Deardorff user needs an 8x10 enlarger...

eshotwell · Aug 19, 2006

Wow, now I've gone and done it! I am now shooting landscapes with a beautiful old vintage Deardorff and love it. But, I would like to do more than just contact prints. I've got a very nice Beseler 45M enlarger, but the cost of upgrading it to 8x10 is a whopping $3000+ dollars. I guess I am just looking for ideas where I might find a used 810 conversion kit or info on making it myself, or whatever.

Ed Shotwell
Eaton Rapids, Michigan

Donald Miller · Aug 19, 2006

A Durst 184 just sold on Ebay yesterday for less than $2000. They show up occasionally.

wjmva · Aug 20, 2006

I picked up a Wisner enlarger back for 8X10 and made an adapter for the Deardorf. I happened to have a studio stand so I now have a horizontal enlarger room. Unless you have a room with a very high ceiling to take the regular 8x10 you may want to consider the above. Additionally this breaks down into manageable units.

wfwhitaker · Aug 20, 2006

What's a Wisner enlarger back?

df cardwell · Aug 20, 2006

You can make a fine horizontal enlarger from an old Portrait camera ( a Century, like Ansels' ). There are some problems using your camera as the base of the enlarger, like re-aligning it whenever you want to print.

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Campbell · Aug 20, 2006

I think you can forget about a used Beseler conversion kit, you almost never see them on the used market. I think I've seen maybe one or two in twelve years (but then for most of that time I wasn't looking for one either so I'm sure there must have been at least a couple somewhere that I didn't see). But you should be able to find a used 8x10 (or 10x10) enlarger on ebay. Of course getting it to you might be problematic. A few years ago local wet labs converting to digital were a good source but they've mostly all gone digital by now and sold their darkroom stuff but still, inquiries among local labs couldn't hurt and might produce some leads.

raucousimages · Aug 21, 2006

Look for an 8X10 elwood enlarger. usualy about $500.00

eshotwell · Nov 17, 2006

8x10 Enlarger FOUND!

Thanks everyone for the helpful information. I did manage to find a like new Beseler 810 on a 45MX Chassis. It sold for about $1500 with a 240mm lens. Had to ship via UPS for another $194.00. I've got it setup and it is perfect. For what it's worth, this was the 4th one I've found on ebay in the past month. There was another 810 conversion kit that showed up after I bought mine and sold for just under $2000. They're tough to buy as the bidding is fast and furious; I missed the first three to other bidders and I thought I was a pretty savy ebayer. Anyway, this one was listed with a "buy-it-now" option so I hopped on it.

If you want an 8x10 just keep an eye on ebay. Plan on spending $1500 or so and don't be afraid of the shipping. I had a local "PakMail" place pick it up and ship it for me.

-ED

Allen Friday · Nov 17, 2006

A lot of 8x10 enlargers come up on ebay. Many of them go for a song because the sellers limit the sale to "local pick up only." If you have a truck and are willing to travel, you can find some good deals.

Two years ago I bought an HK877 AF horizontal enlarger (11x11), along with film holders and 6 lenses, for the price of $1. The catch, I had to drive to Minn. to get it. It was a 6 hour drive each way. But, well worth it. I was glad that the seller had a fork lift to load it in my truck, and that I had a tractor at home to unload it.

The 407 Collectable · Nov 20, 2007

Deardorff photo enlarger???

I am looking for information. I am opening a collectable/antique shop at 10am tommrow morning. A friend of mine emailed me a picture of an auction item. He said the person working there called it a Deardorff photo enlarger. I am just beginning to appreciate the collectability of photographic equipment. I am having trouble finding information on this piece of equipment. The photo I received shows a minimum of three seperate wood boxes, approx. 24" x 24", sitting on a 72" wood frame w/5 adjusting cranking wheels, which is sitting on a 36" wood base on wheels. All of the above is sitting on a 10' to 12' wood or metal track. There are also, 3 asst. size lenses mounted to wood boards, 5 asst. size flat boards, 3 clamps and 3 or 4 electrical pieces.
My question is: Does, what I've discribed, sound like a Deardorff enlarger? And if so, is it worth a 4 hour drive to the auction? And most of ALL, what would be it's retail worth?

Any information would be greatly appreciated.

slysy56 · Nov 15, 2022

The 407 Collectable said:
Deardorff photo enlarger???

I am looking for information. I am opening a collectable/antique shop at 10am tommrow morning. A friend of mine emailed me a picture of an auction item. He said the person working there called it a Deardorff photo enlarger. I am just beginning to appreciate the collectability of photographic equipment. I am having trouble finding information on this piece of equipment. The photo I received shows a minimum of three seperate wood boxes, approx. 24" x 24", sitting on a 72" wood frame w/5 adjusting cranking wheels, which is sitting on a 36" wood base on wheels. All of the above is sitting on a 10' to 12' wood or metal track. There are also, 3 asst. size lenses mounted to wood boards, 5 asst. size flat boards, 3 clamps and 3 or 4 electrical pieces.
My question is: Does, what I've discribed, sound like a Deardorff enlarger? And if so, is it worth a 4 hour drive to the auction? And most of ALL, what would be it's retail worth?

Any information would be greatly appreciated.

slysy56 · Nov 15, 2022

My organization recently received a donation of a Deardorff enlarger-reducer-copier. Has anyone restored one? I have boxes of parts and am having a hard time trying to fit the pieces of the puzzle back together again. I found a couple of catalog pictures on surpluscameragear.com but the clues are few and far between. Any help would be appreciated.

ic-racer · Nov 15, 2022

I can't imagine what that would look like, can we see it?

I did a Google site search on surpluscameragear.com for "enlarger" and only got 7 responses; nothing Deardorff. Can you link to what you found on that site?

DREW WILEY · Nov 15, 2022

It would more of an intriguing antique restoration project than anything leading to functional convenience by modern standards. In other words, a nice pretty conversation piece if you succeed.

slysy56 · Nov 16, 2022

I am attaching catalog images I found on the web.

ic-racer · Nov 16, 2022

Ok, that looks more like a 'process camera' or copy camera for making negatives to be used in publication.
These types of cameras can be converted into enlargers by supplying a light source and manufacturing or adapting a negative carrier system.

slysy56 · Nov 16, 2022

Were many of these produced by Deardorff? I found another forum where someone stated that NASA owned one and another agency used one to enlarge pictures of circuit boards. My unit was owned by North American Aviation. Someone mentioned that this type of unit was used to enlarge pictures of spy planes so the government could identify them. Any truth do these stories?

ic-racer · Nov 16, 2022

Someone mentioned that this type of unit was used to enlarge pictures of spy planes so the government could identify them. Any truth do these stories?

It usually makes things smaller. For example, one would use it to photograph large artwork for publication.

slysy56 · Nov 16, 2022

I actually found the previous owner who worked at North American Aviation (NAA). He told me that NAA made a custom track and stand for it and it was used to photo aviation parts. It was quite the workhorse in WWII. They had a tank that held 300 gallons of developer to make actual size prints of the parts. So cool!

DREW WILEY · Nov 16, 2022

More an antique regardless. But things like that can be fun to restore.

Deardorff user needs an 8x10 enlarger...

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