Durst Laborator 1200 - Anyone using one?

nsurit · Jun 19, 2007

I am setting up a B&W wet darkroom and have an opportunity to acquire one of these enlargers (with a color head). Any who have had experience with these, I'd appreciate hearing about the pros and cons. Will be printing 35mm to 4X5. Currently have a Beseler 45V-XL and will have room for two in the darkroom, if I decided to do so. Thanks, Bill Barber

blaze-on · Jun 19, 2007

Yes. One of the best as far as solidity.
I just wish it had a brighter lamp.

Wee Gillis · Jun 20, 2007

Durst L1200

I have used Durst enlargers professionally for over 24 years. For the money there are none better. My own darkroom has 4 of the beasts, all with CLS450heads. Don't force anything..duh! When used correctly they are good for years and years. I particullarly like the neg stage adjustment for parrallism to baseboard. It's a minor thing but when your living depends on prints......

Eric Rose · Jun 20, 2007

I have the Lab 1200 and CLS450 head. I also use a D5 with condenser head (took the Chromega head off) and have a D5500 which is currently unused. The Lab 1200 is by far the best enlarger of the 3.

Dave Swinnard · Jun 20, 2007

L1200

I too have used a series of different 4x5 enlargers over the years... Besseler 45 (old style) at university, obtained a Omega D5 (condensors, cold head, Chromega head) in 1980 and finally replaced it with a Durst 1200 with the 450 colour head a year ago (when the "price" finally dropped enough so I could afford one). All in all, it was worth the wait.

A finely crafted device.

Dave

Richard Wasserman · Jun 21, 2007

I also have a Durst 1200 with a CLS450 head that I use for 35mm, 6x6, and 4x5. It is a very very nice enlarger and I highly recommend them. I bought mine from a lab that closed up, on the last day of their sale for quite a nice price.

Richard Wasserman

fotod69 · Jun 21, 2007

nsurit said:
I am setting up a B&W wet darkroom and have an opportunity to acquire one of these enlargers (with a color head). Any who have had experience with these, I'd appreciate hearing about the pros and cons. Will be printing 35mm to 4X5. Currently have a Beseler 45V-XL and will have room for two in the darkroom, if I decided to do so. Thanks, Bill Barber

I've used a Durst L1200 with the color head for 15 years and I wouldn't own another enlarger. I've used it for printing cibachromes as well as black & white variable contrast papers and It's fabulous. It's rock solid with the most even lighting I've seen and the Neutral density control is priceless. I know you'll enjoy it.
Dennis

GeorgesGiralt · Jun 21, 2007

Hi !
Depending on the age of the unit, you'll get the CLS450 head wich is one of the early models, or a CLS 501 wich is an improved version (had a density knob and seems to be brighter )
The power supply come in two flavor, a plain transformer based one and an electronic stabilized one. The electronics must be in perfect shape as these are old design by now and would prove really difficult to fix if something goes south...
There has been also closed loop systems using the same 1200 base but they are still expensive...

percepts · Jun 21, 2007

things to check for:

The sprung steel spring at rear of column should be in good condition with NO cracking along its edges or rust.

The nylon rack on rear of column should have all its teeth

The mixing boxes (which ever you get) have a diffusion sheet which sits right above the neg. That diffusion sheet should NOT be scratched.

all sliding/rotating mechanisms should be lubricated properly.

also, life is simpler if you have the correct mixing box for negative format you are printing. e.g. if you use a 4x5 mixing box for 35mm film, you will get long print times so correct mixing box is better.

Dave Miller · Jun 21, 2007

I use a 1200 with a VLS501 multi-grade head. Marvellous, its a pleasure to work with.
Picture at Dead Link Removed

Adrian Twiss · Jun 22, 2007

I also use a L1200 with VLS501 multi-grade head. I acquired the enlarger with a Multigraph head but did not like it at all. It did not suit my way of working. I was very lucky to arrange a swap with a German APUG member while he was on an Ilford tour in the UK. This is the best enlarger I have ever used. It is solid, steady as a rock and when fitted with an RH designs stopclock pro a delight to use. I especially appreciate the remote focussing arm with a similar one for changing the grade.

