Durst 1200 question

I'm looking at the purchase of a Durst Laborator 1200. In the past I've done all my printing with Beseler 45 series enlargers, so Durst is new to me. This one comes pretty well equipped: CLS 450, Femobox 450N, 450, and 66, Femomasks 35N, 45, 66 & 67, El Nikkor 1:4 75mm, Componon-S 5.6 150mm, ST 450, TRA-450, Time O Lite, Exposure pedals, and Durst Femoneg. Also, Femogla AN for the 450.

The whole Femo-blah part of Durst is new to me, coming from Beselers. But it is pretty clear what those items do.

My question is this: Is there anything glaringly missing from this list, or other things I should consider about the Durst? It does light up properly, bellows is in great shape, etc. - all things I can check coming from a Beseler seem fine. I just want to make sure I'm not missing anything before handing over the money.

Also, I'm looking at about a $1100 transaction. Is that too much these days for a Durst 1200?

I have an opportunity for a Beseler 45MXT with a Schneider 150mm lens, color dichro head, gralab timer, and 4x5 negatrans for about $900.

I think the Durst is an overall better purchase, though the price is higher.

Opinions?

Thanks!

-chuck

It's an awesome enlarger. I would rate it significantly higher than the beseler for build quality. That seems to be quite a complete kit you've referenced, although I don't recall all the bit names these days. I assume the head has the drop down control rods? They're a small item, but pretty important for ease of use. Another key is having both 4x5 and medium format mixing boxes. You can do with just the largest, but the light levels are much better with the right boxes for mf and smaller formats. I paid less for mine, but that was almost a decade ago and after much searching.

price is very subjective cos if its exactly what you want, in good condition with all the bits you need then its worth whatever you're willing to pay. In the UK people were giving these enlargers away a few years ago but they don't come on the market so often now so prices have gone up I think.

A couple of things to check are that the counter balance spring is not cracked. Put the head all the way down and check its edges by feel for any cracks.

Also check the nylon toothed rack on backside of column has all its teeth.

Also check cooling fan is running smoothly and not causing vibration. ( The cooling fan sits on a softish rubber mounting block in the head. There was a transit locking screw but I expect that has long since disapeared but if not it should be removed before doing vibration test.)

Thanks guys!

I would add that my L1200 is the best enlarger I have used and I have used quite a few different makes and models of enlargers.

Only thing I have against it is that its big and heavy and that 35mm negs can get lost in the femoneg make it a little tricky to position them. Even a strip of 6 negs only just sticks out a tad from one side or other of the femoneg. But for medium and 4x5 negs its a dream.

If you're lucky enough to find a wall mount for it then it really is worth the investment as once aligned it will stay that way (if your wall is strong enough).

RobC said:

I would add that my L1200 is the best enlarger I have used and I have used quite a few different makes and models of enlargers.

Only thing I have against it is that its big and heavy and that 35mm negs can get lost in the femoneg make it a little tricky to position them. Even a strip of 6 negs only just sticks out a tad from one side or other of the femoneg. But for medium and 4x5 negs its a dream.

If you're lucky enough to find a wall mount for it then it really is worth the investment as once aligned it will stay that way (if your wall is strong enough).

Click to expand...

Interesting. I am seriously considering getting a separate enlarger for 35mm anyway, like a Leica v35. But I'll start with the Durst.

chuck94022 said:

... ST 450, TRA-450, ....

.....

Opinions?

Thanks!

-chuck

Click to expand...

Keep both power supplies! Or at least sell the ST if you want to get rid of one of them.

The ST can die rather fast and replacement parts are either not available or simply too expensive at Durst-US

horst (who has three dead ST hanging around)

They are both good enlargers by design. Choose the one in the best condition. There are advantages to owning USA made enlargers if one lives in the USA. For example Beseler still makes and supports enlargers. Can't say the same for Durst. Also, all the hardware on the Beseler will be SAE.

