Darkroom newbie

[JGOB]

Hey,

I spent the whole of yesterday in a darkroom during a short workshop. Got to make my first contacts and prints and i liked it. A lot. I've been into filmphotography for a while now and I'm seriously thinking of getting an enlarger and all that goes with it. I used a Durst M670 BW during the workshop. I've been trying to find some info on the different enlargers Durst made but can't exactly find any clear info on this.
So is Durst a good brand to be looking for in a second hand enlarger. And what are the different models? Was the one I used top notch or just a standard one?
The goal: developing my own B&W film, making contacts and making prints.
Any help is appreciated!

 

[RobC]

durst is an excellent brand, especially if you live in europe becasue there are plenty available and parts arn't too difficult to come by.

The M670 was at the top of what I call their entry level enlargers. Above that there was the Modular70(6x7) and then the M805(6x9) and then the L1200(4x5) and above that some monster enlargers.
The M670 or Modular 70 Pro should be fine unless you want to use negs bigger than 6x7.

Note that Kaiser are still making new enlargers.
http://www.kaiser-fototechnik.de/en/produkte/2_1_sortiment.asp?w=19

The Durst Modular 70 Pro had several different heads it could be used with. B&W condensor with filter drawer. Colour head with inbuilt dichroic filters and another digital head.

The M805 is a professional grade enalrger and had all sorts of possibilities depending the head you had with it. And there was an autofocus option too.
If you can get a good one of these don't pass it by. But they hold their value very well and usually get snapped up when they come on the market.

The last durst enlargers made were as follows but there were lots of earlier models:

http://darkroom.ru/info/manuals/durst_catalog_eng.pdf

And Kienzle still make enlargers:
http://kienzle-phototechnik.de/home_english/home_english.html

And Devere don't make em' any more but the company is still around and sell refurbished models from the UK:
http://www.odyssey-sales.co.uk/

 

[wiltw]

In addition to Durst, whose enlargers and accessories and parts are somewhat difficult (and more expensive) to buy in the U.S. additional brands long used in professional labs include Omega and Beseler, as well as their hobbyist oriented offerings. There are other quality European brands like Leitz, or enthusiast enlargers from Saunders.

 

[Ian Grant]

In Europe Durst's are excellent enlargers, you have to pay a lot more and buy a De Vere to get anything better and then it really about over engineering

I have a 3 Durst enlargers but currently use an M605.

Ian

 

[CropDusterMan]

I'll throw this option in for you...if you are lucky, you may find a Leica Focomat V35 enlarger too...they are incredible, and may not be that hard to find.
I used to live in West Flanders, near Kortrijk...absolutely love Belgium.

 

[JGOB]

Allright! Thanks for the link to the Durst catalog. But damn there are so many options I'm gonna start looking at Durst enlargers. But even then there are so many available second hand in all priceranges. There are BW, Color, VC enlargers in all different kind of models and I'm trying to understand what is what. Why would one buy a VC enlarger, can you print BW with a color enlarger, is it a lot harder to develop color prints, ...
If someone knows any good articles about this, they would be very welcome.
Pity that darkroom workshops are so scarce. You would think living in Brussels would give you some options but alas.

 

[chip j]

For 35mm only, look for a Durst m35 Micromat---what I consider one of the 2 finest 35mm enlargers ever made (the other being the Leitz 1c)---they cost about $70 here.

 

[John Koehrer]

The film size you use will be part of the equation.
If you decide on Durst, my choice would be the 670 or 800 models because I've got both 6X7 and 6X9 cameras as well as 35mm.

Different types, you know are VC, color and condenser, so.....
*Condenser type is likely to be the least expensive and most common. Thousands of people started with, and continue to use them.
most later(!) models have filter drawers for variable contrast filters
*Color heads are diffusion type will use dichroic filters to change filter. The filters can be used with color paper or variable contrast.
*VC types use variable filters like a color head, but only have two colors rather than three in a color head.

There are dozens if not hundreds of books on darkroom techniques and I'd start with a bit of reading.
The person who aided in your darkroom experience can give you some important first hand advice.

 

[RobC]

it all comes to down to budget in the end.
The easiest to use are usually condenser enlargers with a filter drawer above the lens stage. This allows you to use Ilford MG filter set which are extremely well spaced grades. This would be my advice for starting.
If budget allows and you can find one then an M805 will outlast you. But they are bigger and heavier than say an M607 which would be perfectly fine for starting out. Just may sure you consider ceiling height as one with a tall column may not fit on your bench if ceiling is low.
Colour heads will B&W. Providing Y+M filters are working properly then they are fine too. But if they have been fiddled with they can be a pain to recalibrate/adjust.