Negs are focused, paper is not.

[dave chamberlain]

Hi Derrel,

Thanks for that. I'll have a proper look at my focus finder to see that it is complete, and, I didn't know that about neg temperature. I realised that the heat would affect the material, but never consciously "heated it up" prior. I assumed the glass would negate any movement of the negative, but I'll go and see if that helps today.

 

[Derrel]

I think you're right about the glass carrier keeping the negative perfectly flat...I have always used glass-less carriers, and the negatives "pop!" when they heat up...just as do projected slides when projected for a while.

I hope you can get to the bottom of the problem!

 

[Christie Photo]

Is this occurring with just this one negative?

-Pete

 

[webestang64]

You might want to ask about the problem here in the analog section....... Photrio.com Photography Forums

 

[bulldurham]

I think you might find that the lens is not exactly parallel to the paper frame which will fubar everything. (I built a box that was exactly square, pulled the enlarging head down so that the lens face was square to the top of the box, then locked everything down.)

Next, I will guess it is your grain focuser. If you are not using this one Bestwell Mini Sight Grain Focuser 10x | Freestyle Photographic Supplies, you're probably wasting your time. Cheeser focusers aren't worth beans.

Lastly, are you sure the 80mm lens is the correct lens for the film format you are shooting?

 

[petrochemist]

I think you might find that the lens is not exactly parallel to the paper frame which will fubar everything. (I built a box that was exactly square, pulled the enlarging head down so that the lens face was square to the top of the box, then locked everything down.)

Next, I will guess it is your grain focuser. If you are not using this one Bestwell Mini Sight Grain Focuser 10x | Freestyle Photographic Supplies, you're probably wasting your time. Cheeser focusers aren't worth beans.

Lastly, are you sure the 80mm lens is the correct lens for the film format you are shooting?

If the cause is simply lens isn't parallel some of the image should be focused.
I was actually going to suggest a similar experiment. Deliberately tilt the paper when making a print. If the fault is related to vibration it will still be blurred with the sharpest bit in the area where you focused.
If the focus is out, it should get sharper moving away from the point of focus. The direction it gets sharper in tells you if its focusing too close or too far away.

 

[bulldurham]

What format negative are you using with the 80mm?

 

[480sparky]

What format negative are you using with the 80mm?

Personally, I'd be using an 80mm on 6x4.5.

 

[bulldurham]

but not on 35mm

 

[ricklb55]

When using the focus finder are you placing it on top of sheet of paper equal to the thickness of the photographic paper? Also, are you sure you are exposing the emulsion side of the photographic paper? Lastly, use a small f-stop when exposing the paper, but not the smallest on your enlarger lense. If you are doing all of this then the problem is either the focus finder needs calibration or vibration.

 

[vintagesnaps]

I wasn't sure at first what was meant by a 'focus finder' - I've always heard it called a grain scope. Sounds like you need to learn how to focus the grain. Projecting the image may look like it's in focus but you still need to adjust to get the grain in focus.

I use a piece of white paper or thin cardboard to focus on especially if the easel is yellow and/or well used and nicked up. (Those Ilford cardboard packages that photo paper comes in can be handy for burning in a corner or to cut up to custom burn in a portion of an image.)

I had to think what I've done (since it's been awhile but I've done enough printing to not have to think much about what I'm doing). I think I usually focus on an area that has some dark and light (maybe more dark) or maybe an edge or line, on subject more than background.

I've used a shared darkroom at a college and between the radio cranked up, water running, fan going, students clattering around, I don't think vibration would be that much of a problem (or could be sometimes but not all the time). I also never had negatives 'pop' but I usually would be in the 10-15 sec. range for exposures.

Maybe check and make sure the enlarging lens is dust free; I usually carried a microfiber cloth because students are little piggies and don't think to dust the lens once in awhile (or anything else).

 

[480sparky]

I wonder if we'll ever find out if a solution was found.

 

[Christie Photo]

I wonder if we'll ever find out if a solution was found.

We'll have to wait until the OP returns. If this is happening with just one negative, then the neg isn't sharp.

I can't believe it's a focus issue. He could focus visually without any aid and get acceptable results.

Too bad we don't get to see a scan of the neg.

-Pete

 

[vintagesnaps]

Did he look at the negatives closely? If he doesn't have a lightbox, could use a lampshade. Of course with 35mm the negs aren't that large, but seems like I can tell when it's enlarged if an image was out of focus or if there was blur.

Meanwhile, the suspense grows... lol

 

[Christie Photo]

Did he look at the negatives closely?

That's what I'm thinking. A simple loupe is all that's needed.

-Pete