Durst laborator 1000

[dfoo]

I just managed to pick up a a Durst laborator 1000. It has a condenser head with two condensers (180-1 and 180-2). The condensers seem in great shape! It also has a working bulb, which is good. The 4x5 negative carrier is the OTONEG 2. It has a single piece of glass on the bottom.

Is the carrier supposed to have a second piece of glass to go over the negative?

Does anyone know what the correct bulb is for this enlarger? I looked online but the bulb I found associated is some halogen thing, which this bulb definitely is not.

Lastly, the lens is a Schneider 135 componon. Unfortunately, it is a bit cloudy. I removed the top part of the lens to reveal the aperture blades, and both sides are cloudy. I couldn't quite work out how to take apart the remainder so I thought I'd ask here. Anyone got any ideas?

 

[kompressor]

You can download the full manual here: www.tmax100.com/photo

 

[dfoo]

Thanks for that. The manual says any opal bulb can be used, and gives size and wattage recommendations (2 1/2 for 28-105 mm lens, and 3 1/2 for 135 and 150).

The manual says that the carrier has two plates of glass. The top glass plate can be replaced by a surface treated glass (I guess this is anti-newton glass). Thats a bit annoying, as my carrier only has a single plate of glass on the bottom.

 

[Bob-D659]

There are also Durst single glass 4x5 carrier with glass on the bottom only, one is hiding in my darkroom. The top half has no mounting clips for a sheet of glass.

Edit: You can prob buy a replacement piece of AN glass from the fellow in Florida?, he is on here.

The front element(s) of the Componon will probably come out if you remove the front element retaining ring on the lens. Look on the outer edge of the ring for a couple of shallow slots for a spanner wrench. The rear lens cell will be similar.

 

[quine666]

Focal Point can supply glass that will fit this carrier:

http://www.fpointinc.com/

I've also made my own from picture framing glass.

Cheers,

-andrew

 

[dfoo]

There are also Durst single glass 4x5 carrier with glass on the bottom only, one is hiding in my darkroom. The top half has no mounting clips for a sheet of glass.

If you get a chance let me know the model number. Perhaps my carrier also is only supposed to have a single piece of glass too.

 

[Bob-D659]

The enlarger I have it the Ce 1000 Laborator, the 4x5 neg carrier is labeled "Durst Camneg 450". The enlarger is fitted with a CLS450 colour head and a Camodap which holds the diffusion chambers/mixing boxes. I don't have a condenser head for it.

 

[johnnywalker]

The manual says that the carrier has two plates of glass. The top glass plate can be replaced by a surface treated glass (I guess this is anti-newton glass). Thats a bit annoying, as my carrier only has a single plate of glass on the bottom.

Mine came with only one sheet of glass, an anti-Newton otoglas AN. It also came with OTOPFE metal masks, which come in pairs. The glass (in my enlarger at least) looks like it is also meant to be used in pairs.

The glass is very thin, I think 2 mm. How would you use picture glass in this situation? If only one sheet of glass is required, what holds the negative flat? I can't find anything in the manual regarding a single-sheet negative carrier.

Is your negative carrier a OTONEG 2? If so, I'm sure it needs 2 sheets of glass, as per the manual. I think we are both missing a 2 mm thick sheet of glass.

 

[dfoo]

I also have a Durst M601. The negative holder for that enlarger is awesome. It has two pieces of glass, and 4 blades for masking. Could you ask for more! I guess I'll order a piece from one of the online suppliers.

 

[dfoo]

I was looking at the condenser guide. For 135 and 120 film it recommends a different set of condensers. Does it really matter (ie: will I just be left with longer printing times?)

 

[johnnywalker]

If you have the OTONEG 2, it is pretty obvious where the second sheet of glass fits. I'd be interested in knowing where you buy it from.

 

[doughowk]

For my glass neg carrier, the 2nd sheet is merely held in place thru tape as a hinge. Don't know if this is standard or custom since I'm the 2nd owner.

 

[johnnywalker]

On the Otoneg 2 carrier which came standard with the L1000, there are supposed to be two beveled sheets of glass which fit in the carrier in the same slots used by the metal masks (which can be used instead of the glass). The top sheet of glass can be an anti-Newton glass. Both pieces of glass are meant to be held in place with a spring-loaded clip which fits over the bevel of the glass.
At least that's what it looks like on mine, and what the book seems to be saying.

 

[dfoo]

I found some parts online at Dead Link Removed. However, a call to them revealed that they've closed down, and no longer have any parts available. The prices were good, and they were in Canada too. Dang!

