Safelight bulbs

[eric]

Its been AGES since I bought a new lightbulb for my 5x7 safelight. After a move, one of them has gone out. I was thinking of getting those spiral flourecents bulbs. The regular bulb inside is 15W. Should I get the equivalent in flourescent? I'm not sure how it translate form one bulb to the other.

 

[DWThomas]

In general, CF bulbs have light output about 3 or 4 times that of equivalent wattage incandescent bulbs -- meaning you'd want about a 4 or 5 watt CF, which may not exist.

I would have two concerns. 1) CFs are generally not spec'd for sealed enclosures (which my Kodak "Bullets" are) and 2) the light spectrum may be very irregular and might have high outputs at undesired wavelengths -- that might bear some investigation.

My barely 2¢,

DaveT

 

[eric]

In general, CF bulbs have light output about 3 or 4 times that of equivalent wattage incandescent bulbs -- meaning you'd want about a 4 or 5 watt CF, which may not exist.

Ahhh, makes sense, makes sense..
Looks like www.bulbman.com has 4 watt kinds

My barely 2¢,

DaveT

In other words, not worth the hassle probably. I guess a regular old 15w bulb isn't going to use much energy.
So off to the local photo pimp to get some bulbs today. I'll get a couple of 15 watters for now.
I'll save the CF bulbs for inside the house

 

[Nick Zentena]

So off to the local photo pimp to get some bulbs today.

Aren't they just small appliance bulbs? The ones in my 5x7 safelight aren't anything special.

 

[eric]

Aren't they just small appliance bulbs? The ones in my 5x7 safelight aren't anything special.

I think you are right. I'll swing by the hardware store during lunch. Its on my way to get the kids from school. Photo pimpers are the opposite direction. I guess I should pick up some CF's too. My new place has regular bulbs and I want to be more energy efficient.

 

[Loose Gravel]

If you want energy efficient safelights, consider the LED type. The reds will work for sure. I don't know if the amber LEDs are safe or not. Anybody using these?

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[srs5694]

I second Loose Gravel's LED suggestion. I've got one of the E27-W24 bulbs on the referenced page, in red, that I use without a safelight filter but in a safelight enclosure. The same enclosure used to house a low-wattage incandescent bulb and filter. The new arrangement produces much brighter light that I've tested to be safe for at least 3 minutes (I didn't test beyond that point) in my darkroom and with my materials.

 

[eric]

Okay, I'll bite and look into it. 9.95 a bulb don't sound too bad.
But what in the heck are people getting these for anyway? These are bizarre looking!

SRS, 3 minutes tested with safelight? I'm wondering if that is enough. I would guess so. About 2 minutes taking paper out of box, decent exposure, maybe more for burning/dodging and then into developer. Do you have your safelight plugged into your timer so it would go off when you expose paper?

 

[srs5694]

SRS, 3 minutes tested with safelight? I'm wondering if that is enough. I would guess so. About 2 minutes taking paper out of box, decent exposure, maybe more for burning/dodging and then into developer. Do you have your safelight plugged into your timer so it would go off when you expose paper?

First, this particular bulb is located above my developing trays. The light from it is much dimmer near the enlarger. I've got a second safelight near the enlarger; currently it's a red-tinted tungsten bulb, which is much dimmer than the LED bulb and which has never caused me problems. My tests were done with both bulbs on, but as I was interested in the LED bulb specifically, I tested with the paper next to the developing trays. Of course, my test paper also got some exposure from my dry-side bulb, but not nearly as much, and I already knew it was OK for my purposes.

Second, it doesn't take me nearly 2 minutes to remove paper from my paper safe or expose it, unless it's a very long exposure. I figured a maximum of 1 minute from paper safe to developer for 90% of my prints, followed by a ~1:30 development time under the LED safelight, then stop bath and fixing.

Of course, my tests are useful for me; they may not be useful for you. You may place your bulb closer to the paper, use papers with different sensitivity than mine, etc. You should conduct your own safelight tests when changing from one type of safelight to another or when otherwise modifying your procedures in ways that might affect safelight safety.

 

[Lee L]

If you want energy efficient safelights, consider the LED type. The reds will work for sure. I don't know if the amber LEDs are safe or not. Anybody using these?

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I use both red and amber LEDs in several forms from this source in my darkroom, and am really happy with them. The 12 VDC versions are dimable (the 120 VAC are less so because of internal electronics). The amber work fine for me with Ilford MG papers. Some other papers may require the red. You can look at paper spectral sensitivity curves to make a good guess at the match up.

There are lots of posts on this on APUG. Search on LED and safelight.

On about 6 separate orders superbrightleds.com has been great for me on service and quick shipping, and also has great prices. No connection except as a very satisfied customer.

Lee