I'm looking for a enlarger F-stop timer, if one really exists. Someone told me awhile back that a company made and sold this product. To make it more clear, you would input your time on this unit and if you wanted one third more exposure or more, you would just click on a button and the timer would recalculate from the base exposure and give you the correct exposure time. I have a time exposure chart in one third stops in my darkroom, but I'm into efficency and convenience, but not at the sacrifice of quality. As someone once said "photography is 20% inspiration and 80% drudgery. Thanks in advance

-- Belden L. Fodran (Caltari@aol.com), January 05, 1999

Answers

An English company, RH Designs, makes and markets an "F-Stop Timer". The URL for the timer is: http://www.nildram.co.uk/rhdesign/stopclock.htm.

I don't think they have any US distributors so you have to ship from UK. I bought their enlarger meter via mail and it wasn't too painful.

-- Hadi Alsegaf (hadi.alsegaf@mci.com), January 06, 1999.

I visited the UK web site. They have the product that you are looking for and they do make it in 120 volt for "North American" users. I have a question. Why would a f stop timer be of any advantage? We have all made prints where one second here & there makes a difference. Unless the timer works in one/tenth of an f stop increments; are you not missing out on this "one second extra" control? Am I missing something ?

-- Richard (richardwarren@rcn.com), January 09, 1999.

I've got both timers by RH Designs. After using their timers I wouldn't think of using anything else. The one I prefer is their Timer 2. Its test strip mode lets you make test strips automatically exposed 3 fractional stop increments below, at, and three fractional stop increments above the time set. For the fractional increment you can select 1/12, 1/6, 1/4, or 1/3 stop. Set at 1/4, the sequence of exposures would be basic-3/4 stop, -1/2 stop, -1/4 stop, basic, basic+1/4..., seven in all. If the strip shows that you need to add 1/2 stop, yoou just tap the +1/4 stop button twice. the timer is also set up to work with there ZoneMaster meter, a sophisticated unit which gives what is essentially zone placement and exposure time. Not cheap but worth what they cost. njb

-- Nacio Brown (njb@sirius.com), July 18, 1999.