hyoro
Hello again!
While browsing the forum, I came across a few posts on a question that’s been on my mind for a while:
Where should I put the film filters? (If your Opemus doesn’t have a filter drawer...)
Has anyone had any practical experience with filters placed over the condenser, as Mirko recommended in a reply?
Or has anyone ever made their own filter drawer? (After all, the lamp insert is recessed in the spot where the drawer would normally sit. Perhaps one could make use of that)
One post also noted that removing the lamp housing could cause the image to shift due to vibrations, thereby making split-grade exposures impossible.
In my experience, though, surely the same would apply even more so to clip-on filters for ‘under the lens’, as the mechanism has even more play there, wouldn’t it? So what should I do?
I’d be grateful for any tips on how I can achieve contrast conversion in a sensible and practical way.
Henning
HerbertHanauer
Hi Henning,
Why not just use the Ilford filter set designed to be mounted on the lens? It works a treat; I used it myself for years, as I had a standard Opemus (without a filter drawer). The (acetate) filters are held individually in plastic holders, making them very easy to change without causing any vibrations. What’s more, they last much longer than the insert filters, as they don’t fade as quickly (less heat and light than under the lamp).
Best regards,
Herbert
:ph34r:
hyoro
I’ve thought about that too. However, as far as I know, this filter set isn’t exactly ‘cheap’ (I might as well bid for an enlarger with a filter drawer at an auction...) and I already have some slip-in filters.
I have an Opemus ‘Standard 2’ (which was unbeatably cheap) and the ‘under-lens mounting’ on this device also seems a bit wobbly to me: even when focusing, the image tends to jump a few centimetres. So it would amount to the same thing: working with just one gradient per image — that’s what I’ll probably do for the time being and, instead of making my own filter drawer, buy a luxury unit with a contrast-changing head if I really need it...
Best regards,
Henning
MirkoBoeddecker
Henning,
if the bellows on your Opemus slip down:
Tighten the metal spring at the back (tighten the two screws that hold the pressure spring in place).
If you can’t tighten it any further: simply turn the chrome-plated metal spring round and don’t tighten it all the way straight away – then it’ll last another 25 years.
Filter: Your lamp housing has a bayonet lock. Just open it and place the filter on the condenser.
You don’t need a filter drawer!
Best regards,
Mirko
