[pentaxuser]

By the way, I don't think the wrong bulb is in. I double checked with nova when I bought it that it was the right bulb, and the thing is so bright in the head - before you close the hatch and stick it back on the enlarger -that you can only stand to look at it for about a second. In addition, the negatives are all correctly exposed and developed.

Thanks once again.

I try to be dogmatic about very little - I haven't the experience for a start : but I am certain you are right about your bulb. I started off with a 100W as I started in B&W but exchanged it for 75W when switching to colour as some of the prints from the negs would have been overexposed at the min exposure that my Paterson colour analyser dial could be set for( about 4 secs).

It is true however that colour negs did look much darker than the B&W negs I was familiar with but certainly not anything like so dark as to prevent the use of a focus finder.

If the dichroic filters are stuck then a simple test is dialling in each filter and observing the changes. Try 0 -130 on each in turn then all three at units of 10 or 20 each time. If all three are dialled in with the same amount each time then you get an ever darkening neutral grey.

pentaxuser