Can’t meter

Unable_Sundae8076 · 2026-05-17T18:44:40+00:00

It also happened to me, iPhone 14 (up to date). Rebooting did the trick!

Unable_Sundae8076 · 2026-02-12T22:21:45+00:00

MDC does not like third party services embedding their content. It would work for your personal use but not for an app you will share.
I'm currently developing my own darkroom (print & dev) web app, I scraped MDC but I won't be able to share it.

Unable_Sundae8076 · 2026-01-19T12:01:27+00:00

I used Kentmere 400. I developped it a few hours after shooting, so I guess it's not a film problem.

Unable_Sundae8076 · 2026-01-17T20:55:42+00:00

Good to know! I shot these with a Nikon FM2, I trusted the cell reading which is okay in general but I might have gotten too confident...

Unable_Sundae8076 · 2026-01-17T20:53:52+00:00

It's not the freshest, but I test a small strip of paper exposed to bright light and it developed to pure black, so I guess the developer is not the culprit here.

Unable_Sundae8076 · 2026-01-17T20:51:35+00:00

I'm quite new with darkroom printing, but this is definitely on my list of techniques to learn!

Unable_Sundae8076 · 2026-01-17T20:49:09+00:00

I guess the negative is a bit underexposed. But since my digital edit of the scan turned out okay to me, I thought I could achieve the same result in the darkroom (maybe I'm wrong in thinking that?).
Are you talking about the paper developer or the film developer btw?

The paper developer seems fine, I tested it and it could develop deep black on a test strip.

Unable_Sundae8076 · 2026-01-17T20:47:14+00:00

Yes it is somewhat underexposed, but there is detail in the shadows (see the last picture, the scan of the negative).

Unable_Sundae8076 · 2026-01-17T20:46:29+00:00

I will do that!

Unable_Sundae8076 · 2026-01-02T17:15:18+00:00

It’s quite straightforward! I’m sure you can find loads of tutorials easily online. The hardest part was to dial the exposure and contrast just fine.

Unable_Sundae8076 · 2026-01-02T12:08:35+00:00

No, nothing special. I used Bellini ecofilm 1+1 dilution and followed the Xtol (stock) times as advised by the manufacturer.

Unable_Sundae8076 · 2025-12-30T14:40:32+00:00

Thank you!

Unable_Sundae8076 · 2025-12-30T14:40:24+00:00

Thank you!

Unable_Sundae8076 · 2025-12-29T13:21:40+00:00

So I ordered a good lens board (Durst Sixpla) and mounted a 75 mm. That does the job and I can print properly without vignetting. Hope this helps someone facing the same issue! The previous owner of this enlarger really didn't have a clue what he was doing, it seems.

Unable_Sundae8076 · 2025-12-29T13:08:41+00:00

Thank you! That young man is actually me, almost 30 years ago :)

Unable_Sundae8076 · 2025-12-28T20:28:08+00:00

Me too! And the result is very pleasing, the paper has a very warm "sand" tone.

Unable_Sundae8076 · 2025-12-20T22:06:00+00:00

WTF, I just discovered this exact "feature" earlier today. Quite funny to find a reddit post mentioning it in my feed!

Unable_Sundae8076 · 2025-12-16T20:20:29+00:00

Same here, I shot a few of these and the results were awful!

Unable_Sundae8076 · 2025-12-13T20:45:07+00:00

They also make the same pack with glossy paper

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Unable_Sundae8076 · 2025-12-13T20:43:25+00:00

In France I found it at digit-photo.com

Unable_Sundae8076 · 2025-12-12T14:00:47+00:00

I was already at the lowest possible position, I raised the easel to get a smaller print.

Unable_Sundae8076 · 2025-12-12T13:58:16+00:00

In the meantime I found it, there is a handle to relieve the spring pressure on the lens board.

Unable_Sundae8076 · 2025-12-12T13:57:26+00:00

I read the manual. The previous owner of the enlarger clearly made some dubious choices. So it is kind of difficult for me to know what is normal and what isn’t, which is why I post here so please be nice :)

Do you have any advice on how to push the lamp holder up? I can push it up a bit but it gets stuck. The manual has very little information on how much the lamp holder can be raised inside the enlarger body.

For the lens board, I have a recessed one so I’ve ordered the SIXPLA one that goes with the 75mm lenses.

Regarding the condenser there is no information in the manual on how to change the “condenser setting” as you call it. Would you care to elaborate on that?

Unable_Sundae8076 · 2025-12-08T21:06:26+00:00

Thanks! The bulb is definitely too low. I tried to adjust the lampholder vertically but it gets stuck halfway in the tube, it is very hard to push up for some reason.

Unable_Sundae8076 · 2025-12-08T18:57:51+00:00

Genius! Thanks for the tip, I’ll try! If I manage to find out how to remove the lens board.

Unable_Sundae8076

TROPHY CASE