vignetting with beseler 67c

hi all-
i'm a new poster to this ng. i've been reading for a while - it's
refreshing to know somebody else besides myself is still committed to the
wet darkroom.
cheers.
anyhooo-
i've been using my workhorse beseler 67sc with the condenser head for years.
i print mainly bw 6x6 med format. (i used to print bw and color ra4 and ep2
etc for a living - bw is still my first love...). i've noticed significant
vignetting lately. it's always been an issue, but i worked around it ok.
still do. i've got a system down!
but, i would like to eliminate this problem if possible without replacing
the enlarger. i have messed around with all i can mess around with on the
darned thing, but still get the vignetting. i'm using 50 and 80mm nikon
lenses as appropriate that are in pristine condition. bellows seem in good
shape too - no sagging etc.
i've done google searches, and looked at forums but have found little in
terms of how to fix this.
is it fixable?
any ideas?
thanks.
-christina

 

If this is a new problem, look for something out of place in the condenser
area.

 

nothing out of whack that i can see.
it's not a new problem.
i've just noticed it more lately i guess. sometimes it gets annoying.
i've seen old posts on other boards describing the same problem - but nobody
knows (that i could find anyway) what to do about it. it might just be a
quirk.
any other ideas? maybe i should just ditch it and get a new enlarger - i've
thought about a cold head for a while. not sure if i want to pay for one
though...
-c.

 

Is there anything in the condenser head that adjusts for size of negative or
focal length of lens, the way there is in the 23C?

 

The edge fall off you get using a 67 for 6x7 is always
an issue. I would think there is some adjustment in the
condenser housing for changing formats, but the 67 isn't
what I would choose if 6x6 or 6x7 were my standard format.
It's essentially a 35mm enlarger that can be used for 6x7,
but not ideal for 6x7.

You might try Beseler about any possible format adjustments
if your manula lists none.

http://www.beseler.com/

 

Dear Ms. Falise
#1 solution is to get a "D" series Omega ;-)
Seriously, I'm pretty sure this very problem in a long thread in the
last month. If not the last mo. no more than 2 mos ago. I think that
definitive solutions were given. IIRC the poster solved his problem.
As much as I don't care for Bessler enlargers, one thing I'm certain
about is, this is not normal & can be corrected w/o buying another
enlarger.
First I would visit Besslers site & download diagrams & instructions
for your enlarger.
Second, read the instructions & study the diagrams, looking in
particular for the condenser & light bulb instructions.
Third w/ hard copies of the above, take the enlarger apart. Look for
any damaged material. Also look for parts #s particularly on the
condensers. You may have the wrong condenser installed.
Somewhere there has to be something wrong that's fixable.
Good luck, John

 

Christina

On the back of the panel covering the condenser assembly you will find an
illustration showing exactly the correct configuration of the condensers.

Another recommends upgrading to an Omega D enlarger. A D2, 5 or 6 would be a
great improvement. The D3 and D4 are autofocus. With these you need to be
careful to get one with the correct focusing guides/cams.

Bob AZ

 

RE: "C. Falise" <>

I think that very odd; a BESELER 6x7 that won't cover the 6x6
format. I'd start with the light bulb and work down.
I encountered reverse vignetting a few years ago with a Meopta
6x6 dichro. Light fall off was centered. I could hardly believe my
eyes. I concluded that the light house's bottom diffuser
was overly thick.
BTW, I've an extra Omega B8 6x9. It is in very good condition.
It has been completely dismantled. If interested let me know. Dan

 

When I had this sort of problem - maybe not exactly similar to yours - I
found that I has left the 35mm condenser in place. That is the smaller lens
in the uppermost position.

Truly, dr bob.

 

(Dan Quinn) wrote in

With a conventional diffuser enlarger, the solution would be to move the
light source closer to the diffuser -- more difference in path length
between center and corners, and more aspect angle change, will both tend to
increase the falloff on light to the diffuser that the center filtering on
the diffuser is intended to correct.

With a dichro head, however, I'd suspect that the wrong diffuser plate was
present; if I correctly understand how dichro heads work, there shouldn't
be any need for a center filter spot on a diffuser for a dichro head.

