# ND filter on Beseler 23 II



## rpbrownphoto (Jun 7, 2021)

So a while back I picked up a "free" darkroom on Craigslist. The guy failed to mention in the ad that the lens was scratched to hell, the timer was broken, all the tongs were busted, the trays cracked, and the easel flimsy and a plastic. It was just a trick to have someone clean out his garage for him.

Anyway, I replaced everything save for the enlarger itself (didn't realize the lens, timer, and easel were garbage until I got home) and it works except for one thing.. My exposure times are so short that it is nearly impossible to dodge and burn.

I am constantly at like, f16 and 6-8 seconds. Negatives are properly exposed and I'm using a 50mm 2.8 Rodenstock Rodagon in MINT condition. I put in a brand new bulb recently, a GE 75w bulb as recommended by the manufacturer.

I'm printing 35mm negatives using the full frame Beseler negative carrier and printing on 8x10 RC Pearl. I haven't really used fiber paper yet but I'm assuming it'll be the same problem. Oh and I'm generally using a 2, 2.5, or 3 filter.

SO, looks like I need an ND filter? Which one? I would prefer to get one that can screw onto the Rodenstock (40.5mm) instead of one that slides into the filter tray. I want to use a contrast filter along with the ND filter soooooo... Any recommendations??

Thanks!


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## webestang64 (Jun 10, 2021)

I think it would be best to place a ND gel filter (cut to fit) under the heat absorbing glass. That way you can still use the filter drawer for contrast filters plus the gels are cheaper than buying a round screw in type. 
Gels........








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## rpbrownphoto (Jun 10, 2021)

Ah crap. I already ordered a Tiffen 2-stop ND filter from BH that will screw onto my enlarger lens. I figure I can still use a contrast filter in the slider tray going this route?? If not I’ll have to return and get a gel.


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## webestang64 (Jun 10, 2021)

Yes, you can still use the tray for C-filters. I just not sure how well the filter will work on the lens. But it might be OK. Curious to see the results.


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## rpbrownphoto (Jun 10, 2021)

Rad. Yeah I spent quite a lot of time researching this topic and like always, found nothing but conflicting information.. I’ll let you know if it does a good job increasing my exposure times..


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## compur (Jun 10, 2021)

The Beseler Resistrol was the solution they offered for this problem. It is a rheostat that reduces power to the enlarger lamp. You can dial in as much or as little power as needed, giving more control than an ND filter. You can usually find one on eBay for not much money.

You can also get a variac (variable transformer) and put it between your wall socket and the enlarger. A good one usually costs more than a Resitrol.


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## rpbrownphoto (Jun 10, 2021)

I considered that but I read that it makes the light more “yellow” resulting in the print looking totally different overall/reducing contrast. I feel like this ND filter should be fine?? I hope so as it’s about to be delivered and I have 3 prints that require quite a bit of dodging and burning due this weekend 😅


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## rpbrownphoto (Jun 10, 2021)

compur said:


> The Beseler Resistrol was the solution they offered for this problem. It is a rheostat that reduces power to the enlarger lamp. You can dial in as much or as little power as needed, giving more control than an ND filter. You can usually find one on eBay for not much money.
> 
> You can also get a variac (variable transformer) and put it between your wall socket and the enlarger. A good one usually costs more than a Resitrol.


A quick question about the resistrol/variac: me enlarger is plugged into my GraLab 450.. wouldn’t it no longer be possible to sync the GraLab with the enlarger when using either the resistrol or variac?


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## rpbrownphoto (Jun 10, 2021)

Crap, I just realized my enlarger doesn't have heat absorbing glass, I figured it would have come with it. How important are they? I can't find one on eBay and paying $70 for one from BH seems a bit obnoxious. The ND filter I got was $18 and it's pointless to return when factoring in shipping/packaging/my time. Would hate to turn this into a $120 fix. 

Am I really gonna fry my negatives/contrast filters without the heat absorbing glass? Has anyone here used a screw on ND filter? It's always something.

I drove 100 miles roundtrip to pick up a "free" complete darkroom setup on Craigslist. Upon arrival, the guy says "yeah I'm not sure if any of this works." Had to replace the lens, timer, trays, tongs, easel, grain finder, and now one of the lights broke. Has turned into such a money pit but if I ruin my negatives I'll lose my mind.


