More Sharp Copies

[shingled]

hello friends.

I am currently starting in the medium format: Mamiya 7II + Durst M805 condenser head. I use Ilford Delta 100 developed with Pyro. The paper I use is Foma 131. Despite all this good stuff, I find copies slightly soft in terms of definition and I'm looking for some light enlarger which is somewhat harder.

I was informing on printers with point source of light, but I find no such model.

Any person may orient buene on this issue?

Thank you very much. And sorry for my poor English

[Vaughn]

Possible "weak points" in your process:

Camera shake -- use a tripod to get the maximum out of your very sharp taking lens.

Lens on the enlarger -- is it of high quality?

Alignment of enlarger

Good luck!

Vaughn

[shingled]

Possible "weak points" in your process:

Camera shake -- use a tripod to get the maximum out of your very sharp taking lens.

Lens on the enlarger -- is it of high quality?

Alignment of enlarger

Good luck!

Vaughn

Hi

I use tripod at longer exposures of 1/30
The enlarger lens is a 90mm Apo-Rodagon f:4

Thanks for responding

[Nathan Potter]

hello friends.

I am currently starting in the medium format: Mamiya 7II + Durst M805 condenser head. I use Ilford Delta 100 developed with Pyro. The paper I use is Foma 131. Despite all this good stuff, I find copies slightly soft in terms of definition and I'm looking for some light enlarger which is somewhat harder.

I was informing on printers with point source of light, but I find no such model.

Any person may orient buene on this issue?

Thank you very much. And sorry for my poor English

I don't think the Durst M805 has a point source as an attachment. Old D2V units do, but you would need to find one used. Some people have built their own. I'm surprised what you have is inadequate for sharpness. As mentioned you need to check out the whole sequence from image taking to printing to make sure you are optimizing the chain for sharpness. If you are still unsatisfied with results then you would consider a point source type setup.

A true point source will produce an image on paper that is sharp and of high contrast in the extreme. The use of an aperture to adjust the diameter of the point will allow backing off from the extreme contrast and gradually yield some smoother grain modulation. I sometimes use a home built unit with a variable aperture for greater control when I need a hard print.

You can construct a fairly simple point system with a simple modification to the enlarger head. Use a low voltage halogen bulb in an appropriate ceramic socket for instance. Use the bulb with the current condensers by increasing the distance between the bulb and the first condenser until the rays exiting the condenser are parallel (infinity corrected). Such distance might be fairly long, 8 to 15 inches depending on the focal length of the condenser pair. Put the apparatus in a light tight box and place over the condensers and you have it. Finally you will really need to worry about dust.

Nate Potter, Austin TX.

[ic-racer]

This is like asking for a chainsaw to sharpen a pencil. The Durst M805 will produce sharp images with its original head. Start with the basics. Is the enlarger lens aligned? Are you using a glass carrier? What aperture are you using? Is the lens clean and clear? Medium format film ISO 100 needs to be enlarged pretty big to see the grain in the print to determine if your enlarger is working properly. Are you using a grain magnifier to focus?

[shingled]

I don't think the Durst M805 has a point source as an attachment. Old D2V units do, but you would need to find one used. Some people have built their own. I'm surprised what you have is inadequate for sharpness. As mentioned you need to check out the whole sequence from image taking to printing to make sure you are optimizing the chain for sharpness. If you are still unsatisfied with results then you would consider a point source type setup.

A true point source will produce an image on paper that is sharp and of high contrast in the extreme. The use of an aperture to adjust the diameter of the point will allow backing off from the extreme contrast and gradually yield some smoother grain modulation. I sometimes use a home built unit with a variable aperture for greater control when I need a hard print.

You can construct a fairly simple point system with a simple modification to the enlarger head. Use a low voltage halogen bulb in an appropriate ceramic socket for instance. Use the bulb with the current condensers by increasing the distance between the bulb and the first condenser until the rays exiting the condenser are parallel (infinity corrected). Such distance might be fairly long, 8 to 15 inches depending on the focal length of the condenser pair. Put the apparatus in a light tight box and place over the condensers and you have it. Finally you will really need to worry about dust.

Nate Potter, Austin TX.

Thank you very much for the reply. Obviously, I get the final copy of all the equipment I can not I say it's bad, but as the sight of my eyes is very tired :-) I'm always thinking I need more definition.

Anyway, I take note of your instructions and see the possibility that someone can build me a wall light point.

Thank you very much.

[John Henry]

Are you using a grain focuser to focus your enlarger? If you are you must use a scrap sheet of paper the same as what you are using for printing. If you are and your enlarger is out of alignment you should still get parts of your print "in focus" and sharp. What do your negatives look like under a lupe? Also, always try to stay at apertures two to maybe three stops down from wide open on both the camera lens and enlarging lens to avoid any diffraction. You have some of the best equipment you can get so the problem more than likely in how it is setup. JohnW

[Maris Rusis]

Are you using a grain focuser to focus your enlarger? If you are you must use a scrap sheet of paper the same as what you are using for printing. If you are and your enlarger is out of alignment you should still get parts of your print "in focus" and sharp. What do your negatives look like under a lupe? Also, always try to stay at apertures two to maybe three stops down from wide open on both the camera lens and enlarging lens to avoid any diffraction. You have some of the best equipment you can get so the problem more than likely in how it is setup. JohnW

John Henry is right. If the paper positive shows sharp grain all over then the enlarger system has extracted all possible detail from the negative. If picture still looks soft the problem is at the camera-work stage (focus, camera-shake, weak tripod, etc) or the subject moved (windy day, earthquake, ?) .