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Thread: 5x7 cold light source enlargers

  1. #1

    5x7 cold light source enlargers

    What is the real benefit of using a cold light source in an enlarger for black and white work - can you tell the difference between this type and one with a condenser? I am looking for a 5x7 enlarger with a cold light source, but now I'm not sure I should limit myself to that type of light source.

  2. #2

    Join Date
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    5x7 cold light source enlargers

    Negatives don't "pop", and you don't need a 10' ceiling in the darkroom.
    Wilhelm (Sarasota)

  3. #3
    multiplex
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    5x7 cold light source enlargers

    dust and scratches aren' t as evident with a diffused light ( cold light) source.

  4. #4

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    5x7 cold light source enlargers

    With a diffused light source, you don't experience the "Callier Effect". According to that principle, highlights (dense areas in the negative) block the passage of light more than other shades. The result is chalky, blocked detail in the high values.

    I tested this for myself over 30 years ago, and even tried spray-painting the inside of my condenser enlarger head with white paint. There was no visible difference. Eventually, I bought a cold light head. It made all the difference. You can see the before and after images in a book from that era, called "Zone VI Workshop" by Fred Picker.

  5. #5

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    5x7 cold light source enlargers

    I think it's been pretty well documented that Fred Picker and Ansel Adams were all wet (yes, even Ansel wasn't perfect) when they said condenser light sources produced "soot and chalk" prints and that diffusion light sources were inherently better. As long as you develop your negatives with the use of a condenser enlarger in mind, which generally means negatives of lower contrast than you would produce for a diffusion enlarger, I believe it's now generally accepted that you can make the same print from either type. Among other sources, there was a lengthy article in Photo Techniques magazine a few years back demonstrating this fact.

    The reduced effect of dust and scratches and lack of negative "popping" with diffusion light sources that someone else mentioned are commonly cited as benefits so I assume that's accurate, I've never used a condenser so I have nothing with which to compare my diffusion light source to in that respect.

    Zone VI enlargers sold by Calumet are 5x7 enlargers for which a diffusion head is made.
    Brian Ellis
    Before you criticize someone, walk a mile in their shoes. That way when you do criticize them you'll be
    a mile away and you'll have their shoes.

  6. #6

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    5x7 cold light source enlargers

    Brian - Thanks for the update. Geez, I come back after 30 years, and I don't recognize a thing. Next thing you know, they'll be putting a man on the Moon !

  7. #7

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    5x7 cold light source enlargers

    This is remarkable.

    I was just re-browsing Fred Picker's 1974 book titled ZONE VI WORKSHOP and read with amusement the apparent frustrations of one of Fred's students, who went to all kinds of trouble in modifying his condenser enlarger in order to produce prints that fit the contrast range of his negatives. He tried diffusion glass in the filter drawer. Then he tried diffusion paper. To no avail.

    Then... to quote Picker... "...he gave up the fight and at my suggestion he bought an inexpensive (under $100.00) cold light head for his Beseler enlarger. It solved all of his problems and he is making very fine prints. The student's name is Ken Lee of 209 Mamaroneck Road, Scarsdale, N.Y. He has kindly agreed to verify all of the above."

    Small world.

  8. #8

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    5x7 cold light source enlargers

    WOW--it IS a small world!!
    Peter Collins

    On the intent of the First Amendment: The press was to serve the governed, not the governors --Opinion, Hugo Black, Judge, Supreme Court, 1971 re the "Pentagon Papers."

  9. #9

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    5x7 cold light source enlargers

    For the record, I no longer live at that address. People sent me negatives to test for quite a while. I wonder if the current resident continues to get them.

  10. #10
    wfwhitaker
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    5x7 cold light source enlargers

    Originally one of cold light's greatest benefits (now often overlooked) was as an economical light source for large negatives. Condensers for 5x7 and larger negatives were very costly to produce. They still are, but with so many labs leaving the analog realm, there are often very good buys on used 5x7 and 8x10 enlargers with condenser heads. Having said that, my own enlarger is an old Durst 5x7 to which I've adapted a Zone VI VC cold light head. The original motivation was because I found the head used at a good price. But since installing it, I really do "interact" well with it and enjoy the ability to change contrast very easily. The diffused light source also works very well with the "selective masking" technique which Alan Ross documented in several articles a while back in View Camera magazine.

    As you say you're looking for a 5x7 enlarger, I would personally recommend a Durst 138. They're wonderfully made machines and if you're patient, one will come along at a good price. Normally they do come with condenser heads, although dichroic heads are available. The conversion to cold light is very simple. (Aristo even makes a single lamp cold light source for the Durst which simply replaces the lower condenser.) Should you be interested, I'd be happy to describe what I did to convert mine to accept the VC head. The Zone VI enlarger from Calumet comes with one cold light head or another. Other vintage enlargers (Elwood, Omega, etc...) which are capable of 5x7 occasionally show up on the market. Most any enlarger can be converted to cold light if that's what you want. My advice (FWIW!) would be to evaluate the market based upon how much you want to spend and what's available in your timeframe. I wouldn't worry too much about the light source initially.



    I happen to like using cold light myself. But it remains true that wonderful photographs have been made and will continue to be made with condenser enlargers, too.



    Good luck!

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