I use a Gralab 520 digital timer for dip and dunk in open tanks. It can be set to dim so the red digits are very faint. I've never had a problem with fogging film. It is about 6 feet away from the tanks. Luminous dials are also safe. The small amount of light from either will not affect your film.
My Gralab sits about a foot above and to the side of my developing trays on a small shelf, facing towards the ceiling. It seems pretty bright when I first turn off the fluorescents but I've never had a problem with TMY-2. I'm careful not to wear highly reflective clothing (white shirt, aluminum-foil vest, etc.) when developing film. I keep my glasses on so I can see the timer, but as long as I hold my head up vaguely straight they don't seem to reflect into the tray.
I'd agree with everyone above. I had a gralab timer directly above my sink where I would tray develop 4x5 sheet film and never had any problems.
The only white lights in my darkroom are fluorescents which, as Gem noted above, do an excellent job of charging luminescent dials. As an extra precaution, I simply avoid turning on the white lights before handling film. I have never had a problem with HP5+ or Tri-X.
Aduncanson, like you, I learned from experience, a florescent fixture glows for a few minutes after it is turned off.
I made sure that the darkroom door was light tight, covered the glowing timer, turned off the florescent light fixture in the ceiling, and after about a minute, I could see the outline of my hand in the dark.
Looked up and noticed that the two forty inch florescent tubes in the ceiling fixture were still glowing dimly. Probably would have fogged fast film had I exposed it to that glow.
I now wait about five minutes until the afterglow disappears before loading film in the darkroom.
Some film/dev scenarios have quite a bit of sensitivity in the toe of the film. I learned
the hard way. Any timer is now on a shelf BELOW the sink.
Why tempt the film? In a certain way, the film sees better the light than our eyes (the retina has greater light sensitivity but unlike our eyes, the film is capable of accumulating the light effects). Is it so difficult to put the light source in a kind of a lens shade and keep the light visible just from the angle which the film cannot reach?
I, too, did this check when I had completed the darkroom construction. And noticed one the fluoroscents glowing enough to see my hand. It turned out to be a leaky ballast. After replacing the ballast I never again used those lights during a developing/printing session, but instead use the 100W bulb-in-reflector hanging above the sink when I need room light. BTW, I also have small luminous tapes placed at numerous locations around the room to help me find things in the dark and to prevent running into things (kinda neat ... like a starry, starry night). Probably overkill, but I've never had any fogging.Originally Posted by Gem Singer
What I don't really understand is why you would use fluorescent tubes in the darkroom. They take minutes to reach their full power, glow for minutes after being turned off, and give an ugly light which makes assessing prints difficult. Why would you want them in your darkroom?
I know they have some benefits, and I use a lot of them in my house. Just not in the darkroom.
Yep.What I don't really understand is why you would use fluorescent tubes in the darkroom. They take minutes to reach their full power, glow for minutes after being turned off, and give an ugly light which makes assessing prints difficult. Why would you want them in your darkroom?
I know they have some benefits, and I use a lot of them in my house. Just not in the darkroom.
Incandescent lamps would be a lot better choice.
And GraLab timer glow won't hurt film.
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