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Photo Forum / Film Photography / Darkroom / November 2005Durst Pictochrom & the Ultimate Enlarger
I'm fortunate enough to have a Durst Pictochrom (basically a lab version of the L1200). It's almost everything an enlarger should be: stable as the rock of Gibralter, even illumination & focus from edge to edge, feeback loop and shutter to ensure constant illumination and accurate short exposures, digital dichroic filters, bright light source for reasonable exposure times. This is the enlarger I dreamed of when I struggled with a flimsy Omega B22 then Beseler M45. Durst came so close to making the ultimate enlarger but inexplicably, STUPIDLY dropped the ball just short of the goal line. This got me to thinking about the ULTIMATE ENLARGER (que heavenly choir). The included keyboard is a completely unintuitive digital Rube Goldberg device. How much simpler and easier it would have been to interface with a laptop - even an ancient DOS 8088 would have been an improvement. Imagine storing your magnification and exposure data and being able to call it up at the push of a button. You could also store development info (paper, developer, toner, special techniques). The only thing to set is the f-stop (auto f-stops would be asking too much). With a modern laptop you could even store a test print with crop, burn and dodge info. That would really cut down the test strips. Instead what you have is an unnecessarily difficult cryptic, proprietary monstrosity. You can store exposure info - theoretically, but I can't figure it out. The actual exposure time is anywhere from 20% to 30% greater than indicated! It was explained to me this compensates for variation in voltage, bulb brightness, etc. and utilizing Dmax or some such thing but I can't figure that out either, even with the useless manual. Still I can't complain too much. I'm getting pinpoint 16x20s with relative ease. But if I do see a cheap Multigraph I'll snap that baby up in a hurry. That's what I love about digital, now I can afford the analog devices I only dreamed about before.  SignatureIt is not our patriotic duty to send children to be butchered & slaughtered & to butcher & slaughter others every time a general or a politician gets a hardon for a war. Rather, it is our patriotic duty to demand the highest burden of proof to justify war. > Imagine > storing your magnification and exposure data and being able to call it up at > the push of a button. You could also store development info (paper, > developer, toner, special techniques). The only thing to set is the f-stop > (auto f-stops would be asking too much). Homerich made enlargers with that feature over 20 years ago. SignatureTo reply no_ HPMarketing Corp. >> Imagine >> storing your magnification and exposure data and being able to call it up [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > > Homerich made enlargers with that feature over 20 years ago. And the price was? > >> Imagine > >> storing your magnification and exposure data and being able to call it up [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > > And the price was? The 10 x 10" that I used was under $15K. Have no idea how much the smaller ones were. LogE also had some very sophisticated models. We used the 10" with auto CRT dodge and burn on aerial shots in the early 60s. Other then being a long exposure - some in the 20 minute range for a 20 x 20" print and having the CRT beam leave a very small "flying saucer" mark that required spotting it worked beautifully. We made aerial shots of the Univ. of AL and the Univ of Miss during the integration demonstrations in the early 60's and used the Log E enlarger to automatically dodge and burn between the leaves of the trees to see what was happening. SignatureTo reply no_ HPMarketing Corp. > We made aerial shots of the Univ. of AL and the Univ of Miss during the > integration demonstrations in the early 60's and used the Log E enlarger > to automatically dodge and burn between the leaves of the trees to see > what was happening. LogD - that's it. That's what the Pictochrom timer is based on but I can't figure it out. Any suggestions? Natural Light Black and White Photography http://mysite.verizon.net/vze76ane/ -George- > > We made aerial shots of the Univ. of AL and the Univ of Miss during the > > integration demonstrations in the early 60's and used the Log E enlarger [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > http://mysite.verizon.net/vze76ane/ > -George- The LogE that we used had a probe. You put it in a shadow area you wanted detail in and nulled one meter, put in in a highlight area that needed detail and nulled a second meter then put it in a midtone and nulled the third meter and then pushed the exposure button and took a break for 15 or 20 minutes. Came back and developed the paper. So yours doesn't