Night vision for enlarger

[OKK]

Hi all,
I am new this forum. I am having poor vision lately and search for a devise that can help to see better when I do dodging and burning work in darkroom. I would appreciate any recommendation it would help this purpose. Thanks.

 

[koraks]

Welcome aboard @OKK! I'm sorry to hear about your ailing vision. I imagine that doesn't help much when burning & dodging, indeed.

I wonder if perhaps regular night vision googles might be sensitive for the visible green/blue light when enlarging.

 

[Rick A]

I own an expensive NVG for loading LF film, I don't see the need for it while doing D&B work on the enlarger though (pun not intended) I an concentrating on the illuminated area of the image and I think it would be a hindrance. Keep in mind that NVG has a slight time delay as you are watching a small screen fed by a camera. There's also the magnification issue, things in the screen are a tad farther away than you think. There's a learning curve so you might get used to using them. YMMV

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[OKK]

Hello Koraks, thanks for reply. Is there any special night vision devise it might help to see image on the enlarger easel?

 

[koraks]

Is there any special night vision devise it might help to see image on the enlarger easel?

I doubt anything is made specifically for this purpose.

I'd suggest trying something like @Rick A posted above in the hope that it'll also amplify visible light, not just the IR light from the device itself. You may even want to block/disable the IR lights on the device so it doesn't flood the projected image you're trying to see.

 

[OKK]

Hi Rick, does NVG can identify images on enlarger easel?

 

[Rick A]

Hi Rick, does NVG can identify images on enlarger easel?

I've never used them while enlarging, I'll have to give it a try later today when I get home. They might, there's a non IR mode.

 

[ic-racer]

Not my work, but here’s a link to a review of some devices. I’m not aware of any inexpensive options for this technology. (EDIT, check out Gen 1 devices)

https://www.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/2024-01/24_0119_st_nightvisiondevicesassessmentreport_0.pdf

 

[OKK]

I've never used them while enlarging, I'll have to give it a try later today when I get home. They might, there's a non IR mode.

 

[OKK]

Thanks Rick, I’ll be waiting your positive result.

 

[MattKing]

Welcome to Photrio.
The following suggestions may be already known to you, but just in case....
You may accomplish what you need if you increase the visibility of the exposing image.
To that end, be sure that your safelights are turned off while actually exposing the prints. Many timers have a safelight outlet that can be configured to do this automatically.
Also, if you have a range of choices available to you, it helps if the imaging light is brighter - larger apertures (and shorter times) instead of the other options.
What light source do you have on your enlarger? For example, I find the imaging green and blue light from most Ilford MG500 heads to be harder to see than a more standard colour.

 

[Bill Burk]

Creative suggestion not obvious but because print paper these days is so fast:

Add a light red filter to the enlarger. This will slow things down. See if you can get the print time to 32 seconds at a usable brightness.

May need to experiment with it.

 

[grain elevator]

Creative suggestion not obvious but because print paper these days is so fast:

Add a light red filter to the enlarger. This will slow things down. See if you can get the print time to 32 seconds at a usable brightness.

May need to experiment with it.

AND you might want to use a higher power enlarger. With added red filtration - you'll have to experiment with the amount - you just add red light that improves visibility for you but is invisible to the paper.

 

[OKK]

Thanks Bill

 

[OKK]

Welcome to Photrio.
The following suggestions may be already known to you, but just in case....
You may accomplish what you need if you increase the visibility of the exposing image.
To that end, be sure that your safelights are turned off while actually exposing the prints. Many timers have a safelight outlet that can be configured to do this automatically.
Also, if you have a range of choices available to you, it helps if the imaging light is brighter - larger apertures (and shorter times) instead of the other options.
What light source do you have on your enlarger? For example, I find the imaging green and blue light from most Ilford MG500 heads to be harder to see than a more standard colour.

Thanks Matt

 

[Rick A]

Thanks Rick, I’ll be waiting your positive result.

Well, I tried the goggles with my D-5 and without switching to IR they do amplify the light, but viewing the image area on a 3.5 inch screen is not worth doing. I've seen a couple of suggestions here that I believe would work better. You really do need to view the actual image area to dodge and burn properly.

 

[OKK]

Well, I tried the goggles with my D-5 and without switching to IR they do amplify the light, but viewing the image area on a 3.5 inch screen is not worth doing. I've seen a couple of suggestions here that I believe would work better. You really do need to view the actual image area to dodge and burn properly.

Thank you for your time and effort, Rick.

 

[ic-racer]

Rick, have you used those for small format film? Is there enough resolution or close-focus capacity to load Minox cartridges for example. Or to make a precision cut on a large format sheet (able to see the small numbers on a paper cutter?)

 

[Rick A]

Rick, have you used those for small format film? Is there enough resolution or close-focus capacity to load Minox cartridges for example. Or to make a precision cut on a large format sheet (able to see the small numbers on a paper cutter?)

I don't shoot anything smaller than 120 (645) film but I think they would be a great help for that.

 

[Bill Burk]

The ATN Viper allows you to get close enough to load Minox. But it’s not readily available, I don’t know what current gizmos would be good, they all seem to have emphasized other things like telephoto or lcd screens

 

[ic-racer]

As I get older I wonder why struggle. Recently I have been trying to flip my Dual-8 movie film to the other side in the dark (to get much more useable film per roll) but it is quite difficult threading it in the dark. Mostly because the Foma film has such a strong curl.