Where it goes wrong in the darkroom? Images printed not sharp enough with new enlarger lens

[Philippe-Georges]

Sharpness is a subjective aspect.

As Henri Cartier-Bresson once stated (during an interview while visiting the US): "Sharpness is a bourgeois concept..."

 

[Don_ih]

And, generally we open the lens when using the grain focuser. Then we close the lens 2 stops. Possibly it goes wrong when you close your lens.

That's what I'm thinking. The grain focuser needs to be used with the lens open all the way.

The grain focuser works based on the elevation of the mirror from the paper plane - which is fixed at the time of manufacture. If you can see grain in-focus through the eyepiece, the enlarger is focused. The mechanism is foolproof - my Paterson has a cracked mirror and still works fine.

Enlarger misalignment would still produce a print with sharp detail in the area where the focuser was used (the Paterson only works close to the centre of the print).

I'd make sure all glass parts of the enlarger are clean and see if that makes a difference.

 

[Lachlan Young]

A lot of smaller enlargers (like the M605) are not particularly vibration resistant. And the column length really doesn't help.

It probably isn't the grain focuser at all, but rather how much the head of the enlarger is wobbling relative to the baseboard/ easel - especially if you are trying to adjust filters between dodges & burns.

 

[pentaxuser]

Hi all,

I use a Durst M605 enlarger and everything looks sharp with my Paterson micro focus finder when i look that the projected image looks sharp

There must be a loss of quality along the procedure.

My impression was that if the grain focuser show the grain sharply then if the negative was in sharp focus it too would be sharp. You need to examine other elements such as vibration ( but this has to be more or less constant otherwise the negative shoud resume its sharpness

The first thing to do would be to examine the negatives. Do they all remain unsharp when printed? Then I check how steady the bellows are. Could the knob holding the bellows be slack so that it moves while you place the sheet under the easel and then expose?

It could be several things so it's a matter of eliminating the most obvious/ likely cause(s) first before looking at the more unlikely causes

I once had a set of several medium format negatives(6x 6) that looked sharp to my naked eye but were not quite sharp An enlargement of even 8x10 was enough to make some detail a little blurry. In my case it was several owls on perches and the eyes were not quite as sharp as they should have been


pentaxuser

 

[koraks]

A lot of smaller enlargers (like the M605) are not particularly vibration resistant.

I've used one for years. Unless it's used directly on top of a very active fault or in the basement of a busy railway station, the M605 is plenty sturdy enough to not suffer from vibration issues.

 

[BobUK]

Some good suggestions above.


Here's my two pennorth.

As you have access to another darkroom, would it be possible to try your lens on the enlarger there that produced good results?

Has the negative been placed in the holder the correct way up? That is glossy side up.

Also, when I started out, I read in a few books that the red swing filter could be used to make the exposure.
The method was with the filter in, switch the enlarger on, keeping an eye on the stop clock swing the red filter out of the light path, then when the time was up swing the filter back in to stop the exposure. A better cause of vibration in the enlarger column would be hard to find.

Good luck in your quest. Some here should hit on the solution for you.

 

[Ian C]

Addressing Post #1:

Reports such as yours are common. The knee-jerk reaction answers are usually:

1. It must be due to this garbage lens. If only I had an exorbitantly expensive apochromat, my prints would be perfect.

2. It must be a badly misaligned enlarger. If I get an expensive enlarger alignment tool and set the alignment perfectly, I’ll make great prints.

3. My grain magnifier must be a piece of junk or badly out of adjustment. If I get an expensive long-mirror pivoting-loupe type, I’ll make perfect prints.

These stock answers are low-hanging fruit. They are rarely correct.

Most of the cases I’ve investigated have been due to the overheating of the negative in a plain, open-frame carrier. The Paterson Focus Finder works well to fine-tune the focus. I own and use one.

Rather than repeat a long post, I suggest that you read the following thread and reread it as necessary until you understand it. Then return here and ask further questions as necessary.

https://www.photrio.com/forum/threa...and-glass-carriers.201583/page-2#post-2732370

I suggest that your original lens is likely adequate for making good prints, likewise for the Paterson Focus Finder. Your enlarger is likely sufficiently aligned.

