Crooked frames with a 1931 Leica I (non-standard)

If I remember correctly a Durst Laborator 1200 has a dichroic head. So one can use max Y and max M for split filter printing.

I cut 6x6" Ilford filters into 3x3" which fits nicely on the swing out filter holder of my Focomat1C enlarger. In theory as you know above lens filter placement is preferred however this for me is too much hassle and I can't see a difference with the enlargements I made on 8x10" or 11x14" paper.

Instead of Y and M filters some people use Green and Blue for instance #61 and #47- I have never done this (probably cheaper), not sure if these filters overlap (in that case not as "soft" or "hard" as Ilford filters).
Another drawback of using these filters: especially the blue would make seeing the image on baseboard difficult.

Split filter printing on Ilford Warm Tone paper requires a little one time testing with a step wedge. I haven't done this recently but about 10 years ago the 00 and 0 filters would give unclear separation at the lower end, in other words a bit muddy. Using #1 or #1.5 instead of the 00 or 00 would take care of this. Bob Carnie has written about this way back on the Large Format site.
 
People (Bill, dotur, and Erik in particular) thank you for clearing this up so quickly.

As it happens I have 2 of the early brass Leica cassettes, I just didn't use them because the loaded bulk loader I had wouldn't close them. I'll try it in my Alden loader, which works perfectly with the newer Leica cassettes as well as the Nikon F cassettes. Regarding the ABLON, I'm old enough to remember when film came pre-trimmed for the Barnack Leica's (as well as when ALBONS were almost free) so I think I should be OK trimming off the top third of the film by 4'~5" or so.
 
Hans Berkhout said:
If I remember correctly a Durst Laborator 1200 has a dichroic head. So one can use max Y and max M for split filter printing.

I cut 6x6" Ilford filters into 3x3" which fits nicely on the swing out filter holder of my Focomat1C enlarger. In theory as you know above lens filter placement is preferred however this for me is too much hassle and I can't see a difference with the enlargements I made on 8x10" or 11x14" paper.

Instead of Y and M filters some people use Green and Blue for instance #61 and #47- I have never done this (probably cheaper), not sure if these filters overlap (in that case not as "soft" or "hard" as Ilford filters).
Another drawback of using these filters: especially the blue would make seeing the image on baseboard difficult.

Split filter printing on Ilford Warm Tone paper requires a little one time testing with a step wedge. I haven't done this recently but about 10 years ago the 00 and 0 filters would give unclear separation at the lower end, in other words a bit muddy. Using #1 or #1.5 instead of the 00 or 00 would take care of this. Bob Carnie has written about this way back on the Large Format site.
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Yes, you are right, my Durst contains a yellow and a magenta dichroic filter linked with a common mechanism for movement into the light path by a single control knob. The enlarger has been stored for a long time, so I'll have to clean it and check it before use.
 
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ddutchison2 said:
People (Bill, dotur, and Erik in particular) thank you for clearing this up so quickly.

As it happens I have 2 of the early brass Leica cassettes, I just didn't use them because the loaded bulk loader I had wouldn't close them. I'll try it in my Alden loader, which works perfectly with the newer Leica cassettes as well as the Nikon F cassettes. Regarding the ABLON, I'm old enough to remember when film came pre-trimmed for the Barnack Leica's (as well as when ALBONS were almost free) so I think I should be OK trimming off the top third of the film by 4'~5" or so.
Click to expand...
In my experience, an unmodified Alden 74 works very well with the newer Leica IXMOO cassettes as well as with the Nikon S or F cassettes and with factory load cassettes, but not as well with the older (taller) Leica FILCA cassettes. In particular, getting it to close the FILCA was a hit or miss proposition. I solved this by notching the disk in the Alden that contacts the bottom of the FILCA. With the black knob of the FILCA in the notch in the Alden it closes the FILCA flawlessly.

Alden 74.jpg

The other solution I found was the Watson 100 which has a removable shim to work properly with the taller FILCA and with the shim removed to work properly with all of the other cassettes. Unfortunately the fit and finish of the Watson 100 are not comparable to those of the Alden 74.
 
Doug A said:
In my experience, an unmodified Alden 74 works very well with the newer Leica IXMOO cassettes as well as with the Nikon S or F cassettes and with factory load cassettes, but not as well with the older (taller) Leica FILCA cassettes. In particular, getting it to close the FILCA was a hit or miss proposition. I solved this by notching the disk in the Alden that contacts the bottom of the FILCA. With the black knob of the FILCA in the notch in the Alden it closes the FILCA flawlessly.

View attachment 4820788

The other solution I found was the Watson 100 which has a removable shim to work properly with the taller FILCA and with the shim removed to work properly with all of the other cassettes. Unfortunately the fit and finish of the Watson 100 are not comparable to those of the Alden 74.Thanks Doug, That is extremely helpful information. As it happens I also have a Watson 100 and never realized that gray bit of plastic that sometimes fell out was in fact intended to be removed for use with FILCA cassettes. I've Just downloaded the manual from Butkus
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Thanks Doug, that is very informative. As it turns out I also have a Watson 100, and never realized that the gray bit of plastic that sometimes fell out was in fact a shim! I've just downloaded the manual from M. Butkus' invaluable site.
 
Looking again at my note I realize that I had it backwards. The shim is removed for loading a FILCA and left in place for loading everything else I have tried.
 
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My Watson is missing that shim, but it still works okay for loading standard 135 cartridges without it.
 
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