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## vintagesnaps (Jun 10, 2021)

When I was learning B&W darkroom work the long time owner of our local camera shop (who since retired) told me f11 and 8 sec. or f8 and 11 sec. is a good starting point. Sure enough, that works as often as not.

I usually start with f8 and 11 sec. or in that range of 10-15 sec. But I do test strips and of course it varies. But I find that 10-15 sec. gives me more time to play with my Dodgette tool set - wait, I mean, dodge out some details! If you still need more time, depending on your test strip, try adjusting the aperture setting to give you a different amount of exposure time. 

If you're finding you need to dodge and burn a lot, you may need to think about making sure you're getting proper exposures. If I got nicely exposed negatives to work with I could get a white-white and a black-black and a nice range of grays in between. And wouldn't have to dodge and burn much.

Why not try the filters that slide in & out of the tray? I found those are fairly efficient to use.

I don't know about what you got on Craigslist but there were evidently a bunch of reasons they were giving it away for free. You could try Adorama, or KEH (they did have film/darkroom equipment on their ebay or 'outlet', not sure if they still do ). 

Do you have a strip of a few images that are nothing that important to try and see how they turn out?


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## rpbrownphoto (Jun 10, 2021)

Well I've been printing for about 6 months with this setup. I'm good as long as I don't have to dodge and burn but even with properly exposed negatives I'm at f16 and 5 seconds or so. I use the contrast filters that slide in and out of the tray, usually 2 or 2.5. I'm wondering if I should return this package to seller? Should I send it back and just bite the bullet and buy the wildly overpriced heat absorbing glass and the ND gel filter sheet (only $5)? I just wanna get it right the first time..


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## vintagesnaps (Jun 10, 2021)

I don't know about the glass, didn't realize there was glass for an enlarger that wasn't heat resistent to work in an enlarger. I was using a Beseler in a shared darkroom at a local university that's no longer available. I suppose I'd get better glass as needed.

So why can't you go to a different aperture and longer exposure times? Seems like I've done that, if I had a negative that was a little dark or needed more dodging.


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## ac12 (Jun 10, 2021)

My first option is to replace the bulb with a lower wattage bulb.
My first enlarger came with a 150w bulb, that resulted in short single digit exposure times.  So I replaced it with a 75w bulb.  Much better.  But I would rather have put a 30w bulb in it for even longer exposure.

If you are only using ONE lens, just get a screw on ND filter that will fit the lens.
That was my next step that I was looking at, since 75w was the smallest enlarging bulb for my enlarger.


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## rpbrownphoto (Jun 10, 2021)

150w? Jesus! Mine is a 75w and all I’m using is the Rodenstock Rodagon 50mm. I got the 40.5mm screw on Tiffen ND 2 stop filter and will hope for the best. Still looking for used heat absorbing glass though..


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## ac12 (Jun 11, 2021)

rpbrownphoto said:


> 150w? Jesus! Mine is a 75w and all I’m using is the Rodenstock Rodagon 50mm. I got the 40.5mm screw on Tiffen ND 2 stop filter and will hope for the best. Still looking for used heat absorbing glass though..



That's why I would check to see what smaller bulb you can use.
The bulb is an easy solution.


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## rpbrownphoto (Jun 11, 2021)

I think the lowest you can get for a 23c II is 60w which wouldn’t really make a difference so I’d still need the filter. Screwing the filter on the lens and forgetting about it seems pretty chill


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## webestang64 (Jun 11, 2021)

rpbrownphoto said:


> Still looking for used heat absorbing glass though..


For sure get heat glass. Even with a lower watt bulb a long exposure could melt your negative.


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## compur (Jun 11, 2021)

Make an offer. I would try $10
Beseler Heat Absorbing Glass #8825 3" x 3"  | eBay


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## Rickbb (Jun 11, 2021)

See if you can get a dichro color head for it. Mine has a cooling fan and light diffuser, you can leave the in neg all day and won’t even get warm let alone melt. Plus you can use the dial in magenta filter for infinite contrast adjustment.