I think once you get to the level of design & build quality of the Beseler 45, the improvements, if any, are small on more expensive enlargers. Prices may have increased since my buying of the last enlarger, but that seems to be a really high prices. Supply & demand I suppose. JMHO

You won't go wrong with the Durst 1200. I bought mine fully loaded with 2 APO Schneider lenses, delta sink, 20x24 easel and all sorts of other goodies for $600 when A&I Labs in Hollywood, CA closed their black and white lab for good in 2015. I used brackets from Home Depot to brace it on my wall. Aligned the lens to easel, then the negative carrier to the easel and I haven't looked back. The picture attached is before I made a drop easel for it but you get the picture. If you are ever in the Phoenix area and want to see my set up please don't hesitate to drop me an email.

Much aloha,
Laura

lepetitfoto said:

You won't go wrong with the Durst 1200. I bought mine fully loaded with 2 APO Schneider lenses, delta sink, 20x24 easel and all sorts of other goodies for $600 when A&I Labs in Hollywood, CA closed their black and white lab for good in 2015. I used brackets from Home Depot to brace it on my wall. Aligned the lens to easel, then the negative carrier to the easel and I haven't looked back. The picture attached is before I made a drop easel for it but you get the picture. If you are ever in the Phoenix area and want to see my set up please don't hesitate to drop me an email.

Much aloha,
LauraView attachment 150426

Click to expand...

Nice, Laura! Next time I'm in Phoenix, I'll definitely email you!

For the thread, I ended up with this enlarger for much less than the originally stated price. When I inspected the enlarger, I found that the friction wasn't sufficient to engage the crank handle that lifts the head. In fact, even with the crank handle locked, the head would move pretty freely.

I told the seller that with such an inability to keep the head in one spot, the enlarger was essentially useless to me. It was effectively parts. He decided that he'd rather have it gone than lose a sale (he wasn't a photographer). So we agreed on a very dramatically reduced price. Like down to a song.

When I got the enlarger home, I determined that the problem could be solved by simply tightening the two tensioner screws that adjust the friction on the crank.

Now it is a perfect enlarger. The gear on the column is fine, and the main spring is in good shape. (I gave it a mineral oil treatment anyway.)

One bugaboo is that it has the Euro style Femoneg holder, so I can't do a full edge to edge enlargement of my 4x5 negatives. It clips the corners a bit. Not terrible, but apparently the Femoneg AM solves this. I'd love to either get a Femoneg AM or hear of an alternative solution from this forum. If anyone has an AM available, I'm interested.

I'm also now in the market for a good 50mm enlarging lens. The enlarger came with a 150 and 75, but I also have a bunch of 35mm to print large.

below the femoneg slot there is a another slot which holds a format mask which is just a thin sheet of metal which slides in and out. On my L1200 I have only what I think is the 4x5 mask. Check if you have one and if its the right size.

So good you got it for a song. Those are the best deals! I may have an extra 4x5 mask you can have if you want to pay for postage. I'm on the road shooting an assignment but as soon as I get back to my darkroom I will check it out for you. The Durst's are so well built they are pretty much bullet proof. After you get set up you should be good for a long long time. A professor of mine loaned me his laser align and I aligned both of my enlargers. Best thing you can do for it. If you want corner to corner sharpness alignment is a must! I will touch base once I take a look at my Durst gear.

Much aloha,
Laura

Thanks RobC and Laura. There is a slot, thanks for letting me know! There are still a few mysteries for me with this enlarger.

Here is the Femoneg glass holder I have, with a 4x5 slide. As you can see, the slide doesn't fit corner to corner.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/dcu8kcgqmsclhy4/IMG_4491.JPG?dl=0

Here is the largest mask I have for the slot:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/ast5p2kaej8o4bk/IMG_4493.JPG?dl=0

It isn't large enough for 4x5.

So how is the slot used? The femoneg has edge masks that can be dialed to mask different slides or image areas, so I'm not sure what the slot mask adds.

chuck94022 said:

Thanks RobC and Laura. There is a slot, thanks for letting me know! There are still a few mysteries for me with this enlarger.