Marco Gilardetti · Jun 27, 2007

Laborator 1200 with CLS450 head here as well. I can't think to anything better for big format work.

For small/medium format, though results are of course simply perfect, I usually prefer a smaller unit because moving the negative under the ultra-big head is not very handy because the carrier is so wide. Nothing really bad, though, if I didn't already had another unit at home I wouldn't have searched for one and would have lived happy with the L1200 alone. Incidentally, Durst used to sell a special small-format holder (FEBIDAP) with which handling the negative was easier. Unfortunately, they're very hard to find.

j_nickels · Aug 5, 2007

Yes, well designed and built enlarger--but I do regret the purchase. The electronics in the stabilizer fizzed and the fan died. Any equipment can fail, even the best, but in this case the cost of repairs is very very expensive. The fact that the enlarger isn't produced anymore just compounds matters. Now the output of the lamp has begun to waiver. This time I won't spend hundreds to have it diagnosed and fixed.
I'd recommend an enlarger that is currently supported or for which parts are readily available.

Bob F. · Aug 5, 2007

I have two... An L1200 with CLS450 head and an AC1200. The AC1200 is essentially an L1200 + colour head + computer control + analyser etc for colour printing. I like them

Most 24V stabilized supplies should work with an L1200 (mine actually uses a Devere stabilizer). The AC1200 has a much more complicated PSU however - not looking forward to the day the AC1200 dies on me...

Good point re' the fan: finding the same type and size without paying a small fortune to Durst (assuming they have any in stock) may prove difficult if it ever becomes necessary...

Cheers, Bob.

PepMiro · Sep 22, 2007

Mine is a 1200 with a cls 500 head. It's the best enlarger I've ever used. It looks and it is VERY VERY well made. I've never had to align it

Renato Tonelli · Sep 24, 2007

I have one with the 501 color head and one with the Multigraph. I really, really like them - i hope and pray they will never break or malfunction. I have been using them for about ten+ years. The best thing about them is that they've never gone out of alignment.

spiralcity · Sep 28, 2007

Has anyone used the 606 color enlarger? some feedback would be great. I have 12 hours before bid ends.

Nikkorray · Oct 9, 2007

I just purchased a Durst 1200 with the 450 CLS head recently & I've very happy with it. I mainly print B&W but haven't had the time to experiment with the filters on the color head. I used to have an Omega DII & it was a HUGE difference! Set up is a lot easier & the controls are so much smoother. It doesn't really have any cons except that's its really heavy. I have the old timer that weighs about 50 lbs & it's just weird to have a "clunking" sound everytime I expose the paper. I hope they keep making darkroom supplies (at least during my lifetime) because it would surely bum me out if production stops.

dickgent · Feb 26, 2008

Well... Here I go. I just got a 1200 on e-bay $400. I will pick it up this week. Any thoughts on my purchase? I hope to learn more and help others when I can. I will accept any advice on set-up an quick start instructions. Thanks in advance.

jd callow · Feb 27, 2008

dickgent,
Welcome to apug. I have an L1200, as many here do. Mine has the cls 501 head. They are lovely enlargers.

Stephen Frizza · Feb 27, 2008

i run a durst 1200 with Ilford multigrade head in my darkroom, he's an awesome machine! ive never worked with a better 4x5 enlarger.
if you have any questions about them don't hesitate to ask.

dickgent · Mar 3, 2008

Not a REALLY great deal

Well, I have picked up my enlarger (5 hours one way) and I found it does not have a transformer (varipoint condenser) or condensing lenses (the convex ones). My questions"

Can I project 4x5 using the mixing box only? or is do I need the convex lenses similar to the ones for 35mm and 6x9. How do these work?

It seems the lamp requires 12v 100 watts. The literature that I can find indicates that the transformer can control the power to the lamp. But the only transformer I can find outputs 24v. I know this could be a problem. Does anyone have the serial number moddel number for the transformer?

Do I need different mixing bboxes and lenses for different formats? If so what are they.

Lastly, The spring is disconnected from the top of the column. Any advice on reconnecting it? Is there a easy way?