If your enlarger is equipped with a condenser type light source, they efficiently transmit light to the negative, including the infrared component of that light—HEAT. You might be able to install a heat-absorbing or heat-reflecting filter. That will help, but even so, you need a GLASS CARRIER to keep the negative flat and restrained within the shallow depth of field about the object plane.

Dichroic-filtered color or variable-contrast heads generally incorporate some sort of heat filter. But even these need a glass carrier, especially for relatively long printing times, as is the case with making large prints, printing at small aperture, or using ND filters to obtain sufficient time for burning and dodging, or when printing unusually dense negatives.

 

[Lachlan Young]

I've used one for years. Unless it's used directly on top of a very active fault or in the basement of a busy railway station, the M605 is plenty sturdy enough to not suffer from vibration issues.

Only if all the bolts/ mating surfaces are properly assembled & tight. I've seen far too many small/ medium Dursts & LPLs very casually bolted together - having had to reassemble a few 35mm/ medium format Durst jigsaw puzzles over recent years, there isn't much wear/ user resistance built-in - for that matter, one of the odder Durst design decisions for me was why the column carriage on the smaller M series machines doesn't have a lock, as that's a guaranteed source of problems once the rack starts to get even just a little worn - even for the ones with a tensator spring. That being said, I'm not sure that this case is caused by parts creep, but possibly more likely via user contact with the machine (or easel - they can wobble!) either during/ between operations.

 

[ic-racer]

Most of the cases I’ve investigated have been due to the overheating of the negative in a plain, open-frame carrier.

Agree!

 

[koraks]

Dichroic-filtered color or variable-contrast heads generally incorporate some sort of heat filter. But even these need a glass carrier, especially for relatively long printing times, as is the case with making large prints, printing at small aperture, or using ND filters to obtain sufficient time for burning and dodging, or when printing unusually dense negatives.

As said, I've used this enlarger for several years. With the dichroic head. No glass in the negative stage whatsoever. Enlarged 135 and 120, printing times all over the board. There's no way the negative stage heats up on that enlarger. It just doesn't happen.

 

[xkaes]

As said, I've used this enlarger for several years. With the dichroic head. No glass in the negative stage whatsoever. Enlarged 135 and 120, printing times all over the board. There's no way the negative stage heats up on that enlarger. It just doesn't happen.

I could not agree more. We certainly have made a simple problem into an unsolvable mess -- but we do that a lot. I'm surprised that no one has suggested he buy a new enlarger.

 

[Rick A]

Vibration of the enlarger and/or the easel will kill sharpness.
As will creeping movement of the enlarger head after focus is achieved.
Where in the range of apertures available to you are you printing?

First thing that entered my mind was enlarger vibration. Not locking the head could also cause creep, the bellows could also be causing the issue if it's compressed too much and it doesn't like it (an issue with my D5 and 50mm lens). Negative pop happens with heat build up.

 

[BMbikerider]

I would suspect the focus magnifier may be out of calibration. When you made prints at the other darkroom, what did you use to focus the negative? Perhaps you could borrow that magnifier and try it in your darkroom? That might tell you something about your problem. I have been through a similar issue some years ago and determined that my inexpensive grain focuser was off. I purchased a couple of different brands on eBay to help figure all that out. You are fortunate to have access to another darkroom to help with the investigation.

You CANNOT re-calibrate a Paterson grain focus finder either the small version or the tall version. The body is made from molded plastic and the column is fixed focus with only the eyepiece being variable. There are no moving parts!

The original post says they focus on the grain and is the eyepiece focus was out you would not be able to see the grain in the 1st place What you see is what you get!

I also have a peak focus finder and so long as the Paterson finders are in or near to the centre of the image where they are designed to work, they correspond exactly with the Peak. I think it is more likely to be the negative 'popping' and de-focussing as it warms up and as the question was from a person who sounds relatively new to printing, may not have realised this does take place.

