Enlarger Alignment Tools and Methods

[@o7rein]

Rotating the laser around its beam axis enables you to both level your laser or alternatively work with a laser that is slightly out of alignment. See "way beyond monochrome" for details.

[@gerardodalchielelueiro6818]

Hi today here on Argentina the 21 septembre of every year is the Photogrpher day

[@BorutPeterlinPhotography]

Amazing! I never done that, but obviously it's a great knowledge!

[@randallstewart175]

Over the years, I've used a few enlargers. I became fixated on the issue of enlarger alignment. I ended up buying several tools for alignment. I first got an Omega bubble lever, which works well if you take the time to check all axis carefully. Then I bought a Salthill mirror alignment tool, which turned out to be fine for 4x5 inch format enlargers like the fantastic Salthill unit, but was to big to fit my MF Durst - a write off for me. In the late 1980s, when darkrooms were being tossed out, I bought a laser alignment unit for pennies on its original price, and that is far and away to easiest and most accurate tool. My alignment issue wasn't the enlarger itself. I had mounted the enlarger to a built-in counter made of two 3/4 inch plywood panels laminated together. It turned out that there is a hidden void in one of the plywood layers where the column base is bolted to the counter. As you tighten down the four retaining bolts in the base, you can move the column off vertical in any direction by adjusting the tightening pressure. So, once a year I have to check that vertical to see that the counter has not compressed under the column. Fun stuff.

[@philipdahl9001]

Thanks! Good information. I have a laser collimator and some front surface mirrors for my newtonian telescopes that can now be multi purpose devices.

[@joseerazevedo]

I did a diy lensboard with two bubble levels making an L and use it plus a ruler on the baseboard, lensboard and negative carrier stages. Works very well, my 23CIII alignment is pretty stable. The final cost was less than 10 USD

[@johnsciara9418]

This is such a timely video. I am in the process of building my darkroom. I just was working on the enlarger cabinets. Since my darkroom will be in my basement, the floor is far from being level. Since I was building my cabinets myself, I bought some carriage bolts along with what is known as a t-nut with prongs. By mounting the t-nut at the bottom of each corner of the cabinet, I should be able to level the enlarger base that way. The range of how level the floor is makes using shims nearly impossible. Your channel is so very informative. I'm not sure if there is another channel as informative as your channel.

[@TheNakedPhotographer]

Thank you, and I hope the darkroom build goes well.

[@oldfilmguy9413]

Great to see multiple ways to align enlargers - I look forward to future installments! Cheers!

[@olafwDE]

I'm very much looking forward to these upcoming videos. I've come to find several devices that are quite wobbly (as in: loosen a screw and everything is off, tighten it again and you'll never know whether it's going to work this time), so with the basic tools it might take ages to level things out. I think the double mirror approach is the best compromise concerning speed (all axis of one level at the same time), precision and cost, although it can be hard finding a way to have a straight and perpendicular peep through the hole of the upper mirror.

[@olafwDE]

@@wilbertvandenberg3158 Good idea, I'll give it a try - thank you!

[@ricardogarridorobles6384]

Very well explained!

[@fbraakman]

Great subject. Looking forward to seeing how you do individual enlargers.

[@pulchraorarum2445]

Very helpful, thank you. Really looking forward to your additional sensitometry videos.

[@jlopan]

This video is fantastic. Thank you sir.

[@phillipsheldon9424]

This is all great stuff!!! Thanks for starting this channel

[@U0ykcuf]

Congrats at the 5K! Great content as always!

[@BillyHopscotch]

Amazingly helpful video as always. I think you need to setup your Patreon, though-right now it's just a user profile. Can't wait to support the channel!

[@TheNakedPhotographer]

Fixed it

[@TheAgeOfAnalog]

Very informative. I spent at least an hour shimming my baseboard when I set up my darkroom, so using the bubble level method to align the negative and lens stages was a breeze.

[@earendall]

Great video. I would like it if you add the bessler print maker 67 and the bessler 45 MX. Those are the two I have and I'm going to check them when I get home using this video to see what they are

[@baumstanz]

Moving my Darkroom soon - will test it out! My enlarger has no tilt though. Just an arm that is connected via a spring mechanism. But I can still adjust the bottom surface with a little tinkering.

[@TheNakedPhotographer]

What model?

[@baumstanz]

It's a kindermann but it has no obvious model number. Here is a thread about it with images www.photrio.com/forum/threads/oh-woe-new-lens-wont-fit.21466/print

[@MB-or8js]

Great video - I was looking for this kind of info a couple years back! I am using now a laser calibration tool, but it must be noted that the position where the mirror is put in the enlarger is critical and leading not always to the same result. I would not recommend putting the mirror on top of the negative carrier - the laser reflection changes every time you remove and insert the carrier - at least with my Beseler 45 XT and 23C II models. I found that the best mirror position is directly in the frame position where the enlarger lens is normally mounted in.

[@TheNakedPhotographer]

That would be good for aligning the lens stage, but not the negative stage.

[@MB-or8js]

@@TheNakedPhotographer aren't they combined? In case they aren't, which one should be done first before the other? On my enlargers, I can only tilt the lens stage left and right but not the negative stage separately. The front/back tilt affects also the whole stage (one screw).

[@TheNakedPhotographer]

I have videos coming up where I align these machines. That should help answer your questions.