Here is the Femoneg glass holder I have, with a 4x5 slide. As you can see, the slide doesn't fit corner to corner.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/dcu8kcgqmsclhy4/IMG_4491.JPG?dl=0

Here is the largest mask I have for the slot:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/ast5p2kaej8o4bk/IMG_4493.JPG?dl=0

It isn't large enough for 4x5.

So how is the slot used? The femoneg has edge masks that can be dialed to mask different slides or image areas, so I'm not sure what the slot mask adds.

Click to expand...

BTW, I was unable to upload an image into this post. Perhaps there is a problem with the new site?

chuck94022 said:

BTW, I was unable to upload an image into this post. Perhaps there is a problem with the new site?

Click to expand...

Ok, now I got it to work. Here is the Femoneg:



Here is the mask:



-chuck

chuck94022 said:

So how is the slot used? The femoneg has edge masks that can be dialed to mask different slides or image areas, so I'm not sure what the slot mask adds.

Click to expand...

I have two L1200 enlargers in my darkroom, one has this mask, the other doesn't. To be honest, I don't see what function it performs and wonder if it is really necessary. I don't notice any difference with or without.

I would try without the lower mask as it doesn't look big enough at only 3 1/2 inches wide.

if you want detailed info about femoneg and/or lower mask purpose / sizes available I would phone Northern photo in UK and ask to speak to terry. He knows all there is to know about Durst enlargers.

http://www.northernphoto.co.uk/

paul_c5x4 said:

I have two L1200 enlargers in my darkroom, one has this mask, the other doesn't. To be honest, I don't see what function it performs and wonder if it is really necessary. I don't notice any difference with or without.

Click to expand...

If you were just using glass in femoneg and no format mask, especially with smaller negs, then that lower mask would stop a lot of extraneous light (read flare/fogging).

But yes, if you are using correct neg masks in femoneg then I don't suppose its necessary.

Regarding the Femoneg itself, not the mask: Is this a Femoneg for 4x5? If so I'm surprised, since it doesn't seem to give a 4x5 negative full coverage. It at least clips the corners, and perhaps a bit of one of the long edges.

Edit: The part number on the Femoneg is BA 30.200.

-chuck

I thought all femonegs were 4x5. I have just assumed this.
There are tiny little corner cutouts in the femoneg which a 4x5 neg just fits into. If the corners just fit into the corner cutouts then its a 4x5 femoneg.
Phone Terry at Northernphoto and you will find out everything you need/want to know.

If you are wanting to print the whole neg right upto the corners then you may be disappointed. But again, phone northernphoto.

Make sure the head movement controls work. In one mode the head can be moved up and down with the might of your arms, in the other mode twisting the handle will move the head on gears.

On my 1200, the former works, but the latter does not.

chuck94022 said:

Regarding the Femoneg itself, not the mask: Is this a Femoneg for 4x5? If so I'm surprised, since it doesn't seem to give a 4x5 negative full coverage. It at least clips the corners, and perhaps a bit of one of the long edges.

Edit: The part number on the Femoneg is BA 30.200.

-chuck

Click to expand...

Yes, the standard Femoneg and Femomask 45 clip the corners of a full 4x5 negative! How annoying. There is a Femoneg AM and matching masks that go deeper into the corner (i.e. there is less material in the corners of the structure, so the full negative can be printed.) When I'm printing 4x5 full frame I use a Femoneg AM and the matching Femogla and Femogla AN, then mask down the part outside of the film using the built in adjustable blades in the Femoneg AM. I got brand new glass to match the Femoneg AM from Focal Point ( http://www.fpointinc.com/glass.htm ) - they only had the standard glass listed but I gave him the dimensions for the larger glass and he now stocks it as a standard product.

Duncan

I also have an M805 for upto 6x9 and a pair of M605's a Color and a Condensor for upto 6x6, but use these for quick and dirty 35mm.