 

[pentaxuser]

I've used one for years. Unless it's used directly on top of a very active fault or in the basement of a busy railway station, the M605 is plenty sturdy enough to not suffer from vibration issues.

I have one as well and have had for 19 years and this mirrors my experience

pentaxuser

 

[pentaxuser]

Only if all the bolts/ mating surfaces are properly assembled & tight.

Yes but that's true of any enlarger or indeed any piece of equipment, isn't it?

pentaxuser

 

[cowanw]

I would start with a known sharp negative, perhaps scratch a not so great image from your role; take a pin or needle and scratch a X across it. Then you can look with your focuser, focus and make a print, and search out your problem.

 

[Sirius Glass]

I would suspect the focus magnifier may be out of calibration. When you made prints at the other darkroom, what did you use to focus the negative? Perhaps you could borrow that magnifier and try it in your darkroom? That might tell you something about your problem. I have been through a similar issue some years ago and determined that my inexpensive grain focuser was off. I purchased a couple of different brands on eBay to help figure all that out. You are fortunate to have access to another darkroom to help with the investigation.

A focusing magnifier either works or it doesn’t. Simple, is the grain in focus? If not the eyepiece needs to be adjusted so the reference line or lines is sharp. I suspect your home set up is a diffusion head an my even be out of alignment compared to another leather that is properly aligned and might have a condenser head, which is inherently sharper.

The grain should POP into focus sharply is the grain focuser is working properly.

 

[Lachlan Young]

Yes but that's true of any enlarger or indeed any piece of equipment, isn't it?

pentaxuser

I stopped being amazed about the strange things people do to enlargers and enlarging lenses quite some time ago. You'd be surprised how often people partially unscrew entire front or rear groups from enlarging lenses for no apparent reason.

 

[Kino]

You can examine possible vibration issues by taping a cheap laser pointer to the enlarger head, pointing straight down to the base. Place an angled mirror on the printing surface and project the laser beam out as far as possible. Make sure both are solidly attached to the enlarger and observe the point of light.

It should become apparent quickly if there are vibration issues with your setup if the beam moves around visibly...

 

[Steve906]

When I bought my Patterson (tall one, brand new) it was a mile out. Focusing carefully on the baseboard with a loupe and then comparing to the grain it was just totaly in the wrong place (eyepiece correctly set for my eyes). On inspection I found the metal rods supporting the mirror could slide in and out of the main body (just a tight fit)!!?? Being an engineer and not wanting to bother sending it back I adjusted it to match my careful baseboard focusing and fixed it in place. I've had no problems since. I mainly bought the focuser to speed up focusing as I found it difficult to physically get close enough to the base with a loupe and reach up to the focus adjustment at the same time.

 

[Doremus Scudder]

There's not all that much to this, despite the apparent complexity of the responses above

Check the eyepiece on your grain magnifier, check enlarger alignment, check for vibrations and that you don't wiggle the enlarger during exposure, make sure the enlarging lens is clean, that's about it. Fans in color heads sometimes cause vibrations; do be aware of that.

Negatives do distort with heat in a glassless carrier and can warp out of focus occasionally, but that doesn't happen every time, so should be an easy to identify problem; most prints would be sharp, a few wouldn't be.

If you are getting sharper prints from another enlarger, then the negative is not the issue.

Good luck finding your problem.

Doremus

 

[Pieter12]

As Henri Cartier-Bresson once stated (during an interview while visiting the US): "Sharpness is a bourgeois concept..."

Interesting, I was under the impression that he said that to Helmut Newton after Mr Newton commented on his hands shaking while he took a photo of him (HCB was quite old, it was in 2000 I think). But maybe it was something he repeated over the years. HCB wasn't never very interested in being technically perfect.

 

[DREW WILEY]

Being too lazy to calibrate your gear is a bum's concept.

 

[BobUK]

A bit of a long shot this one.

Have you looked deep in the lens with a torch to see if there are any signs of mold/fungus growing inside between the elements?

 

[Dustin McAmera]

A couple more long shots/silly ideas. Check the mirror of the focuser hasn't got dislodged, and check it's bottom hasn't got something stuck to it, stopping it sitting flat down on the paper.