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## webestang64 (Jun 11, 2021)

Also with a color head you can dial in the yellow and cyan equally to act as a ND filter.


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## rpbrownphoto (Jun 11, 2021)

compur said:


> Make an offer. I would try $10
> Beseler Heat Absorbing Glass #8825 3" x 3"  | eBay


Ohh will this work for the 23c II?

edit: it’s too small. The #8042 that the user manual recommends is 6” x 6”


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## rpbrownphoto (Jun 11, 2021)

Rickbb said:


> See if you can get a dichro color head for it. Mine has a cooling fan and light diffuser, you can leave the in neg all day and won’t even get warm let alone melt. Plus you can use the dial in magenta filter for infinite contrast adjustment.


Oh sick. Well if I can somehow find one for dirt cheap I’ll do it but I’m not really down to keep dumping money into this. I already bought the filter and have had to replace literally every single thing. By the time I’m done I could have gotten a leica enlarger or something 😂


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## rpbrownphoto (Jun 11, 2021)

webestang64 said:


> For sure get heat glass. Even with a lower watt bulb a long exposure could melt your negative.


Damn. Well what if I just keep doing 5 second exposures for prints that require no d&b until I can find that little piece of glass for under $70?


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## webestang64 (Jun 11, 2021)

rpbrownphoto said:


> Damn. Well what if I just keep doing 5 second exposures for prints that require no d&b until I can find that little piece of glass for under $70?


Should be fine. It's when you get into several minutes. Some of my printing can go on for 2-4 minutes or more while I dodge/burn and manipulate.


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## rpbrownphoto (Jun 11, 2021)

webestang64 said:


> Should be fine. It's when you get into several minutes. Some of my printing can go on for 2-4 minutes or more while I dodge/burn and manipulate.


Ohh okay, gotcha. So let's say.. anything under like, 20 seconds should be safe?

Thanks everyone for all the help


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## ac12 (Jun 11, 2021)

Do a Google search for heat absorbing glass.
Several years ago, I recall finding a couple places that made them, and you could order cut to size.


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## rpbrownphoto (Jun 11, 2021)

ac12 said:


> Do a Google search for heat absorbing glass.
> Several years ago, I recall finding a couple places that made them, and you could order cut to size.


Oh, fantastic. Just gotta figure out the size of the 8042 and I'll get on that. Thanks


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## ac12 (Jun 11, 2021)

rpbrownphoto said:


> Oh, fantastic. Just gotta figure out the size of the 8042 and I'll get on that. Thanks



But for a single lens, I still think the screw on ND filter is a simpler solution.


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## webestang64 (Jun 12, 2021)

rpbrownphoto said:


> Ohh okay, gotcha. So let's say.. anything under like, 20 seconds should be safe?
> 
> Thanks everyone for all the help


That should be fine.


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## ac12 (Jun 12, 2021)

rpbrownphoto said:


> Ohh okay, gotcha. So let's say.. anything under like, 20 seconds should be safe?
> 
> Thanks everyone for all the help



If I want to dodge and burn, I preferred 20+ seconds.  
This is so that the edges of where I was dodging and burning blended in.  The shorter the exposure, the harder it was to blend it, and you could see where I was dodging/burning.  And if it was doing more than one spot, I needed even more time.

If I was straight printing, less than 10 seconds was OK.
But nailing the the exposure time became more critical.  A 1 sec difference in a 5 sec exposure makes more difference than a 1 sec difference in a 20 sec exposure.

The other factor is environmental:
I was lucky to have a SOLID base under my enlarger, so long exposures were not a problem.
If I were in a building where the floor would vibrate as someone walked down the hall, or kids playing, I would want a SHORT exposure.  Or I would print when people were sleeping or at work, to minimize the vibration.


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## 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.


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## 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..


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## George S Leaf (Jun 15, 2021)

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


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## 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.


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## 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.


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## 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).


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## 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..


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## webestang64 (Jun 29, 2021)

rpbrownphoto said:


> Is it foolish to spend $60 on it brand new?


I'm anal so I'd buy a new one. But also because some of my printing can go for 2-4 mins.


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## vintagesnaps (Jun 29, 2021)

I'd buy what I needed for the enlarger to work rather than ruin negatives.


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