Yes I do, but for dodging and burning I mostly need one hand. But I seldom need the whole exposure time twice, so it's quite practical to stop the lightsource when it's enough. And indeed, as said, this prevents movement blur too. I find the development time in the tray not that critical that I would need a foot switch for that timer, I use my Apple watch with a red dimmed dial for that.
Yes a footswitch is very helpful.
This brings up a question that’s been nagging me for quite a while.
My first two enlarger setups, for graded papers, used a footswitch with a tik-tock metronome. Hold the switch down and count the clicks to make the exposure, then release the switch to stop. This was great for burning.
When I transitioned to a VC setup (Zone VI Type II), the tik-tock timer would not work with it. So I replaced it with a Zone VI compensating timer. With this setup the footswitch only functions to start the timer, not stop it as well. So if I’ve just made a long main exposure and now want a short burn, I have to change the timer to a shorter duration to avoid holding a card under the lens for a long time.
I wish there was a way to rig the compensating timer with a tik-tock style footswitch.
I found that the footswitch frees up both hands for dodging and burning. I imagine that's the obvious reason they are made. I don't have to frantically grab my tools once I hit go.
Garry Madlung
Veteran of many tours of the Canadian Rockies
I found my NOS floor switch
It is on the list
Tin Can
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote
Bookmarks