IT'S ALIVE!!!! Zone VI VC LED Head

[MurrayMinchin]

Went to Calumet's site today and found that the loooooooooong awaited Zone VI VC LED head is now available...in limited numbers, whatever that means. Wish I had a grand and a bit to toss around

I'm looking forward to hearing how effective it is. Anybody have one on order?

http://www.calumetphoto.com/item/EN6400.html?&ac.cat.CatTree.detail=y&type=PRDINDEX

Murray

 

[photobum]

I would worry about that "Limited numbers" thing and future support. I was going to buy a Zone VI for 5x7. I called about a head as the catalog said they were waiting for the 4x5 head first. Calumet no longer has any 5x7 heads of any kind, with no plans to make or buy any. They refered me to Aristo. This was real half/assed support for an enlarger that's supposed to be 5x7 capable.

Oh yeah, I had a D-2 that I though would last me the rest of my life. It's funny how those 5x7's can sneak up on you.

 

[MurrayMinchin]

I agree photobum, the whole enterprise reeks of uncertainty. Too bad, because the use of led's makes so much sense to me. I wonder what could have been the cause of all the delays?

Murray

 

[Peter Schrager]

LEDS

I saw this head in the flesh several years ago at the big show in NYC. Looked very nice. Reason for the delay: we all know damn well that Calumet doesn't care one bit about bringing this product to market. Thankfully I have a retrofitted 5x7 VC on my B+J enlarger that works just peachy. If it breaks I'll take it to Aristo or a guy who works with Flourescent...
Best, Peter

 

[Loose Gravel]

Your right, I don't think Calumet cares. Looks like it is just Richard's (of Calumet) project and probably some little company that is helping to develop it. LED light sources are a good idea, to bad that high power LEDs and enlargers are technologies that are out of phase with each other. Too bad it is only 4x5 and just barely covers. Too bad it is not as bright as a V54 coldlight. Too bad it is designed for a Z6 enlarger. Too bad it doesn't get to the real high contrasts with VC paper. Too bad it has taken so long to come to market and still having problems. Too bad that it costs so much. But it is a good idea. Too bad.

 

[ron mcelroy]

Its too bad Calumet didn't embrace the ZoneVI product line. I replaced an Omega D-3 with a ZoneVI II enlarger/ VC that I bought a years ago. I like the enlarger, but support for it has dropped. Recently I looked to add some medium format negative carriers recently and discovered they are not carried.

 

[RJS]

Alan Ross wrote a review of this head recently. I too had thought it would be better than sliced bread. He didn't sound as if he thought it was quite so wonderful. And at the price, to fit an enlarger for which one cannot get pieces and is too bloody large anyway, I decided to forget the whole thing. After all an enlarger is just a simple projector and doesn't need to be so fancy. A little light leaking can be dealt with easily. And if it can be aligned, one is about as good as another, as they say, in my opinionated judgement!

 

[HenryA]

I have two of Huw's LED heads. The first didn't cover the film area we wanted. The second one does and I've been using it for a good while now on my Focomat with EXCELLENT results. I don't think it could be any better. I have constant exposure variable contrast at my finger tips and its a joy to use.
Next step is an 8x10 version but that might be a while as Huw is busy building a digital Leica.

If anyone in the U.S. wants a LED head write me. I'm pretty sure we can make it happen.