Yes I know you get what you pay for..... But I am determined to make this work. In for a penny...

Any comments or advice will be helpful. Thanks

Cor · Mar 6, 2008

I also use a Durst L1200 for more than 15 years. But unlike the other posters I use the condensor head. About 8 months ago I picked up a CLS501 colour head and mixing chambers and a negative holder (unfortunately "only" a Femoneg not a Femoneg AM.....) for 75 .

I tried to get used to it, but I couldn't. The fan made noise, and perhaps worse the head was vibrating a bit. Could not see that back in the print, it worried me, but I did not do thorough testing. And working with colour filters is a different beast than with MG filters.

Perhaps I should give it another try, but I was happy with the condensors, I just could pick up the colour head cheap and was tempted..changing filters on the head is easier than swapping MG filters in a drawer above the condensors ofcourse..

Best,

Cor

Zn0rt · Mar 21, 2008

Advantages of the VLS head over Multigraph

Cor said:
About 8 months ago I picked up a CLS501 colour head [...]

I tried to get used to it, but I couldn't. [...]

Perhaps I should give it another try, but I was happy with the condensors, I just could pick up the colour head cheap and was tempted..changing filters on the head is easier than swapping MG filters in a drawer above the condensors ofcourse..

I have both the CLS 501 dichroic color head and the VLS 501 dichroic VCCE head.

Perhaps you should check out the VLS 501 head. It is identical to the CLS 501 head (ergo it has the same fan making the same noise, has the same two magenta and yellow filters (!), etc.) but has the very nice advantage of having only one dial for contrast and thats it. Dial in from 0 - 5, and you get the contrast you want (obviously you should test it with your papers so you know what scale means for that particular paper.)

Unlike other VCCE heads, the VLS 501 is not cold cathode, it doesn't have any weird special lamps, doesn't require a special power supply, and still keeps exposure constant throughout the contrast range. It does this by simply dialing in and out the apropriate amount of magenta and yellow filters, and blocking the amount of light coming through dependant upon the amount of filtration dialed in (no filtration ("2.5" on the scale) means the light is reduced, full filtration means the light is leth through at full). Its a completely mechanical system. The light source is the same as with all of the CLS heads (250W ELC lamp).

Its a very simple system, with the advantages of a difuse light source, the easy of use of a VCCE setup, but without the cost and complexity of proprietary controlled and metered lamphouses and the ensuing electronic nightmares that come with them.

Ofcourse, if you really like condensors then obviously the VLS 501 won't be what you're looking for.

-Z

Cor · Mar 24, 2008

Thanks for the tip, so if you change contrast you do not have to change the exposure time, that is convenient!

What about the vibration of the fan? If you put your hand on the housing do you feel a slight vibration?

Best,

Cor

Zn0rt said:
I have both the CLS 501 dichroic color head and the VLS 501 dichroic VCCE head.

Perhaps you should check out the VLS 501 head. It is identical to the CLS 501 head (ergo it has the same fan making the same noise, has the same two magenta and yellow filters (!), etc.) but has the very nice advantage of having only one dial for contrast and thats it. Dial in from 0 - 5, and you get the contrast you want (obviously you should test it with your papers so you know what scale means for that particular paper.)

Unlike other VCCE heads, the VLS 501 is not cold cathode, it doesn't have any weird special lamps, doesn't require a special power supply, and still keeps exposure constant throughout the contrast range. It does this by simply dialing in and out the apropriate amount of magenta and yellow filters, and blocking the amount of light coming through dependant upon the amount of filtration dialed in (no filtration ("2.5" on the scale) means the light is reduced, full filtration means the light is leth through at full). Its a completely mechanical system. The light source is the same as with all of the CLS heads (250W ELC lamp).

Its a very simple system, with the advantages of a difuse light source, the easy of use of a VCCE setup, but without the cost and complexity of proprietary controlled and metered lamphouses and the ensuing electronic nightmares that come with them.

Ofcourse, if you really like condensors then obviously the VLS 501 won't be what you're looking for.

-Z

Durst Laborator 1200 - Anyone using one?

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