(^03303331113) I http://www.amateurphotographer.co.uk I 9 November 2019 45
Darkroom
equipmentsuppliers
AGPhotographic
http://www.ag-photographic.co.uk
Firstcall
http://www.firstcall-photographic.co.uk
Fotospeedwww.fotospeed.com
Ilfordwww.ilfordphoto.com
MrCadwww.mrcad.co.uk
NikandTrickntphotoworks.com
RKPhotowww.thedarkroom.co.uk
Silverprintwww.silverprint.co.uk
SpeedGraphic
http://www.speedgraphic.co.uk
TheImagingWarehouse
http://www.theimagingwarehouse.com
WexPhotoVideo
http://www.wexphotovideo.com
m essentials
Enlarger
Some enlargers are excellent, some
areawful, and there are many more that fall
somewhere in the middle. It’s not diffi cult to
fi nd them on auction sites, but you need to be
careful. Don’t buy anything rusty or covered in
dust. Check the enlarger is for the fi lm size you
require; you don’t want to be buying a huge
10x8 enlarger if you only shoot 35mm.
If the enlarger comes with a lens, this is a big
advantage. Check it is the right focal length for
the fi lm size you will be using before trying to
print. The enlarger lens should be as close as
possible to the standard lens on your camera,
i.e., 50mm for 35mm fi lm, 75 or 80mm for
6x6, and so on. The enlarger should
be able to go up and down the
column, but not slowly drift down
when set at a particular height. The
light should evenly illuminate the
projected area and if it doesn’t,
then something is wrong, probably
with the condensers (not all
enlargers have them). Some
enlargers come with clockwork or electronic
timers, but buying an enlarger without a timer
is not problematic. I use a metronome.
Makes that are worth looking out for are:
Leitz Focomat V35. This is a wonderful
enlarger, with a corresponding
price tag. Philips PCS 130
colour/black&white enlarger
and Philips PCS 150 control
unit. This is a very underrated
enlarger. It will take fi lm sizes
from 35mm to 6x7. Durst
M305, Durst M605, Durst M670.
Both very capable enlargers.
LPL C7700 and LPL 7700 VCCE. The fi rst
is a colour enlarger, but this can be used for
black & white. The second is specifi cally made
for black & white. Meopta Opemus IIa. These
look dated now, but are beautifully designed
and quite compact. A good
guide for enlargers is
http://www.jollinger.com/
photo/enlargers/
index.html.
Chemicals
For developing fi lm,
youneed: fi lm developer,
stop bath and fi xer. For
printing, you need: paper
developer, stop bath and
fi xer. Developers Ilford ID-
11 and Kodak D-76 are
almost identical. Both
need mixing from powder
and this should be done away from food prep
areas, and with gloves and a mask. Both are
very good industry-standard developers that
have been used for many, many years.
Rodinal is a concentrated liquid developer
that has a legendary status. This developer
will make your negatives look sharper (there
isn’t room here to explain why), but it will also
make them look a bit grainier. Kodak HC-110
has an excellent reputation, but because the
dilution is not easy to work out, it might not
be the best to begin with. Ilford Ilfotec DD-X
is a fi ne-grain liquid concentrate developer.
This is also an excellent developer. Among
paper developers, Ilford Multigrade
developer is one of the best. For stop bath
and fi x, I like Ilford for both, though other
makes are available.
Darkroom paper
Ilford papers
arethebest – the
range goes from
student quality to
exhibition quality.
At the student end,
the Kentmere
range is cheap, but
I prefer not to use
it. Spend a little
more and get the
Multigrade IV paper, this is excellent. To begin
with I would suggest getting RC paper, not
FB. RC means resin-coated, and this means
quicker development and washing. FB means
fi bre-based and this takes longer to develop
and much longer to wash. FB papers are
high-quality, exhibition papers.
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