work like the LogE. The Homerich had a similar feature except it could record focus and exposure settings (it was electronic AF). SignatureTo reply no_ HPMarketing Corp. >The actual exposure time is anywhere from 20% to 30% greater than >indicated! It was explained to me this compensates for variation in voltage, >bulb brightness, etc. November 6, 2005, from Lloyd Erlick, This sounds very much like the Durst Multigraph light source. The exposure system is closed loop. It has a light sensor in the lamp house, and many times per minute makes comparisons with the reading set when the unit and first brand new lamp were installed. As the bulb ages the light output diminishes, and the system extends the time of exposure to compensate. To the outside observer the exposure times seem to be inexplicably longer than the number of seconds indicated on the panel. Sometimes it is easily possible to see that the numbers do not stay lit for one second as they count down, but somehow longer. I found it very disconcerting until I realized what was going on. On the Multigraph control panel, when the expose button is pressed, the set exposure numbers jump to some igher value, and begin counting down from there. I've found that the change rises slowly, over weeks or months, to around fifty per cent of the number set by the operator, and then the lamp dies. It's better to think of the 'timer' as a light energy controller. It provides the set amount of light energy to the paper irrespective of lamp aging or voltage fluctuations. It's not really a timer at all. It would mimic a timer if the bulb did not age and voltage did not vary. I believe voltage is a lesser variable because the power supply compensates, so the exposure system probably does not see much voltage fluctuation. It also keeps exposures consistent over time (and across lamp replacements, too!), so a print can be remade later with ease. This is a very large plus feature, especially when a lamp dies in the middle of a darkroom session. And why would a lamp die except when you are under deadline? Altogether, a pleasure to work with. regards, --le Signature________________________________ Lloyd Erlick Portraits, Toronto. voice: 416-686-0326 email: portrait@heylloyd.com net: www.heylloyd.com ________________________________ "Lloyd Erlick" <Lloyd at @the-wire. dot com> wrote in message > This sounds very much like the Durst > Multigraph light source. > [quoted text clipped - 21 lines] > around fifty per cent of the number set by > the operator, and then the lamp dies. Exactly. > It's better to think of the 'timer' as a > light energy controller. It provides the set [quoted text clipped - 15 lines] > session. And why would a lamp die except when > you are under deadline? Which is why I have 2 spares in the drawer. Thanks for the info Lloyd. I think I need to get with the (Durst) program and let go of my old printing habits. So when I see 10 on the display that basically means it's 10 units of light instead of 10 sec, right? So if I make a print with 10 units today, in 6 months I just punch in 10 and that will give me the same exposure even if the actual time is different because of bulb aging? I just wish I could figure out how to store exposures. Another crazy "feature": It has A (as in 1, one, uno, un, ein) built in burn function after which it reverts to the original exposure! How many times do you have only one burn in area??? Most prints have 3 or more, all with different times. Technology, gotta love it. Natural Light Black and White Photography http://mysite.verizon.net/vze76ane/ -George- November 8, 2005, from Lloyd Erlick, >Which is why I have 2 spares in the drawer. Yes, don't we all! But to be able to continue working after changing a lamp, no recalibrating the work... just put it in and continue. That is a luxury. >Thanks for the info Lloyd. I think I need to get with the (Durst) program >and let go of my old printing habits. So when I see 10 on the display that >basically means it's 10 units of light instead of 10 sec, right? Yes. So if I >make a print with 10 units today, in 6 months I just punch in 10 and that >will give me the same exposure even if the actual time is different because >of bulb aging? Yes. > I just wish I could figure out how to store exposures. Use a notebook and a hand-holdable writing device. I suggest an Alpa or Leica pencil, they make a black line when drawn across the paper, and they are very expensive. I think Multigraph units newer than mine (mine was the first installed in Canada!) have several channels for this sort of thing. >Another crazy "feature": It has A (as in 1, one, uno, un, ein) built in burn >function after which it reverts to the original exposure! How many times do >you have only one burn in area??? Most prints have 3 or more, all with >different times. Technology, gotta love it. Yes, you're