Okay, I bought one. Now I have more options. The graded paper from Freestyle is relatively cheap, but the shipping to Thailand is exorbitant, so I may have to wait to buy that until my next trip to the US, this summer. Next, contrast filters...
Okay, I bought one. Now I have more options. The graded paper from Freestyle is relatively cheap, but the shipping to Thailand is exorbitant, so I may have to wait to buy that until my next trip to the US, this summer. Next, contrast filters...
I tried long and hard to filter an old Aristo tube to work with modern VC papers and never got it to work properly. I relamped with the V54 tube and it worked great. The replacement tubes are not terribly expensive ($128 for the tube in a Beseler 23c I just relamped) and you can put them in yourself very, very carefully because they are fragile.
It might be cheaper to buy from here: http://www.japanexposures.com/shop/.
Thanks Kevin. I already ordered the filter, so I will give it a try. I do not want to re-lamp, as I figure if I upgrade, I should just buy a more modern enlarger. The Graflarger arrived this morning, so I am anxious to give it a try. Unfortunately, I have to go out of town this weekend, so it may be a while till I get a chance.
Thanks Toyon. For some reason, stuff out of Japan is typically more expensive than buying from the US. I think it has to do with taxes. In Asia, cheapest is to buy from Taiwan or China, but I was not able to find anyone from there selling paper on the web, except wholesale. Probably because I cannot read Chinese!
My first year in LF I used a Graflareger on a Graphic View II. It is a clumsy arrangement, but it will allow you to get started.
I'd recommend that you forget about the filters and VC paper -- you can get bogged down in trying to get the equipment working, when you should be concentrating on making prints. Just get some graded paper and learn.
Wilhelm (Sarasota)
Thanks Bill. Sounds like good advice, but not sure I can find any graded paper in Thailand. I'm off to Malaysia (Penang) on a quick trip tomorrow, and will look around there. Otherwise, I'll be in the US in June, and will get a big stock then.
Cheers, Tim
Don't forget that VC paper, used without filters, prints as a plain #2 graded paper. And you can vary the contrast by nearly a full grade by exposure/development time and developer concentration.
Wilhelm (Sarasota)
Bookmarks