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New to darkroom photography. Recommendations for safelights?


fully agree. I'm paranoid about safelight fogging and also went with red lights with additional rubylith protection; not the brightestbut the safest.
 
Thank you @koraks for your help, I appreciate it!

Yes I saw the Rubilith on eBay, it's just rather expensive (also shipping one rolled sheet from abroad seems nuts).

I spoke to the people of Lee Filters, who also offer a deep golden amber filter - that would need some proper testing, but if it passes that would be a nice option (for Multigrade)..
 
Never made a fogging test, but for Foma paper, I use the ADOX Supersafe LED bulbs that are quite cheap. For Ilford paper, I use the orange SL-1. But the ADOX bulbs are not very less bright, very comfortable for darkroom work. I had the five SL-1 first. If I had have known the quality of the ADOX bulbs before, I had safe my money and started with them.
 
I also got a SL-1 @Pegajoy and think it's great (definitely safe for Ilford Multigrade, which is all that I'm using, not expensive (used on eBay etc.), pleasant light to work under)..

Just realised (as my wet area is on the other side of the room, opposite the enlarger) that I'd be standing in my own shadow when developing the prints in the trays - this is happening near the sink - over which there are low-hanging cupboards, which is why it would be perfect to have an LED strip below those.
I'm basically trying to find some suitable light that runs along the length of the cupboards, ideally in a similar color to the amber SL-1



If it would be all on free standing tables I'd hang those Adox Supersafe bulbs over them as well. That would be an easy and rather cheap solution, and apparently they really are super safe

By the way, how are you finding the light of those (apart from the brightness), is it as pleasant as the SL-1 to you?

Thanks!
 
Yes, it is nearly pleasant like the SL-1. I will make some pictures from my next darkroom session tomorrow.
 
My darkroom measures 8 feet by 10 feet.

I am using a 250 volt 15 watt tungsten bulb with an amber Ilford S902 5" x 7" filter glass bounced off the ceiling.

Would there be a significant light improvement if I used an S902 8" x 10" filter glass with the same bulb?
 
Hello @Tina Kino, sorry for being late, had to postpone my session to today. Her the pictures of my darkroom setup illuminated by SL-1 and the Adox safelight with clip lamps that are directed to the ceiling.


The SL-1 is bit brighter, but at the end both are very convenient for working.
 
Thank you very much for the feedback (and the pictures) @Pegajoy - I appreciate it

A nice darkroom you got there!
 
Thanks a lot. What you see is a rock solid Homrich 4x5 color enlarger to the left, in the middle a Magnifax 4 with a Heiland splitgrade system and on the right a Philips PCS 2000 RGB enlarger that I use for color negatives and slides.
 
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..I also saw these the other day.

They seem to be designed as a little "secondary" light - yet they advise to keep it "at a minimum of 1.5m distance from the paper or the film", which seems a little weird for that use case?
I'd probably still prefer a SL-1 (which Ilford suggests to keep away 1.2m).
 
Agreed. I prefer the SL-1 also. I use the Adox safelights only where needed, Foma, old Afga Record Rapid etc.
 
The 16 foot rope light/Christmas light/safelight in my temporary darkroom/bathroom that passes the Kodak safelight test with the Ilford and (old Agfa) and Oriental RC papers I use:

 
snusmumriken said:
Some pretty murky chemicals you got there, Matt! What process are you doing, out of curiosity?
Click to expand...

I nest smaller trays inside larger ones to help minimize splashes - particularly the fixer - and those inner trays happen to be black .
Ethol LPD developer, either Ilfostop or just citric acid, and either Ilford Rapid Fixer or Hypam fixer right now, although I've used lots of the Kodak rapid Fixer without hardener added in the past.
The lower tray is a print washing tray which drains into a further print washing tray on the bottom (which is hard to see in that photo) which itself drains into the tub.
As I use RC paper, I'm able to wash them 1-2 minutes in each wash tray - bottom one first, then top one next - which is enough for thorough washing.
 
This is what I have been using for the past couple of months. I have a proper darkroom safelight, but this one is safer for the xray film that I use... Influenced by a darkroom group that I belong to (along with Matt!). I was quite impressed with the brightness level. By the way, I tested this rope light via Kodak safelight test (thanks @MattKing!).

 
Honestly, I'd go for cheap and cheerful. You'll find a simple red darkroom safelight satisfactory for many years, and easy to unhook and stow away. For about 15 years I used only a single Paterson dome light, and it still forms part of my safelight array, using the original bulb, now >30 years old. It's identical to the Photax dome light, and both can be found second-hand on eBay for next to nothing.

If you use a type of paper that allows it (eg Ilford Multigrade), an amber safelight allows you more light to see by - but the red is perfectly good for such papers too.
 
Tina Kino said:
@MattKing that rack setup looks pretty good And the lights very festive
Click to expand...

The folding metal ironing board that serves as the support serves to complete the ensemble .
The "racks" are actually coated metal shelving cut to length at a local Home Depot or similar.
 
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