patient and useful explanation!

 

[jacksonwade]

Kodak 5302/2302 is the release print stock. You can also use Kodak 5366/2366, which is the inter positive film. Both are ortho and can be handled under an OC type safe light.

The stock numbers that begin with "5" are acetate and the ones that start with "2" are Estar/polyester; otherwise exactly the same emulsion.

If there any motion picture labs anywhere near you, contact them and ask to buy a "short-end" or "re-can" of either of these stocks, as labs routinely discard 100 foot + lengths for silver recovery.

While they have no established ISO/ASA, figure about "3" and go from there.

Your message was far more helpful than I expected. Thank you!

 

[Mick Fagan]

I don't think it is a duplicating cassette, I think it is a reproduction camera, so to speak.

Essentially you load the unit with film on one side, then attach the film leader it to the other side, close everything up then put the whole shebang into the enlarger.

Place whatever you wish to copy on the baseboard, keeping it as flat as possible.

Then slide your neg/film carrier out of the enlarger partway. You switch the enlarger on and you should see a slit of light, or an S bend of light. Adjust the focus by moving the enlarging lens of the enlarger up or down to get a straight slit of light from this S bend of light. The film in the cassette is now focused. Lock the enlarger, carefully place the neg/film carrier back into the enlarger.

You then switch the enlarger on and you may see corner and possibly edge markings of the area the copying will be covering. I'm not sure how that would work on a Meopta enlarger, but in general their machinery was first rate, so somehow you should be able to see exactly where to place your material that you are going to copy.

Finally you light your material on the baseboard in even illumination, then switch the copy lights on and off in a totally darkened room using your enlarger timer unit.

I have used copy units similar to these in another life, and while I've generalised a bit, I think the basics are somewhat like this.

Units like these were used for photocopying, as opposed to xeroxing, which is a dry to dry copying machine. Often erroneously called a photocopier!

 

[Don_ih]

I think it is a reproduction camera

That's a definite possibility, especially if the window we can see on that side does not have a similar window on the back (which you would need for lining up the film in a film copier). You could still use it to copy film in exactly the same way as the Leitz Eldia. And using the film @Kino mentioned would be a good choice for either application.

 

[Nicholas Lindan]

I don't think it is a duplicating cassette, I think it is a reproduction camera, so to speak.

I agree. It has little in common with the Leica ELIDA film copier.

The translation of the German reference given by revdoc:

Meopta reproduction cassette 78414
Built in 1960
Serial number 100809
Lens The lens of the enlarger is used
shutter focal plane shutter, only B
Film format 35mm 135 24x36mm
Special features image counter, cable release connection, knife
Property H. Rotermund
Manufacturer Meopta, Optical Works Meopta, Prerov/Brno, Czechoslovakia
Development/post-production type

Film: capacity of standard 135 film cassettes or up to 5m sold by the meter (equivalent to around 110 shots in 35mm format)

The cassette is built for Meopta enlargers. However, if the cassette is placed in the enlarger where the film stage is usually located, you cannot see what is being photographed and whether the distance setting is correct. Meopta has solved this problem with its `slit-focussing` system. To do this, the cassette is pulled forward (with the enlarger light switched on) and now “slit-focusing” comes into play: The fine line in the middle of the projected auxiliary image is used to adjust the focus. The image will be in focus on the film if this line can be seen as a fine, straight line. Deviations in the focus bend the central line. The image boundaries are indicated by the bright angles and bars. (Fig. 8 to 10). To record, the cassette must be pushed back again. The object is illuminated by appropriately arranged lamps.

The film in the cassette can be cut with the knife (Figure 7) if you cannot use up an entire 5 m long film in one operation.

The cassette can of course also be used for macro shots when equipped with the appropriate film.

 

[Don_ih]

It has little in common with the Leica ELIDA film copier.

Well, it does have the characteristic paperweight quality in common

 

[jacksonwade]

This is the back. I am puzzled again. What can I do with it?

 

[jacksonwade]

I don't think it is a duplicating cassette, I think it is a reproduction camera, so to speak.

Essentially you load the unit with film on one side, then attach the film leader it to the other side, close everything up then put the whole shebang into the enlarger.

Place whatever you wish to copy on the baseboard, keeping it as flat as possible.

Then slide your neg/film carrier out of the enlarger partway. You switch the enlarger on and you should see a slit of light, or an S bend of light. Adjust the focus by moving the enlarging lens of the enlarger up or down to get a straight slit of light from this S bend of light. The film in the cassette is now focused. Lock the enlarger, carefully place the neg/film carrier back into the enlarger.

You then switch the enlarger on and you may see corner and possibly edge markings of the area the copying will be covering. I'm not sure how that would work on a Meopta enlarger, but in general their machinery was first rate, so somehow you should be able to see exactly where to place your material that you are going to copy.

Finally you light your material on the baseboard in even illumination, then switch the copy lights on and off in a totally darkened room using your enlarger timer unit.

I have used copy units similar to these in another life, and while I've generalised a bit, I think the basics are somewhat like this.

Units like these were used for photocopying, as opposed to xeroxing, which is a dry to dry copying machine. Often erroneously called a photocopier!

I think I understand what you mean. In addition, you mentioned that I need to switch the copy lights on and off in a totally darkened room using enlarger timer unit . What does this do? And for xeroxing, what kind of film is proper?

 

[tih]

It simply turns your Meopta Opemus enlarger into a camera that's particularly suited to photographing flat materials on the baseboard. This device is the film transport and shutter (the camera body), which fits where the negative holder would normally go, and the enlarger lens is used. For focusing, you pull the device half way out (there should be a detent that you can feel), and you will see (with the enlarger lamp on) the corner marks and the focusing line projected on the baseboard. (Meopta negative holders for the Opemus have that focusing line hardware integrated, as well.)

So you pull it half way out, adjust the enlargement and focus until you can see that you're capturing what you want, and that the focus line in the middle is a single continuous line, then push it back in, advance the film, make sure you have nice, even lighting on the original material you are photographing, and open the shutter for a suitable exposure time.

Just play with it a bit, and you'll figure it out.

 

[Kino]

I think I understand what you mean. In addition, you mentioned that I need to switch the copy lights on and off in a totally darkened room using enlarger timer unit . What does this do? And for xeroxing, what kind of film is proper?

You could use either of the positive films I mentioned above and develop as a negative (works fine) or look for Kodak 5234/2234 Dupe Negative stock in 35mm.

However, be aware that the 5234/2234 is panchromatic and NO safe light is safe, except for a very, very dim dark green for a few seconds. The speed of this stock is roughly in line with the positive stocks previously mentioned, as they are designed to be printed with a roughly 1000 watt tungsten lamp in a motion picture printer.

I would suspect the less sensitive the film you use in this adapter will be much more controllable than trying to obtain very brief exposures using typical still camera negative film stocks.

 

[Nicholas Lindan]

The unit has a focal plane shutter - 'B' only. You can leave the lights on.

It looks like a very nice and well thought out bit of kit. Sorry about your sample's unfortunate paint job.

 

[gorbas]

Mick Fagan got it right and then Tih! Nice piece of kit. Never managed to get one when I was using Meopta enlargers. Back in the day, in Yugoslavia, Fotokemika made handy kind of film called Mikrofilm, very slow ortho emulsion, perfectly usable with this device.