Paterson PCA2060 diffuser?

[tim_walls]

Hi all,

I've been very kindly given a Philips/Paterson PCA2060 colour analyser, and I'd like to take a shot at getting it working.

The only downer is that as I understand things, it should have come with a diffuser lens which mounts under the enlarger lens, in order to take averaged readings. Inevitably, I'm missing that lens.

Does anyone know if it's possible to cobble together a substitute for this (would simply holding the probe directly under the lens rather than on the baseboard just do the trick, for example?!) Even if original parts were still available - which I doubt - I can't help thinking it'd probably cost more to buy a new lens than the unit is worth, so I'm looking for cheap ideas!

Thanks in advance

 

[srs5694]

I'd expect any sort of diffusing material would work, so long as it doesn't introduce a color bias (and maybe it would work even then; you'd just end up setting different numbers on the dials). If you can't find anything else, though, PM me; I've got a non-functional Philips color analyzer with its diffusing disk that I might be willing to part with. Shipping would be cheapest if you're in the US.

Another alternative is to take readings on parts of the image with a constant color. This would work best if you take a photo of the same object, with a fairly neutral color, on each roll and in each lighting condition. For instance, if you photograph a gray card at the start of each roll, you could take your readings on it. Assuming your lighting doesn't change much through each roll, this should work perfectly well; however, if your lighting does change (daylight to tungsten, tungsten to fluorescent, etc.), this procedure won't work too well unless you take another gray-card shot.