Yes, you can certainly do that.Actually, I prefer a colour enlarger for B&W enlarging because, with multi-contrast paper you have the most contrast control this way.
Yes, you can certainly do that.Actually, I prefer a colour enlarger for B&W enlarging because, with multi-contrast paper you have the most contrast control this way.I have been doing contact prints and will now be doing enlarger prints in black and white. I just came into a color 4x5 enlarger, Durst Laborator 1000 with a Pavelle 401. I have been using Ilford contrast filters when I contact print. How might I use the contrast filters with this color enlarger? Ideas please. If I'm correct, some people use the color filters of the color enlarger as contrast filters? I would appreciate any input you may have.
Thanks!
Jon
Yes, you can certainly do that.Actually, I prefer a colour enlarger for B&W enlarging because, with multi-contrast paper you have the most contrast control this way.
correct but with little effort you can calibrate it very precisely.Start with white light (all three filter settings at zero), which is roughly equivalent to Grade 3. If you want less contrast, dial in some Y. If you want more contrast, dial in some M instead. It's that simple! With some practice using test strips, you'll catch on quickly. No need to worry about what settings hypothetically equal what "grade". It's a continuum either way.
Personally i would just use a stepwedge and colourhead to find what grades you can get out of your head and paper combination. Takes 10 minutes and $20 or whatever a stouffer step wedge costs
Start with white light (all three filter settings at zero), which is roughly equivalent to Grade 3. If you want less contrast, dial in some Y. If you want more contrast, dial in some M instead. It's that simple! With some practice using test strips, you'll catch on quickly. No need to worry about what settings hypothetically equal what "grade". It's a continuum either way.
I am simply a "Hobbyist" Photographer. And i am still very much a beginner.Start with white light (all three filter settings at zero), which is roughly equivalent to Grade 3. If you want less contrast, dial in some Y. If you want more contrast, dial in some M instead. It's that simple! With some practice using test strips, you'll catch on quickly. No need to worry about what settings hypothetically equal what "grade". It's a continuum either way.
the little leaflet that come with the Ilford paper are as inaccurate as the whole idea of paper 'grades'.calibrate yourself or just dial in yellow to get softer or magenta to get harder.I don't know if it is the same over in the US, but in UK, with every packet of Ilford, or Kentmere paper and possibly some of the lesser used varieties, they provide a guide as to the filtration needed to get grades from 0 to 4.5. They do not go from 00 to the full 5 because the filtration on most enlargers do not have the required filtration. They give filtration values for Kodak, Durst and Leitz and V35 and most of the available enlargers are included under the lists.
When using Ilford paper they go one step further and include values for dual filtration using both the yellow and magenta filters in unison to maintain exposure times the same, right through from Grade 1.5 to 4.5. This does mean some of the exposures for large prints from 35mm can be a little long, but the time savin is not having to make seperate tests for different grades. (I do believe that enlargers that have 'Durst' value filtration it is possible to get a full grade 5.)
There is absolutely no need to make separate tests for each grade except the ones at the end of the range.
When using a colour head you have the flexibility of making your own decision what grade would be best. So if a print with grade 2 is just a but too 'soft' and 2.5 is a little too 'hard' you can set the filtration somewhere in between the values - great for managing highlights and shadows
White light on my head is grade 0. Dialling in any Y at all starts at grade 00 and gets progressively softer. Im using a durst cls70 head and no way does mine do what you describe.
I may be confused by the way you have described the way filtration works. I think you are the first person to say that white light( i.e.no filtration) is grade 0. Ilford has said that no filtration is about grade 2 as reflected in its single Y and M filtration tables. In the Ilford table for Durst enlargers with a 130M max, grade 0 is 75Y and then the grade progressively rises as you decrease Y until you get to grade 2 which is 0 filtration. To go higher you then add M
pentaxuser
However, I can't see the problem in seeing what the maximum contrast a head can pull out of a paper / developer combination. That info can all be fed back into how long to develop film for.
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