Enlarger lamps light; aren`t they too much powered?

[Leigh]

Why not simply put a dimmer between the enlarger and AC power outlet?

That will dramatically change the blue/green ratio in the lamp output spectrum, specifically reducing the blue.

If you're printing graded paper, the only consequence is that your exposure times are longer.

However, if you're printing VC, you totally screw up the required filtration for different grades.

- Leigh

[Vaughn]

Printing on D5-xl...4x5 to 16x20, (135mm lens) I often wished for a little more light. Especially when I tried a pack of 16x20 Pal Print paper way back when. Exculsive from Eastern Europe -- finally an enlarging paper at contact speed! (satire and exaggeration warning)

One could also use a lens that is a little longer in focal length. The enlarger will be higher up and require a little more exposure.

[vinny]

Why not simply put a dimmer between the enlarger and AC power outlet? Here in general retail stores such as Target or Wal-Mart, dimmers can be had for about US $10 to $12.

In lighting for films and TV programs we cut down light output with wire screens cut to size. Why wouldn't that also work when placed into the filter slot of an enlarger? Would the wire grid show?

Scrims for an enlarger? No, but my nd gel idea would be cheap, repeatable, and easy to adjust accurately by adding another layer. Also makes it easy to take notes if you took it out for a particular print versus a non-accurate setting on a cheap household dimmer that changes the way your vc paper prints.
I suggest buying a sheet of nd .3 and nd .15 to allow for full and half stop adjustments.

[Drew Wiley]

Some pro enlarger do incorporate scrims to reduce light. But ya gotta be careful how you do it. A metal scrim can conduct a lot of heat, so you don't want it in direct
contact with your diffusion plastic. You also obviously have to diffuse the light afterwards, so nul out the pattern. Likewise, any ND "gel" should be of the heat-resistant polyester variety used with traditional hot lights, and appropriately spaced from the bulb in like fashion, and air-cooled. Dimmers? Not all bulbs dim well, but
I guess if you purchase on at WalMart or Target it will only last five minutes anyway. .. a "dim" idea, for sure. Gosh, can't anyone afford ten more bucks for something
which actually works?

[Michael Alpert]

Jose,

You are making small prints. When and if you were to make larger prints, you would see the wisdom of a bright enlarger lamp. With a small print, stopping the lens down a little is not going to harm anything. Anyway, the ND filter idea is a good alternative if you do not want to change the aperture.

[vinny]

Some pro enlarger do incorporate scrims to reduce light. But ya gotta be careful how you do it. A metal scrim can conduct a lot of heat, so you don't want it in direct
contact with your diffusion plastic. You also obviously have to diffuse the light afterwards, so nul out the pattern. Likewise, any ND "gel" should be of the heat-resistant polyester variety used with traditional hot lights, and appropriately spaced from the bulb in like fashion, and air-cooled. Dimmers? Not all bulbs dim well, but
I guess if you purchase on at WalMart or Target it will only last five minutes anyway. .. a "dim" idea, for sure. Gosh, can't anyone afford ten more bucks for something
which actually works?

on my 4x5 Chromega head there's a "scrim" but it's right next to the filters and it gets wicked hot in there. For most of my printing, the head is way too powerful even when using the "low" setting. I tried placing an nd gel next to the the mixing chamber but they vaporize in a couple seconds when in "white light" mode. Piece of Gam (most neutral) nd in the slot under the mixing chamber diffuser panel does the trick though. B&H sells Lee, Rosco, and Gam in 20x24 sheets for anyone that's interested.

[BradS]

it is not at all clear to me why one doesn't simply stop down the enlarger lens? F/8 is ony one stop down from wide open...whats wrong with stopping down a few stops if you need longer times? Seems so obvious.

[Drew Wiley]

You're right, Vinny. At least the Omega scrim isn't right in contact with any diffusion material. But having hot light bouncing off that scrim right onto the dichroic filters themselves can lead to premature failing of the filters, and can even slightly alter the color transmission characteristics of the filters if they get too hot
(more an issue in color printing than anything black and white). So the Omega design is not ideal, but is a kind of compromise which seems to have worked for
garden-variety work (which doesn't necessarily imply poor print quality at all, but the lack of advanced bells and whistles or feedback circuitry to correct such things in critical applications). It's a feature I'd avoid if long printing times were involved. But at fifteen or twenty seconds a pop, I wouldn't worry about any adverse affects due to heat in the Omega design.

[Drew Wiley]

Brad - all lenses are affected by diffraction at small apertures. You can simply stop your enlarger lens way down, but at a certain point, a reduction in sharpness
will start creeping in. You might not notice this if other things are not ideal (like lack of a glass carrier to keep the neg truly flat). Or maybe your prints are so small
that it's not immediately apparent. But it is a relevant factor.

[Leigh]

Brad - all lenses are affected by diffraction at small apertures. You can simply stop your enlarger lens way down, but at a certain point, a reduction in sharpness will start creeping in. You might not notice this if other things are not ideal (like lack of a glass carrier to keep the neg truly flat). Or maybe your prints are so small that it's not immediately apparent. But it is a relevant factor.

Distortion is one of those academic parameters that can be measured in the lab, but not seen by the average observer looking at a photograph.

Yes, it does exist.

No, it is not meaningful in the discussion of the small prints that the OP is doing. Not at all.

- Leigh