sulskyr Posted July 2, 2010 Share #1 Posted July 2, 2010 Advertisement (gone after registration) Has anyone tried substituting an LED lamp for a standard base incandescent enlarger bulb (PH/211, for example) in a condenser enlarger? Compact fluorescent bulbs wouldn't work because of the long lead time to full intensity. It's hard to know whether enlarger bulbs will even be manufactured for much longer, since I can't imagine there is much of a market for them and there is a 2012 deadline for discontinuing all types of incandescent bulbs in the US. If you have tried a substitute, I would be interested in hearing about your results. /Richard Sulsky Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted July 2, 2010 Posted July 2, 2010 Hi sulskyr, Take a look here Incandescent bulb substitute for enlarger?. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
pico Posted July 2, 2010 Share #2 Posted July 2, 2010 Thanks for asking. I await an answer too, although I have a couple cases of the proper bulbs for both condenser enlargers. If I may tack a question to yours - In an emergency once I used a regular bulb and the printing on the bulb's end made the prints pretty bad. So, in a condenser enlarger, for example Focomats, is not the bulb imaged (out of focus) through the lens? If it is, then LED illumiation would seem a problem because it would image (out of focus) on the paper. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MX5Bob Posted July 2, 2010 Share #3 Posted July 2, 2010 I have an Aristo cold light head. Wonder what will happen when it dies. I'm not using my enlarger these days, no space. But someday it would be nice to set it all up again. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
giordano Posted July 2, 2010 Share #4 Posted July 2, 2010 If you print in colour or use variable contrast paper changing to a LED light source will change the paper's response to the filters. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
gyoung Posted July 2, 2010 Share #5 Posted July 2, 2010 Has anyone tried substituting an LED lamp for a standard base incandescent enlarger bulb (PH/211, for example) in a condenser enlarger? Compact fluorescent bulbs wouldn't work because of the long lead time to full intensity.It's hard to know whether enlarger bulbs will even be manufactured for much longer, since I can't imagine there is much of a market for them and there is a 2012 deadline for discontinuing all types of incandescent bulbs in the US. If you have tried a substitute, I would be interested in hearing about your results. /Richard Sulsky Long lead time to full intensity was/is the problem with fluorescent light sources for enlargers, I have used quite a few over the years (used to be 'cold cathode' light sources), timers are no use, you need to use the red filter or your hand to give the exposure. Only good for black and white of course, and condensers give sharper looking prints from small negatives (look up the differences between speculatr and diffuse light sources) and point source lamps are even better. Best is to lay in a stock of enlarger bulbs, they don't have a shelf life :-) (unless you drop them.) Gerry Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ismon Posted July 2, 2010 Share #6 Posted July 2, 2010 The trick is to provide a suitably diffused light source as to prevent a hot-spot projected in the center of the image. A soft white household bulb with some additional diffusion should do the trick in an emergency. For special effects, you can use almost anything. The flash tube from an electronic flash unit yields some interesting results. Multiple pops of that short duration light opens up shadow detail in otherwise silhouetted photos. Don't be afraid of the dark. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pico Posted July 2, 2010 Share #7 Posted July 2, 2010 Advertisement (gone after registration) Long lead time to full intensity was/is the problem with fluorescent light sources for enlargers, I have used quite a few over the years (used to be 'cold cathode' light sources), timers are no use, you need to use the red filter or your hand to give the exposure. Only good for black and white of course, and condensers give sharper looking prints from small negatives (look up the differences between speculatr and diffuse light sources) and point source lamps are even better. Best is to lay in a stock of enlarger bulbs, they don't have a shelf life :-) (unless you drop them.) Gerry If you don't have a warming circuit for the cold-light head, then leave it on 100% and use an electric shutter in front of the lens. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MX5Bob Posted July 2, 2010 Share #8 Posted July 2, 2010 If you don't have a warming circuit for the cold-light head, then leave it on 100% and use an electric shutter in front of the lens. Mine always worked well from the start, but I didn't have A/C in my darkrooms when I lived in Chicago. +1 for stocking up on enlarger bulbs. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pico Posted July 3, 2010 Share #9 Posted July 3, 2010 Mine always worked well from the start, but I didn't have A/C in my darkrooms when I lived in Chicago. +1 for stocking up on enlarger bulbs. Oh. I was referring to the cold-head problem with slow start-up. Chicago? I lived in Hyde Park. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
tobey bilek Posted July 3, 2010 Share #10 Posted July 3, 2010 Take you PH111 to the light bulb store and get a globe the same size in snowy white. The solvent for the printing is acetone if I remember correctly. It is definately something easily available. Personally I will be stocking up ong bulbs. As an aside, the local ACE hardware store guy told the spouse not to buy compact florescent bulbs for applications where they off and on frequently. The ballast burns out very fast. It is like everything else, you pay a lot to save a little, high gas mileage cars, high efficiency furnaces, bulbs. You may save some money on energy, but the maintenence costs eat all the savings and there is a net loss to you. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
gyoung Posted July 3, 2010 Share #11 Posted July 3, 2010 Specific bulbs for enlargers are usually 'overrun' to produce more output at the expense of life, they also do not have printing on the top of the bulb which would come out nice and sharp with a condenser enlarger. Most Durst enlrgers have the bulb vertically with a mirror so that the condensers 'see' the side of the bulb. In that case any filament bulb would do, as long as the envelope is the same size as the intended enlarger bulb. Ultimately, of course, this wont help since household filament bulbs of low wattage will probably go before enlarger ones! Gerry Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MX5Bob Posted July 3, 2010 Share #12 Posted July 3, 2010 Oh. I was referring to the cold-head problem with slow start-up. Chicago? I lived in Hyde Park. Northwest side until I moved out west. Learned all my bad habits, photographic or otherwise, at the Young Artist Studios program of the School of the Art Institute. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pico Posted July 3, 2010 Share #13 Posted July 3, 2010 Art Institute! An old friend of mine taught there, but probably before your time - Ruth Thorne Thomsen. The West is better ayway. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MX5Bob Posted July 4, 2010 Share #14 Posted July 4, 2010 Art Institute! An old friend of mine taught there, but probably before your time - Ruth Thorne Thomsen. The West is better ayway. This was in the late '60s, early '70s. Masters students taught us high school rabble. This was all in the old basement area the school used. I do not miss Chicago winters. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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