--
The challenge to the photographer is to command the medium, to use
whatever current equipment and technology furthers his creative
objectives, without sacrificing the ability to make his own decisions.
-- Ansel Adams

Donald Qualls, aka The Silent Observer http://silent1.home.netcom.com

Opinions expressed are my own -- take them for what they're worth
and don't expect them to be perfect.

 

Wrong diffuser; that may be true. The diffuser located on the
bottom of the mixing chamber is contoured and is overly thick
in the midsection. Light fall off fell in a prints center. Dan

 

Indeed -- that's what I'd expect in a cheap, single-diffusing enlarger
like the Federal I had 30 years ago, but not what I'd think to find in a
nice dichro.

--
The challenge to the photographer is to command the medium, to use
whatever current equipment and technology furthers his creative
objectives, without sacrificing the ability to make his own decisions.
-- Ansel Adams

Donald Qualls, aka The Silent Observer http://silent1.home.netcom.com

Opinions expressed are my own -- take them for what they're worth
and don't expect them to be perfect.

 

Beselers are _not_ "cheap" enlargers.

Ansel Adams used one. And so do I. Want to compare
prints, Donald?

I have many made on both a 67 series and an MXT...

 

Tom, are you illiterate, or just a troll?

Read again what I wrote (quoted from your quote, for your convenience:
"not what I'd think to find in a nice dichro."

IOW, reiterating that a center weighted diffuser isn't correct for a
Beseler which, as you say, is *not* a cheap enlarger like the Federal I
owned 30 years ago.

I'm afraid I can't accept a challenge to compare prints -- my Omega D2V
with Zone VI head (but unfortunately without the original condenser
elements) is waiting in the corner behind me, but I don't have a work
space set up yet. Ask again in six months, I should have something,
though I doubt it'll match up to anything made by someone who has
actually printed in the last twenty years -- the last time I made a
print was in about 1981.

--
The challenge to the photographer is to command the medium, to use
whatever current equipment and technology furthers his creative
objectives, without sacrificing the ability to make his own decisions.
-- Ansel Adams

Donald Qualls, aka The Silent Observer http://silent1.home.netcom.com

Opinions expressed are my own -- take them for what they're worth
and don't expect them to be perfect.

 

No. I read O.K. This thread is about _beselers_,
and the OP doesn't have a dichro...

If you weren't refering to beselers, I recant.

As I said.

Zone VI is a decent head. I'd expect good prints...

 

The OP doesn't, but Dan Quinn, to whom I was replying, mentioned the
dichro in a Meopta he had, which had an incorrect diffuser:

At no point did I call a Beseler cheap. At no point did I associate
dichro heads with cheap. I called my old Federal cheap -- and it was; I
paid $1.25 at a yard sale, about 1972, and it was old then.

Yep, good equipment -- but I'm twenty years out of practice; no more
time and money than I have to spend on photography, it might be more
than six months before I can make "good" prints as compared to
"adequate" prints. First, I need a place to work, then I need to spend
a hunded bucks or more on paper, VC filters, and a little bit of
additional equipment. Then I need to spend some time in the dark and
make some prints.

--
The challenge to the photographer is to command the medium, to use
whatever current equipment and technology furthers his creative
objectives, without sacrificing the ability to make his own decisions.
-- Ansel Adams

Donald Qualls, aka The Silent Observer http://silent1.home.netcom.com

Opinions expressed are my own -- take them for what they're worth
and don't expect them to be perfect.

 

He was speaking of the Meopta I purchased four years ago.
I bought the 6x6 dichro because the 6x6 Meopta condenser I
bought in 1960 at a local shop was such a good value and
I think did a good job.
I did think of a fix for the dichro. Using pencil or pen
and trial and error, I could have increased the edge density
of the bottom diffuser.
They turn out an old world product; a number of castings
and I think heavy sheet. Currently and AFAIK, they do not
have a US distributer. Dan

 

Hi Christina

I’m at my wits end! I too am having massive vignetting at all apertures with my 67dichro Head when using my 80mm lens for a 6x6 neg. it’s fine with a 50mm lens. Did you have any luck fixing yours?

Sincerely

M