[@MB-or8js]

@@TheNakedPhotographer I would appreciate this especially for the Beseler types. I have the manuals but regarding alignment it is by far not obvious how to do it just from reading the manual.

[@TheNakedPhotographer]

The older CB7 is the only Beseler with alignment in mind when they built it. The rest try to say they are factory aligned and don’t need realignment, but that simply isn’t true.

[@andrewc56]

Thanks for the video. I'll be curious to see how you go about aligning an enlarger like the Beseler 23C II. I recently spent some time dialing in the alignment of mine, but it was a bit of a pain since the negative stage does not have any provision for alignment (I believe that was rectified on the 23C III). I ended up using the bubble level method to align the lens stage and the baseboard and shimming the negative carriers themselves. It worked and I'm getting sharp prints corner to corner, but it's a bit hacky. Curious to know if there is a better way.

[@elessar60]

how often do you check the alignment on your enlargers?

[@ThePhantomStarfish]

Thanks so much. I'll be aligning my beseler 23cII and Omega D2 with the help of your guide.

[@lichtmaler]

Very usefull information. I think I will need to do that with my enlarger as well. Where did you get the laser?

[@TheNakedPhotographer]

I machined mine on a lathe.

[@lichtmaler]

@@TheNakedPhotographer If you don´t happen to have one, not to easy to come by. Nice piece of work.

[@bjarnejonasson6226]

May I ask where you bought the laser pointer thingy? This looks just as good as the $250 Versalab!

[@TheNakedPhotographer]

I built it myself. I’ve been investigating making them for sale, but time has been hard to come by

[@bjarnejonasson6226]

Ok I see. This is very cowboy but maybe Ill just build one like this my self. kzbin.info/www/bejne/Z3PCmWyfa5atpdU

[@ironmonkey1512]

@@TheNakedPhotographer Seems like a 12 gauge laser bore sight would work and they are inexpensive

[@lowe_h_seger]

​@@ironmonkey1512 I know this is an older video but worth checking -Did you or anyone else ever try using a 12 gauge laser bore sight to level your enlarger? I have a wall mounted De Vere 504 in need of alignment asap. Machine and baseboard are aligned but not the lens and neg carrier. I can get the 12 gauge laser delivered in two days for less than £10.00 but don't want to waste time, money and the planet resources. Thanks in advanced, Lowe

[@ironmonkey1512]

@@lowe_h_seger I got a .38 special boresight and used that. It works okay, the bottom isn't perfectly perpendicular so i had to rotate it and adjust enlarger to make the smallest circle possible. Bit of a pain but enlarger is much better adjusted than by other methods....

[@khaderahmad-abdallahllop7823]

Last time I checked, Danes-Picta still made test negatives up to 9x12cm, larger on request. Pretty cheap as a bonus.

[@TheNakedPhotographer]

Never heard of them. I’ll look them up.

[@TheNakedPhotographer]

Looks like the lens focus negative is only available in 35mm, but the should work for most enlargers.

[@khaderahmad-abdallahllop7823]

They are OEM for photo and lab optical calibration gear. I know the brand from my student time.

[@joshuadelawrence7291]

Be awesome if you could do a alignment video on a beseler 67

[@TheNakedPhotographer]

It would be awesome if I could find one to align

[@sword-and-shield]

Thx for the vid

[@nickfanzo]

I have a besseler printmaker 67. I hate it, it’s always off and I have to constantly adjust it and align it.

[@KOSUKEOKAHARAWORKS]

are you actually selling this laser alignment tool ?

[@AI-Hallucination]

fuck I love you man I do you a legend taught me shit loads

[@wetpossum]

Infinite Tunnelllllllll!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@lowe_h_seger]

I know this is an older video but worth checking -Did anyone ever try using a 12 gauge laser bore sight to level your enlarger? I have a wall mounted De Vere 504 in need of alignment asap. Machine and baseboard are aligned but not the lens and neg carrier. I can get the 12 gauge laser delivered in two days for less than £10.00 but don't want to waste time, money and the planet resources. Thanks in advanced, Lowe

[@TheNakedPhotographer]

It’s not so much the laser, but rather how level the laser is to the baseboard. It needs to be perfectly perpendicular in the X and Y axis

[@mikesmith-po8nd]

@TheNakedPhotographer, have you ever thought about using a laser collimator for a telescope? The generic Chinese stuff is pretty cheap on the big auction site and works well, although often the collimator has to be collimated first. Then something, possibly PVC pipe fittings, to replace the negative carrier. Just something to think about.

[@Normanskie]

5*'s

[@matt-analoguelife]

Mat Marrash hair... :lol

[@TheNakedPhotographer]

I don’t understand the reference

[@matt-analoguelife]

@@TheNakedPhotographer - Mat Marrash: kzbin.info/door/ta-8f4Qj-jzPb61Ua8D_6Q

[@matt-analoguelife]

@@TheNakedPhotographer - I also find your channel always interesting, I re-began my own darkroom journey in 2019.

[@eusebiorodriguez4492]

You lost me at “Trapezoid”.

[@TheNakedPhotographer]

A trapezoid is a four sided shape with two sides being parallel. This would be like a triangle with the top cut off.

[@eusebiorodriguez4492]

@@TheNakedPhotographer Thank you very much.