ND filter on Beseler 23 II

vintagesnaps · Jun 12, 2021

Exactly... so I would say the OP needs to adjust the aperture to get longer exposure times. I'd usually be in the 10-15 sec. range but it depends on the negative.

I've found it important to get proper exposures shooting B&W film to get a negative that wasn't too thin or too dense.

rpbrownphoto · Jun 12, 2021

Printed last night using the screw on ND filter and it worked like a charm. Was able to get some 20+ second exposures at f8 with a 2.5 contrast filter. Dodging and burning is rather difficult, but I'm getting there..

George S Leaf · Jun 15, 2021

Lens aperture… Wondering if its working. Never had such an issue with an enlarger yet.

vintagesnaps · Jun 15, 2021

Did you do test strips to determine exposure times? I'm just wondering if you're finding dodging and burning challenging if you need to try different exposure times besides 20 seconds.

ac12 · Jun 15, 2021

rpbrownphoto said:
Printed last night using the screw on ND filter and it worked like a charm. Was able to get some 20+ second exposures at f8 with a 2.5 contrast filter. Dodging and burning is rather difficult, but I'm getting there..

Dodging and burning is something that requires a LOT of patience, practice and attention to detail, to do well.
This is why electronic editing is sooooo much easier.

vintagesnaps · Jun 15, 2021

Not necessarily, but of course plenty of things take learning and practice. Just depends on what anyone is good at or how much someone develops skills.

I just found that it worked best to get proper exposures when out taking pictures to get good quality negatives. And to do test strips sometimes beyond the initial 5-10-15-20 sec.; to do a larger strip across a negative to get a significant part of an image to see if I needed to adjust a second (or even a half second).

rpbrownphoto · Jun 28, 2021

I STILL can't find the Beseler 8042 heat absorbing glass. Is it foolish to spend $60 on it brand new? If I destroy my filters it'll end up costing more in the long run? The thought of damaging negatives makes me wince. Exposures have been 20-25 seconds.. Haven't been printing at all because I'm paranoid..