Safelight Poll

I've been using the same 11watt red light bulb from freestyle for 3 years. They're about 5 bucks i think. It doesn't fog any paper i've tested: ilford fiber, forte, kentmere, kodak, oriental. You screw it into a standard socket and that's it. I've never understood the need for expensive safelights.

http://www.freestylephoto.biz/sc_prod.php?cat_id=&pid=6007

Those little red bulbs only seem cheap.

Okay $5. Then when it burns out $5 or more again. Soon enough you hit the $30 or so that a 5x7 safelight costs. It'll take a fairly low priced bulb you can find any place.

Worse if you're like me and put it in at the start of a session. Take it out at the end. Store it some place. The odds are you'll break it before it even burns out.

Calumet sells the Kodak "bullet" safelight for $130 without a $31, 5.5" round filter or bulb. Now that is pretty cheeky for some stamped metal, some plastic and standard household lamp fixture.

I have one of the 5x7 OC safellights off to the side of my enlarger and a Thomas off to the side of the sink.

Discovered, after struggleing with VC filtering, the Thomas was fogging the paper.

I shut it down to about 90% and all is well. Thinking of moving the Thomas to the other end of the darkroom and opening it back up for general illumination.

Mike

I use a Thomas with the red filters in the vanes and the vanes CLOSED. It's still plenty bright in my 6x12 darkroom. Closed, it doesn't fog my paper at about 4 feet from my easel and 6 from my dev tray.
The Thomas does hum.

I use an encapsulite safelight. It gives good, even light. It's important it's not closer than 1.5 metres from sensitive material - you can get different sizes & sorts depending on your room size and what you want to use it for, and you can swap the tubes over. Quite expensive, but seem to last (as long as you don't drop them if you change them!)...

It's always a good idea to test for fogging before you start, but important to test the room in darkness first as fogging is often down to light leaks.