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Kodak Safelight lenses, Questions....

harlequin

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Dear APUG Members,

I recently received several of the Kodak metal 5" safelights that screw into conventional light socket (USA)
curious what is the best filter for B+W paper handling, mostly Ilford products.

A) The lamps came with a deep red 00 filter, can hardly see through it. let alone 15w bulb.
B) Could I replace the bulbs inside with small low wattage LEDs?
C) One Filter is a bright Orange with no Kodak Markings.??
D) I remember the Amber (OA) filter in school darkroom, what is that best for.?
E) Since sodium vapor safelite is out of the question financially, are the round 0A filters with rubber surround
still available anywhere (other than garage/yard sales)
F) What is the 00 Red filter optimized for if not photo bromide paper?

I really appreciate any all feedback on this, even a photo of the lens (OA) would be helpful.

Kind Regards,

Harlequin
 
I wouldn't use any of them, as they all sound a bit dated.
 
My 1940 dated Kodak materials indicate that a 00 filter should be yellow, and was designed for contact papers.
I don't have anything more recent that even refers to a 00 filter.
The OA filter shows up in 1970s dated Kodak materials. They indicate a greenish yellow colour, also designed for contact materials.
The attached, most recent data sheet makes no reference to either filter designation - hope it helps anyways:
 

Attachments

  • Kodak Safelight test_K4_1106.pdf
    73.3 KB · Views: 743
Modern multigrade enlarging papers are sensitive to blue and green light. The Ilford safelight I have could be described as amber, it is a dull yellow. I prefer this to red lighting. My advice is to give the amber lamp a try with your paper following the instructions in the KODAK safelight test posted above. The test takes a while and some care however the assurance provided by the result is worth the effort.
 
You will get a range of answers, most of which so far have been negative to varying degrees such as throw them all away etc. The truth is no one here can really say how safe each is as they do not have your lights. I'd try the Kodak safelight procedure with a piece of paper and see how each of them perform. You can then make up your own mind.

Maybe someone will give a link to the Kodak safelight test procedure. It will be the most constructive contribution that can be given.

pentaxuser
 
OC would be the Kodak designation for filters for enlarging papers. I use a bullet safelight with an OC filter in combination with a red filtered safelight and some LED strings similar to the above (mine is an RGB string which I operate on the red channel only). I don't think the OC is exactly what Ilford specifies but it does work, however, YMMV and you should test before declaring anything safe in your particular space.
As for bulbs, while there are plenty of LED bulbs that consume 10-15 watts, they are considerably brighter than a 15W incandescent bulb, and likely would be too bright.
The 7 inch round filters are probably available from either Freestyle or B&H, though I don't think Kodak branded filters are still available new. Red will work too if you can't find an OC equivalent, but won't be as bright.
 
Find you some OG filters and throw the others away. Maybe keep a dark red one in case you develop ortho film in the future. I still use 15W bulbs and keep a few extra. Mine have lasted forever.....Regards!
 
In the 1960s, the OC filter was recommended as the filter for all Kodak papers, except for Panalure (#10 filter)

In the 1980s, the Kodak Darkroom Dataguide says
  • OA (greenish yellow) -- for B&W contact and duplicating films
  • OC (light amber) -- for contact and enlarging papers
  • #1 (red) -- for some blue-sensitivie materials
  • #1A (light red) -- for slow orthochromatic materials and Kodalith film
  • #2 (dark red) -- for fast orthochromatic materials
  • #3 (dark green) -- for some panchromatic materials
  • #7 (green) for some B&W infrared materials

The Kodak OC is what Kodak officially recommended for its Polycontrast papers in the 1980s
 
Last edited:
pentaxuser said:
Maybe someone will give a link to the Kodak safelight test procedure. It will be the most constructive contribution that can be given.
Click to expand...
Guess you didn't see the pdf I attached to my post .
 
The 5-1/2 inch Kodak bullet shaped safelight was standard in nearly every darkroom for about 50 years. They are still common. Kodak made all its safelight filters in a version to fit this safelight, and most other photo companies also made filters to fit it. The only recommended filter for modern black and white papers is the OC, light amber. The old Verigam filter is similar, and it will also work. The No. 1 and No. 2 red filters will work, but they provide less light. No. 10 and No. 13 dark amber filters are too dark to work with. The OO filter mentioned by the OP is listed by Kodak as a light yellow filter, used in certain photomechanical processing; perhaps the one he has, which is apparently red, is from some other manufacturer. Filters can fade with age, so testing will be required before you can trust old safelight filters. Also, when Kodak says a 15 watt bulb, they mean an old inside frosted tungsten lamp, and that only. Other bulbs have different spectra and produce different amounts of light, so they will behave differently with any given filter. They may be usable, but test the safelight with them before you use it routinely.
 
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