I see DURST 4.5 X 5.5 2MM AN GLASS NO BEVEL DT45AN2 on focal point for a reasonable price. However, "no bevel" doesn't sound good!

 

[johnnywalker]

I looked at that, but my glass is bigger than that, about 5 x 6. You're right, no bevel doesn't sound good. The AN glass is the anti-Newton. They do make custom sizes, but looking at their price list I'll bet that's not cheap!

 

[dfoo]

I sent a message to Focal Point asking about their AN glass. They replied, saying they can cut the glass for me. However, he also said:

"Yes our AN glass is suitable for using as the top sheet of glass on your
enlarger, but if you use a condenser type light source it's possible that
the texture of the glass could show up in clear sky areas of your photos.
On the other hand I have some customers using condenser enlargers that have
no problem with the AN glass at all."

Does anyone have experience with this?

On a related note, I picked up an EL Nikkor 135mm lens for the Durst. However, the thread size is something strange and I don't have a lens board that fits it. I think its probably 50mm and my closest board is very slightly smaller. What are my options here?

 

[ic-racer]

If you are using condensers, I 'd avoid any glass carrier as 4x5 film holds pretty flat. For other formats, you can usually get by without the glass, but not always.

The haze is probably fungus. The superficial stuff comes off easily but it usually leaves a permanent etching on the lens coating. If you clean it gently on all exposed surfaces and not try to 'polish' the coating, then stop down to 16 or 22 it may work just fine.

I recently cleaned two 'junk' Componons and in side-by-side comparisons to new Componon-s lenses the loss of contrast from the fungus damage was noticeable but very minor.
http://www.largeformatphotography.info/forum/showpost.php?p=542408&postcount=193

 

[fotch]

I think that the 39mm Leica thread mount is standard with that lens. Have you measure it with a ruler? Easy to convert from inch to metric.

 

[edtbjon]

I was looking at the condenser guide. For 135 and 120 film it recommends a different set of condensers. Does it really matter (ie: will I just be left with longer printing times?)

The condensers are supposed to focus the light for a specific lens. Your current condensers are (probably) supposed to work fine with your 135mm lens. As long as you use that lens the light will be nice and even. But if you use e.g. an 80mm lens for 120 film, you will probably need to source another set of condensors, as the distance between the condensors and the lens is different. Again for a 50mm lens the condensor setup is different. (These condensors should show up on *bay and other places on a regular basis. With some luck you can find them at very decent prices.)

//Björn

 

[dfoo]

Thanks for the hints guys. I'll keep my eye out for the other condensers. I have a Durst M601 also, so I'm not sure I'll use the 4x5 enlarger for 35/120 film anyway.

 

[Ruari]

Hi there,
You're lucky to find a Durst Lab 1000. Since 1994 I've acquired two big Dursts, the old Laborator 54, and a Laborator 1200, (this sold as scrap!)
Yes, the 180-1 and 180-2 condensers are for 4x5; the others to watch out for are:
the 180-2 plus 160 for 6x7 or 6x9; the 160 plus 130 for 6x6; the 130 and 90 for 35mm.
The standard screw-in tungsten 75w or 150w enlarger bulbs seem to go on for ever.
Different length lenses DO need the other condensers, though there is often usable overlap between say 6x6/35 and 6x9/4x5. For each condenser-to-lens setup, stop the lens down, and with no neg in the carrier try every distance and position of the bulb till the panel of light on the board is as even as you can get it. Mark the positions with tape!
You can also tilt AND slide the lens on these Dursts; you can straighten out perpective and keep edge to edge sharpness on a tilted easel.
The neg carriers on the big Dursts can be more fiddly than Omega neg plates (so classically simple), but the steadiness and build quality of the big Dursts is phenomenal, and negs stay cooler.
When I look at notes on the back of old prints I see how many good ones were made with the big Dursts. Great machines.
Rory, South Africa

 

[edtbjon]

My little experience with a 1200 and much more with my L138 tells me that these professional machines will outperform the M601. Also, even the 1000 will be easier to use when you want a little extra enlargement. (Even though it's not like the 138, which stands on the floor and it's very easy to drop the enlarging table to 15cm over floor level. With a suiting lens and (of course) condenser set, it's very easy to make meter-sized (100cm+) enlargements. The hard and time-consuming part is to set up the wet side of the darkroom for those sizes.)

//Björn

 

[dfoo]

Rory, do you know which replacement bulbs work well?