Variable Contrast Filters - Beseler vs. Ilford?

OK, I did do a search for this question but didn't find an answer. Hopefully it will be an open and shut case.

I just picked up a Beseler 23C (which I am going to nickname Big Blue) from a fellow APUG member. It works nicely, and there were Beseler Variable Contrast filters thrown in as well.

My question: can these be used for Ilford multigrade papers? It seems the colors of the Beseler filters are noticeably different than the Ilford filters I see for sale on various sites.

(Note- I am using the terms multigrade and variable contrast interchangeably. Let me know if this is a no-no.)

yes you can

Unlike dichroic filters, those multigrade filters can fade over time. If they look old you might consider a fresh set of Ilford filters. They are not very expensive and may save some potential headaches down the road.

They do fade, and without seeing them it's hard to say whether yours are or are not faded. However, just because they don't look like Ilford's VC filters, doesn't mean they won't work. If you would compare a set of Kodak PolyMax filters against a set of Ilford Multigrade filters, you'd immediately notice that they look very different. The results obtained from the different filters sets are, for the most part, very similar. So, you may have gotten yourself a set of VC filters that work well enough for your purposes. If you have a step wedge, you can easily contact print it using the different filters to see if they produce the contrast grades you need.

Just don't expect them to be interchangeable - i.e. if you switch from filter "2" in Beseler to filter "2" in Ilford, you will get a different result.

MattKing, is this because the scales are different - i.e., because Ilford papers require Ilford filters - or is it because the enlarger requires filters tailor-made for that enlarger?

I may pick up a "gel" type filter pack for use in the head, since the round plastic Ilford filters won't really fit in the lower filter drawer.

yeknom02 said:

MattKing, is this because the scales are different - i.e., because Ilford papers require Ilford filters - or is it because the enlarger requires filters tailor-made for that enlarger?

I may pick up a "gel" type filter pack for use in the head, since the round plastic Ilford filters won't really fit in the lower filter drawer.

Click to expand...

Generally speaking, it really won't matter which brand of filters you use. As long as you stay within the same set, you will generally achieve predictable results.

Some brands go slightly farther into the ends of the contrast range, but only with some papers.

In some cases, there have been multiple generations of filters. In Kodak's case, when they changed from Polycontrast papers to Polymax papers, they also brought out Polymax filters, and there were more in the box! The Polymax filters themselves do work with old Polycontrast papers, and vice versa.

The Beseler filters may very well have been manufactured by the same people as manufactured the Kodak, or Ilford (or Dupont?). The only advantage to Beseler filters may have been that they were sized to fit nicely into Beseler filter holders.

If the Ilford filters you have don't fall to the floor when you use them, and if their frames don't block the light, and if they aren't dirty or badly scratched, there is no great reason to replace them with the harder to handle "gel" filters.

By the way, the numbers on the filters themselves don't correspond to the contrast grades on fixed contrast papers.