RH Designs analyzer Pro is a winner!!

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BigSteveG

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I know there are members here using this item. But for those not in the know--It's an enlarging meter w/ spot reading capabilities and the ability to place values on a desired area of the gray scale. Then figures the exposure time based on 2 or more averaged spot readings. It eliminates the need for endless test strips and makes the printing process much faster. I used it for the 1st time last night and was delighted at it's ease of use and accuracy. Outstanding build quality. It offers auto burn in time and densitometer functions as well. Anyone printing their own work will fall in love with this meter/timer.
 
analyser pro

analyser pro

Hi Steve,
While I would agree with what you wrote about the analyser pro I feel I should give fair warning: I feel the learning curve is quite steep. I'm still on it, having owned it for half a year (but I don't get to spend as much time with it as I would like to). It has certainly sparked an interest in improving my negs because it can be used as a densitometer. I have a couple of days of coming up and intend to calibrate it (again). Beware: one may spend more time and paper on calibration than ever on test strips! Naw, it should work out, in the end, it's just that the number of possible mistakes seems endless, and not all allocations of funcions are intuitive. I keep clearing calibrations because ending that mode is not done the same way as ending other modes. I'll stop my rambling, great but sometimes frustrating device, I'd be interested to learn how you have fared so far...
 
I've not used the Analyser Pro, but I do have the Stopclock Pro and use it regularly, sometimes several nights a week. I don't find making test strips too much of a chore, and the process lets me explore the possible tonalities in the print and learn more about my materials and my negatives.

You will find several good discussions of these timers and analyzers over on the FADU forum, where Richard Ross is an active member.
 
Perhaps a contact sheet with neutral contrast should be the starting point, rather than this apparatus. Money can buy lots of paper + chemicals.
 
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An update from me... First of all, I think the remark about cost and being able to buy a lot of paper for that etc. is irrelevant. This post is not about the economics but about the device itself. Having used it for quite a while now I will add to my previous post that I wouldn't be without it, but I've simply given up on recalibration. When I use it after a long interval I run one test(-strip) and see which profile fits the bill most closely. Then I may introduce a correction factor if necessary, for example add half a stop to what the analyzer tells me. It's a quick and dirty recalibration that works for me, and works quite well. Once having done that I will make prints without any further strips, unless there are no good measuring areas in the neg. Saves a lot of time, and my prints are much better than two years ago, even if they are nowhere near the art prints I see others make. But there the limitation is mine, not the analyzer's.
So Bizarrio, I would recommend it to you wholeheartedly, but I don't think anyone who has used it for a while will be inclined to sell it ;)
 
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I've always wondered about one of these (or similar) devices. I normally get the right exposure after one test, so I'm not sure how much it would help me. Letting me know the contrast range of the negative might be helpful.
 
Back in the day when I had a darkroom, I used a simple Beseler enlarging meter. Not a sophisticated device, but eliminated the need for test strips in most cases. Sometimes too much technology is just too much. :)
 
I have and use the TH Analyzer Pro. It takes a bit to set it up and correlate to your own printing style - but once done, it works very well. Of course, there are the odd negative that defeats it - but in 95% of printing it will pull a good, straight print. The price is not cheap - but I am sure that I have saved that up in not having to do test prints and strips over the years (mine is probably 8-10 years old by now - still working fine).
The manual is confusing - 1st rule of thumb "Never let a designer/manufacturer write the manual for his/her own product!!!!!"
It does save a LOT of time - particularly if you are doing "batch" printing - cycling through a large number of negatives of varying quality and films.
If you are serious about darkroom work and do a lot of printing - it is well worth the investment.
 
Thanks everyone for your answers!
I will buy it and give you an update when it arrives and i have tried it.
just 2 questions about using it.
when you meter, do you have a contrast filter on or do you just meter and then add your filter?
and, is the meter really accurate that i can meter really small prints ? like 10X15cm?
 
You measure without the filter, at the chosen diaphragm.

Is accurate enough to measure at 10*15. In fact it depends on the negative, you want a bit that is near black and a bit that is near white. These areas have to be big enough to cover the sensor.
 
I am seriously considering this analyser as a replacement for my ancient timer, do tell how are you getting on with it or are you still 'in the dark' as it were?
 
I have been using one for a couple of years. I calibrated it once, very carefully, and I am amazed just how well it works. I had serious doubts that it would really do what it claims but it does and very well indeed. It took a few sessions to fully get used to it but from then on straight prints have been pretty much spot on first time. Highly recommended.
 
I don't have this but I do have the Stopclock Pro. Totally worth it if you are looking for a new timer. You can buy their analyzer later that can be used with the Stopclock. Or you can buy a simple enlarging meter like the Darkroom Automations one or the Ilford one.
 
I have a stopclock pro (early version) and its a great timer. But I don't use fstop printing method. I have mixed feeelings about analyser/timers. If they are well calibrated and you only print occasionally, then they can save you time and paper.
But if you print regularly and have consistently well exposed and developed negatives then you can usually get a decent work print first time without an analyser. And if you are aiming for really high quality prints the work print is just the starting point for fine adjustment with burning and dodging so I don't really see the point of an analyser.
 
It is a great device but it does not excuse you of reading and evaluating your negative.

Example a scene with mixed high and low contrast, you can get good results but you must use the (middle)grey cells.
 
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