RH Designs = Digital?

[mrtoml]

I was considering purchasing the Stop Clock Professional in combination with the Zonemaster II from RH Designs; and in the future maybe the Analyzer Pro. After reading what they are capable of doing, I have come to the conclusion that I may as well switch to digital. They basically give you all of your exposures, and even have a gray scale screen that allows you to see the image before you print it. You are basically photo-shopping your images in the darkroom with a different type of computer.

There are many Apuger's who despise digital, but yet these same individuals own some of the equipment previously mentioned. Can they not be considered as "QUASI-DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHERS", or even worse "WET DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHERS"?

I am not posing this question as a means of starting confusion. I really want to purchase equipment from RH Designs, but do not know if I can still call myself a traditional photographer by using it.

Do I have a point, or am I overeacting?

I bought the analyser pro recently after returning to wet darkroom work after a long period of printing monochrome digitally. I can honestly say that it has been a great help and has changed the way I think about the whole process of my photography.

With the analyser I can work out my personal film speed and contrast using the densitometer function and calibrate my printing paper and developer combination using the calibration function. This allows me to have greater control over the entire analogue process. For example, when I press the shutter on the camera after having placed a part of the scene on zone III for shadow detail, I know that when I get to develop and print the negative I will be able to place this zone III on the paper of my choice with the shade of gray I want and be able to print the negative with ease without making a lot of test strips.

This isn't the same as using digital and chimping with the histogram until you get something that you might be able to salvage in photoshop (not to mention all the hassle of having to periodically profile all your digital equipment). It allows you to think about the print when you take the picture. Of course the analyser isn't the only way to achieve this kind of pre-visualisation, but it makes the process more satisfying and easier to accomplish. Plus the analyser allows you to reasonably print many negatives straight out of the box using the starting values already provided for many popular papers.

When you add to that the fogging and flashing, and burning in exposures and so on that the analyser can help you with it just saves a lot of time (and money to buy more paper). It doesn't do anything that couldn't be done by more alternative (more 'traditional') means.

And no, I don't have any connection with the company

 

[jamusu]

Richard/RH Designs thanks for the long post. All the info from everyone has been helpful thus far. Wonder if Les is going to chime in. I am interested as to what he has to say.

Jamusu

 

[RobC]

Richard/RH Designs thanks for the long post. All the info from everyone has been helpful thus far. Wonder if Les is going to chime in. I am interested as to what he has to say.
Jamusu

If you are just getting into printing then a course is definitely advisable as it will save you a lot of head scratching. But try and get on a course which teaches / shows you several methods of arriving at a print and not just one methodlogy. That way you get to chose which method suits you best instead of being told which is best for you which might not be the case at all.

 

[bdial]

I don't disagree that digital timers have their use and I went to a digital timer for many of the reasons stated, but I do miss the ability to adjust the time by visually dividing the space between 0, and wherever the pointer is.
I'm sold on the StopClock, it's just a matter of time (no pun intended) 'til I buy one.

 

[RH Designs]

Now lets not get carried away. A fraction of a stop converted to a time may give consistent time changes but the paper characteristic curve is not linear. It is curved and bendy so will not necessarily give the same increase/decrease of density.

Quite true, but for most practical purposes and away from the toe and shoulder, the curve of density vs log.exposure is reasonably straight. Using f-stop intervals (or any other logarithmic method of adjusting exposure) will provide a much more reliable and predictable result because it is based on the way paper (and film for that matter) responds to light.

 

[RobC]

Quite true, but for most practical purposes and away from the toe and shoulder, the curve of density vs log.exposure is reasonably straight. Using f-stop intervals (or any other logarithmic method of adjusting exposure) will provide a much more reliable and predictable result because it is based on the way paper (and film for that matter) responds to light.

Quite true, but some of those subtle transitions of highlights are right on the toe to straight line portion of the curve. Or to put it another way, fine tuning the print time means adjusting what is happening on the toe or shoulder to straight line portions of the curve which is where the paper response is not linear.

 

[jamusu]

I've been printing for two years now. Ready to learn a new method.

Jamusu.

 

[Dave Miller]

Richard/RH Designs thanks for the long post. All the info from everyone has been helpful thus far. Wonder if Les is going to chime in. I am interested as to what he has to say.

Jamusu

Last time I was in his darkroom he was using an RH f-stop timer.

One further point to make here just in case any confusion creeps in. RH Designs make an f-stop timer, which is what I use. They also make an Analyser Pro, which has a light sensor measurement probe. Two related, but different beasts. Or have I just caused further confusion:confused:

 

[lee]

I have an RH Design StopClock Pro and I have a Metrolux II timer for my smaller enlarger. I had about a two day learning curve while learning to use the StopClock Pro. Both timers are the best timers I have ever used in over 30 years of a fairly large photography jones. The Metrolux II does not do f stop calculations (it uses time and/or lux hence the name Metrolux) like the StopClock. I highly recommend either timer and method. Both are easy to set up for split filter printing which Les and I both use exclusively.

