cold light versus vc cold light

[kevin_blasi]

Hello all,

 

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Actually, I've got two questions:

 

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1) I'm looking to purchase a standard cold light head for my used 4x5 Beseler. I've been a bit overwhelmed searching through the cold lights at B+H's site because there's not a lot of detail supplied with each of the products listed. I've noticed that many of the lights are listed as 220 Volt, to which I do not have access in my apartment. For anyone "in the know", would the Aristo w/ V54 lamp and Beseler collar (adapter) do the trick? I realize I may be asking a question which has an obvious answer, but I'd like some piece of mind from the members of this forum before taking the dive. A simple "yes" will do.

 

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2) I'm a bit hazy on the beauty of the variable contrast cold lights. Is it the ability to perform "split printing" in a single exposure?

Perhaps I don't quite understand the art of split printing but can't the exact print quality be achieved by using a cold light with vc filters (even if two exposures are necessary)? To a degree, I understand the vc cold light's ability to fine tune exposure separately in shadows and highlights, but I guess I just don't understand how one can justify the $700 price difference between using a standard cold light head w/ variable filters and using a vc cold light head. The main reason I'm asking of course is that I'm intrigued by what the vc cold light can offer. Admittedly, I haven't even seen the side by side difference between a condeser light source print and one made via cold light, let alone the difference between standard cold light head and vc cold light.

 

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Thanks in advance for any responses. Greatly appreciated. Love this forum!

 

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Kevin

[marv5]

I would like to address the VC cold light head vs. cold light head

with VC filters. Having started with a cold light and doing split

development in Selectol Soft and Zone VI developer using graded

papers I thought I had a pretty good system. After the latest

generations of VC papers came out I dabbled, using VC papers and VC

filters with the cold light. Lousy experience. Great images. Why? VC

filters just aren't made for a cold light. They are to widely spaced

and can make exposures painfully long. Good theory, bad practice.

 

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But the results were there; the split printing allows to you

to "easily" control high light and shadow values.

 

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Now, move to a VC head, mine is a Zone VI. By utilizing a couple of

different techniques you are working with 2, 3 or however

many "grades" on one sheet of paper. (When you move to this type of

printing "grades" become moot. You are in a realm of tones and

texture where you are going for the right "look" not a grade value.)I

start with a test using the soft light only, establishing my high

value exposure. Print a picture at that exposure and do a test strip

with hard light only over it. This time I look for the low value

only. After determining that time I make a print for the soft light

time, turn it off and turn on the hard and print for that time. All

this while NEVER touching the negative stage of the enlarger. Now you

have determined an overall "contrast" (I prefer tone and texture) for

the image you can use your test strips to determine if there are

areas of local contrast that can be adjusted. Could the high values

be a bit harder, maybe a shadow could soften up just a bit. I feel

this is as close to toal control in the darkroom as there is. A real

low tech photoshop that still requires you to get your hands wet with

smelly chemicals!

[sandy_sorlien]

Kevin,

I second Marv's experience. Actually, I now use two enlargers, an

ancient 8x10 Elwood with a cold light and a Beseler 23C with an Aristo

VC cold light. The only thing I don't like about the VC head is that

the light is dim. When it's on blue only (hard) you can barely see the

image - a problem if you want to dodge anything. Not so bad with blue/

green mixed, which is how I usually use it, but still dimmer than my

old Aristo non-VC cold light, and slower. However, it's not really

any slower than using filters grades 3 and up.

 

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On the Elwood, I put a #15 green gel on the cold light to make it the

right color to use filters, then I use regular Ilford contrast

filters. Talk about slow, some of my exposures on that are 6-8 minutes

for large mural prints.

 

I am now very happy with my Aristo VC head.

[n_dhananjay3]

The general consensus seems to be that differences between cold

lights and condensors are minimal once your negatives are tailored

for the light source.

 

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1/ I haven't used a Beseler but the answer should be 'yes'. A V54

should work fine with your Beseler and will work fine with VC papers.

Older cold lights had a minor problem with VC papers. Their light was

too blue heavy (VC filters were probably calibrated to tungsten

sources). So, the contrast was often higher than what one would

expect from the filter number. This could be compensated for by some

calibration but the second problem was that older cold lights put out

very little green light, thus making it very difficult to get the

lowest contrasts from the VC paper i.e., the problem is one of

efficiency - if you wanted to print using green light, the cold

light was inefficient, most of the light was wasted, and it is too

efficient in thee blue region (since the calibration of the filters

was to tungsten sources). The V54 is supposed to be optimized for VC

(which probably means it emits well into the green and probably has

efficiencies matched). Anchell says he was very impressed with it.

 

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2/ Variable contrast cold light heads obviate using filters. You have

two tubes, one emitting blue light and one emitting green light and

you mix these lights to get the contrast you want. So, split

filtering is still done through two exposures but you can change the

setting at a dial and avoid jiggling the enlarger head or lens stage

etc. I'm sure they are very easy to use but they have always been too

pricey for my blood (but then heck, I haven't even sprung for a V54,

I continue with the old W45 tube or whatever is in cold light head).

 

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Cheers, DJ

[kcrisp]

Kevin: There is a 110V V54 head which will fit your enlarger. (Is

that a simple "yes"?) Call Aristo and ask, they are incredibly

helpful. They will even suggest retailers who will give you a better

deal than they will on the product which is right for you. I tried

using yellow filters to adjust the older Aristo head I had to work

with modern VC materials. Better, but pretty hopeless, contrast can

be untameable. Though manufacturers of paper suggest that you can

filter the light with yellow filters, Aristo will tell you it won't

work and in my experience they are right. The V54 head (weird aqua

light output) works great with the Ilford filters set I've used for

it. I don't find using the filters an objectionable hassle. They

seem to have zero effect on sharpness, even when used below the

lens. If money is no object, then I can see why a head with

adjustable color outfit would be a convenience. The modern VC papers

are much better than what I was using when I gave up on VC years ago,

particularly the VC Seagull fiber based paper.

[sandy_sorlien]

That's weird, Kevin #2, it was the Aristo guy who told me to use one

or two #15 green gels on a regular cold light and it does work. But

not as predictably as their VC head.

[kcrisp]

Hmm, don't know what to say. What day of the week did you call?

Seriously, my question to them was very specific, about a factory

head for the 8X10 Beseler, maybe yours is a different color? The

newer heads seem to offer very nice speed. I relamped both the 8X10

head and my old Omega B22XL and both work great. There was no amount

of filtering with the old one which would get me below about grade 4.

[brian_ellis3]

I've used an Aristo VCL 4500 head for about five years. There are

only two advantages to the VCL head as compared with filters: (1)

it's much more convenient - you don't have to fool around with

changing filters every time you want to change the contrast; and (2)

the Aristo, and I think all other variable contrast heads, has

gradations of one tenth as opposed to one half with filters, allowing

for somewhat finer contrast adjustments without the hassle of using

two different developers (e.g. Dektol and Selectol Soft to achieve a

similar effect). The convenience factor is very important to me. I

often make burns in one or more areas of a print at a different

contrast than the basic print, sometimes several burns at several

different contrasts, and there's simply no comparison between the

ease and convenience of doing this with a variable contrast head as

compared with trying to do it with filters.

[john5]

My name is John and you can reach me at 1-800-CALUMET ex 3351. I can

go over the differences with you without being a salesman. There are

major differences between the two and the one you choose should be

based on what type of printing that you do and where you want to go

with it. I'll be in 7-30 and 7-31 but then wont be back until 8-12

then I'm here every day.