Under-the-lens multicontrast filters for Durst L184?

[Pasto]

ic-racer, did you consider the Lee 4x4 inch tricolor polyester filters? These cost about $25 each and I'm thinking may work well with the Lee holder attached to the enlarger lens...I just have to check the filter size of my Rodagon....

[Drew Wiley]

Polyester filters are really miserable optically. Yeah ... I know ... someone will say they use
them and they work fine. Maybe a modest enlargement from 8x10 or something ... but for
all practical purposes, it really spoils the value of a fine enlarging lens. And try it with higher magnification with a small negative, and the problem should be apparent. True gel
filter are expensive and easily damaged. That's why I recommend glass. It can be cleaned.
But at a certain point it doesn't make a lot of difference whether you are using sharp-cutting blue and green, or subtractive deep magenta and amber ... the VC papers will respond fine. Primary separation filters like 58 or 61 green and 29 or 29B blue are basically
absolute, so stronger than 00 & 5 multigrade filters, but in actual use it makes little difference if any for split printing.

[Pasto]

Thanks for your input Drew. Screwing in filters would be a real pain in the ass. Also, at 77mm, these filters probably cost a bunch. Which make would you suggest? At this point I'm wondering if I should just continue to dial in the required filtration in my color head. I've been wanting to find a quicker/easier alternative.....

[Drew Wiley]

You're using these below a colorhead???? Then what do you need supplementary filters for? And if you do, why don't you just locate one of those little swing-out filter holders
for the Durst. Tiffen has deep primary filters in glass. They aren't my favorite brand, but
they are glass, and in the darkroom flare isn't an issue. Not particularly expensive. You need to clean them more often than fancy multicoated filters. Do you have one of those
older CLS colorheads where you need to turn face dials way up high?

[Pasto]

Yes, I have a CLS2000 and turning those dials is a real pain. The Durst swing out filter has a red filter built in. It'll need modification to hold other filters. I'll look into the Tiffens...

[Drew Wiley]

The red filter should be easy to remove. You can drop a step ring in its place to accept
regular filters. At least I didn't have any trouble doing it. You can probably find and fit a
second swing-out holder too, or a 3-filter turret. Lots of the time I just make a primary
exposure using a bit of white light and tweak either the higher or lower contrast with one
or the other deep filters. I rarely use them on the same image. But that's fairly easy too.
Only do this with my coldlight enlarger. I has one of those V54 14-inch Aristo units, so prints very fast thru primary filters. My other enlargers have easy to use colorhead controls. I sold my old Durst head, and still remember how stiff those dials were.

[ic-racer]

Yes, I have a CLS2000 and turning those dials is a real pain. The Durst swing out filter has a red filter built in. It'll need modification to hold other filters. I'll look into the Tiffens...

I spent 3 years looking for one of those to keep from making two exposures

If you really like the two-exposure technique there is a possibly simple modification you can make to the head. Maybe Drew can chime in here if he has experience with this but you might try the following:

Replace the Yellow/Magenta "supplementary filter" with the Magenta filter.
Then dial in the maximum of the Yellow filter.

Now the "White Light" lever controls the Yellow filter (on/off) and the "Supplementary Filter" lever controls the Magenta (on/off). This works because the supplementary filter stays in the light path even when the "White Light" lever is pulled.

[ic-racer]

Here is the 6" filter holder I made. It attaches to the end of the red filter rod. I don't use it anymore now that I have the dichroic head.

[Pasto]

That's a very interesting modification to the head ic-racer. I'll look into it. Thanks to all for the great advice.

[Neal Chaves]

I'm a bit late on this thread, but here is something I have done. I put a UV filter on my enlarging lens and I cut Ilford VC filters out round to just fit inside it. Takes only a moment to change filters.