For what it is worth, Les uses a StopClock and actively recommends them in his workshops. I have no problem with that at all.

lee\c

 

[FrankB]

I would buy the Les McLean book in any case.

I'd buy all three. (Actually, I did!)

The collected works of Messrs McLean, Blakemore and Rudman are a good companion on long winter evenings.

 

[Peter Black]

Apologies if I'm repeating something here, but I would liken the Analyser Pro (I have the original version) to a sort of reverse Gossen Spotmaster meter in that you are measuring the highlights, midtones and shadows (but on the negative) and using the information to come up with the correct exposure. While my spotmeter has a digital readout, that in no way equates to digital photography as it is only a readout that then has to be transfered onto the analogue enlarger/lens/timer. Gotta say that I prefer a digital readout on a meter, but always preferred an analogue watch!

 

[Bob F.]

I'd buy all three. (Actually, I did!)

The collected works of Messrs McLean, Blakemore and Rudman are a good companion on long winter evenings.

So did I - a nice spectrum of ideas. Add Larry Bartlett and Barry Thornton to the list and a whole week of evenings is filled!

Cheers, Bob.

 

[jamusu]

No confusion Donald.

In the near future I plan to first purchase the Stop CLock Professional in conjunction with the Zonemaster II. Later I will purchase the Analyzer Pro, which is why I posted the question in the first place. I was kind of confused on if it was close to photoshop or digital, but after reading the posts it seems as though these types of instruments have been used by photographers long before RH Designs invented theirs.

Jamusu

 

[FrankB]

So did I - a nice spectrum of ideas. Add Larry Bartlett and Barry Thornton to the list and a whole week of evenings is filled!

Oi, don't start that again! Last time you recommended me a book I ended up with a couple of Michael Kenna's!

(Not that that's necessarily a bad thing, mind... Just an expensive one!)

 

[RH Designs]

In the near future I plan to first purchase the Stop CLock Professional in conjunction with the Zonemaster II. Later I will purchase the Analyzer Pro

The Analyser Pro is a combined meter-timer which incorporates the equivalent of a ZoneMaster II and a simplified StopClock. Unless you have two enlargers you don't need both.

 

[Alex Bishop-Thorpe]

Sadly my Beseler runs on a closed circuit and has it's own accessories. I might set up my LPL C7700 again when I have the space and investigate this further, I've kept a close eye on the topic and the RH products look pretty cool.

 

[jamusu]

Man.

I had no idea that by starting this thread may lead other's who knew nothing or little of RH Designs products to maybe on day purchase them as well. Maybe I should ask RH Designs to give me the Stop Clock Professional and Zonemaster II free due to my unintended promotion of their products.

Jamusu

 

[Dave Miller]

Man.

I had no idea that by starting this thread may lead other's who knew nothing or little of RH Designs products to maybe on day purchase them as well. Maybe I should ask RH Designs to give me the Stop Clock Professional and Zonemaster II free due to my unintended promotion of their products.

Jamusu

Never any harm in asking, but it never worked for the rest of us.

 

[jamusu]

Dave,

I was joking, but I just may try it. Pretty sure that I will receive a resounding no.

Jamusu.

 

[john_s]

I'd say that the RH Designs stuff is more akin to using AE and electronic shutters than digital.

Spot on!

 

[davidbuttts]

Hi all, I am new to APUG and have a question about the stop clock timer so perhaps this is the best place to ask it. The light source that I( use is an Aristo VCL4500 and just bought a stop clock timer Vario. I am having difficulty adjusting the position of the sensor so that the speeds of the lights are close to being actual times. This does not seem possible however as if I get the blue light fairly close to actual time, the green light is very fast. Is there anyone out there using a similar combination that could help with this?

 

[Dave Miller]

David, have you addressed you question to Richard? He has dealt with most problems that purchasers of his timers have thrown up.

 

[RH Designs]

David, have you addressed you question to Richard? He has dealt with most problems that purchasers of his timers have thrown up.

Actually Dave, I suggested David post his question here because I couldn't give him a definitive answer on this occasion

The issue concerns the timer running at widely different speeds depending on whether the green tube only or the blue tube only is lit. I would expect them to differ a bit but not by a stop or more. I have very limited experience of the VCL4500 having installed only one sensor for a customer a year or so ago and no way of checking myself. I'm pretty sure there is somebody here who uses a StopClock Vario with a VCL4500, so hopefully s/he will spot this and help David (and me) out.

 

[Dave Miller]

Can't win 'um all.