Can somebody please make me a Darkroom Widget?

[jb7]

so here's the brief-

I want a red full screen, with a large multifunction clock-
countdown, stopwatch, timer, whatever-

And perhaps a red veil over all the other open windows...

Ok, so that's just a dream-
but the question is, can the lcd on my macbook pro be set to a safe colour-
and depending on materials, it might have to be more than one colour...

And yes, I'll have to disable the backlit keyboard, and gaffer up the apple on the lid-

Or am I just being silly?

j

[Marko]

You could build a dark red plexi or glass enclosure for your Mac with light trapped sleeves for your hands (like those on a changing bag).

Or maybe get a scanner... :D

[Jim Michael]

Order yourself a Lee filter book from a lighting or theatrical supply and select gel rolls of the color you need for windows and lcd. I'll guess the stuff would stick to your screen just by static electricity. Then you just need a clock/timer app, of which I'm sure there are already some available.

[emh]

Rubilith, or Amberlith should work. Just don't keep it too close to your paper.
I have a TV (covered with Rubilith), about 5 feet from my printing area, with no fogging problems.

[jb7]

Very good- Thank you for the replies-
though I was kinda hoping for more of a software solution...

I reckon I'll be getting some Rubylith anyway-
I read recently that they've stopped production of Amberlith-
and are running down supplies-

http://www.ulano.com/knifecut/masking.htm

Not that I want to turn this into an 'End of Kodak' type alarmist thread-

j

[Andrew O'Neill]

I think I'll try this with my 12 inch powermac and a large Roscoe filter...

[venchka]

B&H sell a product for windows. I wish I could remember more, but it's been a year or more since I ran across it. Look around in the B&H online store in the safelight area. I only mention this in case that product might be better than Rubylith. I would prefer Rubylith.

[Archphoto]

A bit of a progammer should be able to write such a program.
Otherwise try google, the idea is a good one.......

[Marko]

I am not sure I would trust any computer program on any platform, especially not on Windows - all it takes is one untimely blue screen...

[jb7]

I think I'd trust something like that on a mac-

[Curt Palm]

take a look at :

http://www.curtpalm.com/Software.html

the demo version is free, only you can not use the demo version with the demo version but otherwise fully functional



there are a couple of folks that routinly sell sheet of rubylith on the auction site. astronomy telescope types it seems from the item descriptions

[Morten]

If you have a "palm" of some sort, have a look at this
http://www.jan-exner.de/software/fototimer.html

It has red on black background and should be fine in the darkrom. (if setup at some distance from the trays.) see also the example for enlarger / foot switch interface.

It also have a cool sequence timing functions, fine for jobo or other daylight film development methods.

PS or if you dont have a palm device, they are almost "free" over at ebay..

Best Regards
Morten

[jb7]

Thanks Curt and Morten-
looks like two different palms here,
might get confusing-

I like the clock Curt-
good large start stop button too-
and the corrected time via usb temp probe looks smart-

Now, a full screen version with red digits?

Thanks Morten-
I think the Palm revolution might have passed me by, unfortunately-

Seems like the Rubylith isn't off the menu yet...

[snip]

I am very interested in this Rubylith stuff.

I am converting a loft space into a darkroom and as there are two windows there, I was going to cover them with black cardboard, but after reading this thread I thought, why not cover them with rubylith and have sunlight driven safelights built in?

Does anyone know where I can get hold of the stuff in Europe, preferably the UK?


Best regards

Jan

[jb7]

Made by Ulano, distributed by Coates in the UK-

http://www.ulano.com/ExternalLinks.php?externalpage=www.coates.com

I think graphics supply shops might still carry it in smaller quantities-
but you might end up using a lot of cardboard anyway-

[snip]

Made by Ulano, distributed by Coates in the UK-

http://www.ulano.com/ExternalLinks.php?externalpage=www.coates.com

I think graphics supply shops might still carry it in smaller quantities-
but you might end up using a lot of cardboard anyway-

I had seen the Coates link, but I doubt they sell to individuals, and even if they do they most likely sell huuge rolls anyway. I must try and find a graphics supply store.

What do you mean I will end up using a lot of cardboard anyway?

//Jan

[jb7]

I dunno, I'm just guessing, but a roof light might get a lot of light-
even sunlight, if I can remember correctly-

I don't know how effective Rubylith might be at filtering daylight-
or how quickly it might degrade under UV-

It might need to be tested-