Durst advice....

Firstly, thanks to all you guys for your advice on my darkroom quest -
( (there was a url link here which no longer exists) )
Taken my first steps and got a Durst M670 and a RR Beard easel. The Durst came with the following (copied from seller ad)

Mains 12 volt Transformer Power Supply
Dallmeyer 100mm (4inch) f4.5 Anastigmat Enlarging Lens
The Lens is Multi-element Tessar design: - Flat field corrected, Razor sharp high resolution.
Chemical resistant Base Board
Durst Unineg - Universal neg/slide carrier with ability to interchange format inserts
Sixma 6x7 metal inserts
Vegabox 667 – Diffuser box

The carrier does 6x7 and 35mm so is exactly what I need but.... what lenses do I need to print A5 to A3 size in both formats?

Normally, you'd use a 50mm for 35mm negs and somewhere between 80 and 105mm for MF.
Is the base big enough for A3?

Not quite but the easel is 20x16

Sorry for sounding dumb, but do I need a red filter to cover the lens when setting up before exposure on the M670?

The red filter is not needed, focus on the easel turn lamp off put photo paper on easel and press expose.
(Actually the first print from a neg would be a stepped test exposure on a cut strip of paper.)

The red filter does come in handy when arranging a negative file sheet on an 8x10 paper for a contact print, the glass sheet has a tendency to move things around a bit.

PS, it will ruin a sheet of color print paper

As Ben writes, the standard is a 50mm lens for 135. The 100mm lens you have will be fine for 6x7cm negatives and will work OK for 35mm but you will find you can't move the head far enough away to make a 12x16 from a 35mm negative so get a decent 50mm lens for 135.

I do as yellowcat suggests but I focus on the back of a sheet of old paper rather than the easel; it's not usually necessary, especially if you are going to stop down the lens for the actual exposure (focus with the lens wide-open) but likewise it doesn't hurt.

I'd suggest a look in your library to see if they still have any books on darkroom work (mine is now 95% digital, though the main one has a few still) and download this beginners PDF from the Harman/Ilford Site: http://www.ilfordphoto.com/applications/download.asp?n=390. There are also a number of other useful pages at the (there was a url link here which no longer exists) site via the Applications menu.

Have fun, Bob.

Thanks for the advice - next stop......Chemistry!

Phone NOVA (http://www.novadarkroom.com) or Silverprint (http://www.silverprint.co.uk), explain what you want and they will put you right

I would start with Ilford - Multigrade RC Paper, Multigrade Developer, Stop Bath and Fixer

Have fun

Take notes - it helps identify what you like and don't like

Martin

Hi,

I also have a Durst M670 with a 30x40cm easel...This month i went to a "new" darkroom place and bought second hand a 50x60cm Beard easel...so i could make larger prints. Beforehand i knew that the easel is bigger then the base of the enlarger..so yesterday i still put it on the base and checked if it was balanced.
I had the 50mm lense on it..and when i turned the light on...it just covered a bit of the easel!! I moved the enlarger head higher as the lense...and it worked..but just a bit The light still covers just a bit of the easel!!
Previously i desmounted the head for cleaning the light and some parts...Did i misalligned someting.After i mounted the head i checked with the 30x40cm easel and the light seemed even and covered all the easel.
I also have the vegabox 667 with a 105mm lense..but i didn't try it yet...
So how do i print on this bigger easels?? It's this the case where i have to turn the collumn and head 180º and put the easel on the floor..so i can have high enough so the light can cover the entire easel?

Thanks in adavance i'm with doubts :O