New V-54 cold light on 23C II

[brian_turner2]

ladies and gents,

 

I just received my new Aristo cold light for my Beseler 23CII, and

can't wait to go home and try it out. However, I've been reading

through the threads and I keep finding all these problems

people are having, like uneven illumination, fall-off around the

edges, hot spots in the center, etc. At least two out of these three

are reasons why I decided to switch to using a cold light in the

first place, so imagine my frustration if I start having these same

problems with a $200 new head!

 

I'm going to give you guys my set-up specs, and you can tell me

what problems I can expect, if any. Hopefully, there will be no

problems, and I'll be tickled to death with the results :)

 

Here it is:

A) Beseler 23CII with Aristo V54 cold light,

B) Rodenstock Omega® 75mm /2.8 lens (I usually use f/8 to

print),

C) 6x6 negs only,

D) Ilford MC filters (below the lens),

E) Ilford MC paper (fiber)

 

Can I expect good stuff???

[bob_smith]

Brian, I use the similar set-up except: Omega D-2, Schneider 80mm,

Ilford Warmtone fiber paper. I have exactly zero complaints, never had

any of the problems you mentioned others having. Have fun! Ranger Bo

[bong]

Brian,

<p>

I have an older Beseler 23C and I haven't seen any light fall off around the edges printing 6x6 negatives using a EL-Nikkor 75mm f/4. I did notice that you said you had Ilford MC filters <strong>below</strong> the lens -- if my mind hasn't slipped, I put the filters in the drawer that usually holds the red filter. And that drawer is <em>above</em> the lens, <em>below</em> the negative.

<p>

Where'd you get your cold light head? I wonder what zone envy green falls on? Have fun!

[jim_noel2]

By all means get the filters above the lens. The next purchase should be a decent enlarging lens. I notice the other respondents use much better quality lenses. Look for a top of the line Rodenstock, Nikkor or Schneider. The Omegar is an inexpensive lens made to deliver with enlargers. A better lens will improve the quality of your printing more than anything you can do.

[trooper]

First of all, you will be quite happy with your initial results. I will echo others in promoting a lens upgrade and using above film filters. Many times, I've found that a proper lens cleaning will make a difference on enlarging lenses (there tends to be film accumulation that isn't readily apparent). Alignment (many resources for methods in here and elsewhere) can do wonders on some setups. The circular, below-lens Ilford filter holder is easily misaligned and makes me very uncomfortable in combination with projecting through these gels to the paper. I'm using a 23CII, Aristo and Rodagon �4.0 for 6X6 and 645 printing with great satisfaction. I've got the older element Aristo and needed to fiddle with Cyan/Yellow combos to arrive at a neutral filtered starting point. I believe yours might not need that initial setting up (I can't remember the element numbers as I write this). I leave the neutralizing filters taped to the top of the film holder insert slot on the enlarger and simply put the VC filter I need in the slot on top of the carrier as I insert it.

 

I've enjoyed the spot/dust free results and when I've got my combination right, I like the glow that prints can have when printed under the cold light. Sometimes I struggle to get the exposure and contrasts where I want them (seemingly more than my condensor memories) and tend toward more contrast loss in dry down than I like, but I've adjusted my eyes and technique to this with decent success.

 

I've seen some decent sounding Nikkors go for moderate prices in eBay and I've never heard of anyone dissapointed with these. I've never regretted biting the bullet and buying Rodenstocks and Schneiders for my other format enlarging and would recommend considering that step in the future for you. You're apt to own it a lifetime and it will be gratifying every time you use it. It eliminates one more point of extra image degradation and makes your detective work that much easier in determining why some prints are "soft".

[chuck_pere]

I'm using a similar setup except a 105 El Nikor lens. I see some corner falloff with 6x9 but 6x6 should be OK. One thing I see is that the image edges are soft not sharp. I think this is the Beseler carrier (glassless) working with the cold light. Just can't get the sharp edge I see with the condensers. I do get sharp edges with my other cold light enlarger (Elwood). I'm not real happy with the under the lens VC filters, but I don't like the idea of placing them on the carrier either. Most times I use 2 different filters so I would have to change them in the dark and would probably bump the carrier. Others are better at this. Also filter imperfections might come into focus that close to the negative. On my Elwood I made a filter drawer between the cold light and carrier. Works very well. Thinking about how to do this with the 23c but really haven't seen any real problems yet caused by the under lens filters. I have compared a few prints made on VC and graded and see no difference.