I have been using cold light for many years. recently i had the opportunity to buy a LPL saunders VCC enlarger and like the looks and feel. After printing with cold light and once in awhile condenser head. I have some concerns about the difference between the saunders diffusion head vs the cold light source. I haven't had the opportunity to run test between diffusion and cold light, just always thought the cold light would out perform diffusion. Any thoughts on the difference anyone has personnally experienced?

-- Ann Clancy (clancya@mediaone.net), April 06, 2001

Answers

Ann...I presently have two Saunders VCCE enlargers. Although I have only used condensor enlargers before buying the Saunders I've got to say that they are the best enlarger I've ever used. The friend that I share my darkroom with has MUCH more experience then I do. He owned an original Zone VI non-variable contrast head and ownes a Beseler with an Aristo coldlight head. When we started up our darkroom he tried my Saunders before setting up his Beseler...a year later his Beseler is still not set...he says the Saunders are the best enlargers he has ever used. For more information read Anchell's Variable Contrast Printing Manual. Buy the enlarger...you'll never regret it!

-- Jim (p645n@hotmail.com), April 07, 2001.

Ann, To answer your question: Cold light is a diffusion source, just like a color head or any other non-colimated light source (i.e. a light source without condensers). You should see no difference between your cold-light results and your Saunders diffusion source (I'm assuming it is a color head with a mixing chamber or the like). Regards, ;^D)

-- Doremus Scudder (ScudderLandreth@compuserve.com), April 07, 2001.

Ann, One thing you mention in your question is a common misconception that most people have about cold light heads. That is that they will "out perform" other light sources. A cold light, either VC or not is not a "better" source only a different source. And with respects to Doremus - the cold light is a "more" diffused light source than a straight Diffusion type head and you will see some difference between the two. If you start using the Sanders (which is an excellent enlarger) you might find that you need to cut back on the contrast in your negatives a bit to get similar results.

-- Jim Megargee (jmegargee@nyc.rr.com), April 07, 2001.

Ann, From Howard Bond's writing and something else, one should expect clear differences not exactly from the diffusion degree, but mainly from light sources. Some cold lights may show a color pattern quite contrasty when printing on VC paper, due to high emission on blue side of spectrum. Tests should be run to find a useful relationship among light/filtering/paper. Good luck. Cesar B.

-- Cesar Barreto (cesarb@infolink.com.br), April 07, 2001.

It would be very difficult to have a 'more diffuse' source than taht on the LPL, Jim.
The halogen bulb is pointed into a square diffuser box lined with white polystyrene, and after bouncing around in there, the light then passes through a piece of oversize opal acrylic which additionally has a fine ground surface. The bulb filament is completely outside of, and at right-angles to, the line-of-sight of the negative, unlike a cold-cathode tube.
On most cold cathode heads I've seen, the shape of the tube can be clearly distinguished through the diffuser material, and this counts as 'not too diffuse at all' in my book.

I'd be willing to stake good money that in a controlled test, prints from a VCC or Dichroic head couldn't be distinguished from those done with a cold-light head by anyone.

-- Pete Andrews (p.l.andrews@bham.ac.uk), April 09, 2001.