Printing Times

[cliveh]

When I print at 10” X 8” most of my prints are about 6 seconds at two stops down. Although I use lots of other times I don’t like using odd numbers. Is this weird or do others people have strange preferences like this?

[phelger]

Clive,
when printing 8 x 10 from a 35mm neg and stop twice down on my 50mm 2,8 EL-Nikkor (ie. from f2.8 to 5.6) first of all sharpness and contrast are very good and provided the neg is normally exposed and developed, and not particularly thin I would probably have to expose for 15 - 20s, using Ilforrd MulTigrade MG RC paprer. My enlarger is a diffusor type.
peter

[Blighty]

When I print at 10” X 8” most of my prints are about 6 seconds at two stops down. Although I use lots of other times I don’t like using odd numbers. Is this weird or do others people have strange preferences like this?

Yes, you are right - it's weird Seriously, whatever floats your boat. As long as your getting good results. One advantage of using longer times is the ability to burn and dodge with more accuracy, that is, to give yourself enough time to do it.

[George Collier]

Well, what Blighty says, most would agree.
And, the visual results should be far more important than the number it took to get there.
Make some at 9, 11, and 13 just to shake loose.

[Bob Carnie]

I have always tried to be between 9 seconds and 25 seconds if at all possible
This gives me a opportunity to count, remember times and as well dodge. This is a repeatable timeline.

Longer times do not always mean easier dodging, as dodging is a % of the main time and therefore you need enough time to set your tools but you still have to hit each area to a specific % . Does that make sense?
I sometimes dodge the whole main exposure , just giving different areas a defined % . Having a long time does not make this aspect of dodging any easier.

[Thomas Bertilsson]

Whatever the negative demands.

My main exposure times are usually between 10 and 40 seconds, and any burning required is in addition to that.
I draw a stick figure of the print where I note dodging and burning (at varying filter grades), note main exposure time, lens aperture, filtration, etc. This teaches me that it's important to be able to repeat the results down the road, and it helps me remain consistent with my work.

So, whatever the print seems to demand, I don't care what the actual number is, just that I know exactly what the number is.

[Michael R 1974]

There are enough printing skills to work on without having to worry about even or odd integers. Use whatever times are necessary to achieve the print. That's all.

I always go back to my musical training when things like this try to creep into the workflow: "if you sound great, nobody gives a shit how you're doing it".

[ROL]

In a word, weird.


In more words:

1) Given the small amount of information you've provided, I'd leap to the conclusion that it's a bad habit.

2) 6 seconds doesn't seem like enough time to accomplish dodges and burns, unless all your prints are straight exposures. I'd suggest closing down a stop to double your exposure time, but that would mean leaving the aperture open 1 stop, and thus disqualify it entirely as it would be an odd number.

3 When a test print is initially made, a less "odd" approach (classic, if you will) may be to use test strips of varying exposure times (at any selected projection aperture) first, rather than trying to force exposures from a single aperture and predetermined time.

4) You may want to take a basic printing course or peruse this. I'm not saying you don't know how to print. I'm just saying your approach seems odd, errr, I mean even, I mean... Oh, forget it.

[tkamiya]

Unless it is a very simple and unimportant print, I usually try to get longer exposure time.

When it's single digit seconds, dodging will be very difficult especially when I have multiple places to dodge. Also, if I keep the aperture the same, burning will also be very critical in timing. When I was using mechanical timers, mechanical error, combined with ramp up time of the lamp itself, the results weren't identical even if I expose it for the same time (according to the timer setting). At less than 10 seconds, "just a little darker" or "lighter" is very difficult for the same reason.

I'm trying to achieve perfection as I see it. I have no room in my system to think if the numbers are odd or even.

[ic-racer]

Are non-intrgers odd or even? I usually only print on an integer if I'm lucky on the first test strip.