absolutely right. My Multigraph will store three dodge/burn exposures in addition to the base exposure. So they must have heard you! But really, three is not enough either, although it usually suffices. The Multigraph easel probe is a pleasure to use, too. Durst specs it as insensitive to safelight, and it is, too, I've tested it a number of times. My safelights have never influenced the exposure reading to any degree I could detect. It's a funny thing. I actually like enlargers. The Pictochrom, L1200, Multigraph, all look nice to me. The whole action of working with them in the dark pleases me. Nothing about computer printers pleases me, especially the part about preparing the files. regards, --le Signature________________________________ Lloyd Erlick Portraits, Toronto. voice: 416-686-0326 email: portrait@heylloyd.com net: www.heylloyd.com ________________________________ > I suggest an Alpa or Leica pencil, Cognescetti use a "Blackwing". Even more ridiculously priced. SignatureNicholas O. Lindan, Cleveland, Ohio Consulting Engineer: Electronics; Informatics; Photonics. To reply, remove spaces: n o lindan at ix . netcom . com Fstop timer - http://www.nolindan.com/da/fstop/index.htm - with unlimited burns and dodges - >> I suggest an Alpa or Leica pencil, > >Cognescetti use a "Blackwing". Even more ridiculously >priced. I found a 9B Staedtler pencil on the sidewalk last summer. (Living in a city just throws stuff at a photographer's eyes ...). It's great for doing crosswords. --le > November 8, 2005, from Lloyd Erlick, > [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > especially the part about preparing the > files. I used to hate the tedium of the darkroom. Uneven exposure, blurry edges, calculating different exposure times for different filters, shunting filters in & out. Magically when I got a REAL enlarger most of those frustrations disappeared. Certainly digital is much neater and more efficient (esp. for color) but efficiency isn't why we do this is it. I'm more in touch with my inner creative side with the wet sloppy stuff. To me digital is just ... sterile. It's about as exciting as microfilm. Natural Light Black and White Photography http://mysite.verizon.net/vze76ane/ -George- SignatureIt is not our patriotic duty to send children to be butchered & slaughtered & to butcher & slaughter others every time a general or a politician gets a hardon for a war. Rather, it is our patriotic duty to demand the highest burden of proof to justify war. >I used to hate the tedium of the darkroom. Uneven exposure, blurry edges, >calculating different exposure times for different filters, shunting filters >in & out. Magically when I got a REAL enlarger most of those frustrations >disappeared. November 11, 2005, from Lloyd Erlick, I agree. I think it's a shame for a new darkroom fan to get a low end enlarger. When I first started out as a teenager, I found the whole issue of handling paper a frustration, my lens was sleazy, everything about adjusting the enlarger a pain (alignment? hah!), everything. The teenage me was often tempted to give it all up and do something easy. Eventually I got a decent lens (and what an huge and immediate difference that made!). A cold light to sit on top of the enlarger made a noticeable difference too. Resin coated paper at least helped me get prints that didn't curl up into toilet paper tubes. That was a bad addiction, since broken by FB. But the hassles of correct exposure and consistent, repeatable results ... a proper exposure metering system sure helps there. regards, --le Signature________________________________ Lloyd Erlick Portraits, Toronto. voice: 416-686-0326 email: portrait@heylloyd.com net: www.heylloyd.com ________________________________ seog a écrit : > I'm fortunate enough to have a Durst Pictochrom (basically a lab version of > the L1200). It's almost everything an enlarger should be: stable as the rock [quoted text clipped - 27 lines] > That's what I love about digital, now I can afford the analog devices I only > dreamed about before. Well, a computer-based exposure system storing exposures and masking sequences exist: http://www.bonavolta.ch/hobby/en/photo/fotolab.htm And it's free ... Regards, SignatureClaudio Bonavolta http://www.bonavolta.ch > Well, a computer-based exposure system storing exposures and masking > sequences exist: > http://www.bonavolta.ch/hobby/en/photo/fotolab.htm > > And it's free ... > Regards, That's EXACTLY what I want! Merci beaucoup! Unfortunately I don't see any way to interface the dry side to control the enlarger with the closed, proprietary Durst system that has a built in control keyboard. For an open system that's perfect. I will definately try the wet side. Thank you. Natural Light Black and White Photography http://mysite.verizon.net/vze76ane/ -George- |
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