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Want to Buy WTB: Safelight

Trader history for fiddle (2)

fiddle

Member
Allowing Ads
Joined
Jul 17, 2009
Messages
377
Location
NYC
Format
Multi Format
I have finally found everything I think I need to print,
got my enlarger,
filters,
will get some trays, easy enough,
For the life of me, I cant find any safelights without paying an arm and a leg..????

Anyone have any safelights they want to get rid of.?
Let me know,
Thanks
 
Just a cheap DIY solution if you can't find the real thing readily:
Get a clamp-style work light with a metal reflector from your nearest hardware store or home improvement retailer, put a bulb of your choice in it, and then completely cover the open end of the reflector with a sheet of rubylith (you can get it via eBay).
I have a couple of these in my darkroom and they work great.
 
These led lights, are you putting the rubylith sheet like Terry mentioned, or are they good by themselves..?
Thanks for the info guys, appreciate it.
 
I have a couple of extra 5x7 safe lights, but I think they both need new filters on them. I prefer a dark red with 15 watt bulb, but for some papers you can use an OC filter. The issue with buying a used safe light, most need updated filters so you might as well buy a new one, the filter is the large part of the price.
 
fiddle said:
These led lights, are you putting the rubylith sheet like Terry mentioned, or are they good by themselves..?
Thanks for the info guys, appreciate it.
Click to expand...

You might find this older thread interesting. Post #20 is my results from testing these bulbs. They do not need additional filters. Still, as with ANY safelight, you should do your own testing.

(there was a url link here which no longer exists)
 
Where are you located? I have some I could send your way for cost of shipping.
 
Thanks all for the suggestions...
I ended up ordering the led bulb mentioned before, I'll see how that works.
Also thank you for everyone that offered to send me lights, appreciate it..
 
One way you can test red LED bulbs is to look at the light refracted off the back of a compact disc. If the light is anything but pure red, then it isn't completely safe. I use red LEDs but have rubylith over them just to make sure.
 
I bought a string of orange LED xmas lights on Ebay for under $10 shipped directly from China. It works great. I tested the string first before using it first. If you're not epileptic, you can change it to the blinky disco mode if the mood suits you.
 
actually also some red christmas lights, that can be screwed into a night light socket, will work fine. You have to test them though because some will fog and some don't.
 
In have a spare Thomas Duplex sodium vapor safelight but it needs new filters. Those are easy enough to make with rubylith and tissue paper but it would be pricey to ship because it's big and heavy. Also, I'll need to test the lamp.
 
Thank you Old-N-Feeble.
Ive alreadt ordered the LED bulbs, Im going to give that a try, if it dosent work out, Ill be shure to take up some of the offers here..
Thank you to everyone again.
 
There's only one way to test safelights for fog. Take a sheet from bottom of box, lay flat on bench with cardboard covering 3/4 of it, after1 minute move board to expose more of paper, repeat every minute until bored, then process paper. That will give you a step wedge indicating how many minutes you can leave a sheet of paper on the bench under your present system.
 

This is a very bad, basically useless test.

The problem with this is that paper has a certain threshold exposure that must be exceeded before it records any change at all, and then much smaller additional exposure will cause additional darkening. This is why pre-flashing paper can work to reduce contrast without fogging highlights in the print. A really bad safelight that will badly fog highlights will still pass such a test.

To really test your safelight both Kodak and Ilford give detailed procedures but the gist is this: in TOTAL DARKNESS give small pieces of your paper small but increasing exposures under your enlarger. Process the tests in total darkness. Find the one that results in a very slight graying just darker than paper base white.

Then take the piece of paper for your test and, again in total darkness, give it this threshold exposure. Then lay a small object on it (coin or similar) and turn on your safelight at the distance from the paper and for the time you want to test. Then turn it off and process the paper, again in total darkness. Any discernible outline of the object placed on the paper indicates that your safelight is causing some degree of fogging.

If you've only tested without pre-exposing the paper you may be startled by how much fog even an apparently good safelight can cause with this test.
 
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