Unfortunately, as described, I won’t be able to hang a bulb in the tent. Thus, looking for an alternative.
Unfortunately, as described, I won’t be able to hang a bulb in the tent. Thus, looking for an alternative.
Lachlan.
You miss 100% of the shots you never take. -- Wayne Gretzky
I would use the 35mm enlarger and worry about uneven lighting if it becomes an issue, but I also use a 4x5 enlarger for contact printing without issue. Another bonus for the 35mm enlarger is that many of them can easily be adapted to be a "copy stand" for digicam scanning. The price of a simple reliable copy stand these days is surprisingly high.
At one time I used a Vivitar enlarged made for 35mm and 120 as a light source for 8x10 contact prints. I believe the lens was 80mm or so. It worked fine. My only concern would be whether the column is long enough for 11x14.
Should work fine, raised up high enough, you should get good coverage for 11x14 with most 35mm enlargers. I have used a 4x5 enlarger without the lens for Azo -- sped things up a bit. I have also used a clip-on light clipped onto the enlarger head so it could be raised up and down and plugged into the timer.
Bare bulbs do work, but my eyes have never liked going from safelight conditions to the blast of bright white light.
"Landscapes exist in the material world yet soar in the realms of the spirit..." Tsung Ping, 5th Century China
If the enlarger head can't get up high enough to cover, just use a lens with a shorter focal length, or stick a close-up lens/filter on the lens you're stuck with.
I use my Spot Meter to check the evenness of light on the paper
and have made a center filter to even out the light
Tin Can
Even monkeys fall from trees -- Japanese proverb
There are a few enlargers that can't make prints larger than 8x10. They were made to be very compact -- some even fit in a suitcase. Others were designed for quick repetitive 8x10 production, for example, or operation without a darkroom. But these enlargers are the exception to the rule -- that the vast majority of enlargers can make prints larger than 8x10".
"Landscapes exist in the material world yet soar in the realms of the spirit..." Tsung Ping, 5th Century China
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