Elmec Enlarger

[pecama]

I've just been to a man that has found a complete darkroom equipment and we were about to make a deal but... noone knew what the equipment is worth...

...so did anyone of you heard about Elmec Syntax BW-2 enlarger?

it's a standard i think condenser enlarger with masks for 24x36 and 6x6!

The equipment is brand new, as it was used for maybe 5 pictures and then stored in the late 80's...

How much (in euros) can i offer him for the enlarger, lower mask for prints of 20cm x 15cm, never used dryer, tank and some minor stuff? i thought about 60-80eur for the whole lot!

 

[Rick A]

How about 50eu for the entire kit, it's a buyers market. It's a little to unknown brand of enlarger, how would you be able to repair it if it breaks down. What type of bulb does it use, where do you get negative carriers and what ones come with. The other gear is incidental, basically no value.

 

[Nicholas Lindan]

Looks like a copy of a low-end Durst - if it has lots of plastic then I would say a rather nice copy of a "J66".

Much of the value depends on the lenses that come with the enlarger. If they are something horrid like Isco lenses with square apertures then you are going to have to figure in the cost of a new lens or two. If the lenses are El-Nikkors or Componons or Rodagons then the lenses are worth $30-70 each.

At a guess the enlarger didn't sell for much more than $50-100 when new. It is hard to tell from the pictures, though. If the enlarger is all nice machined castings it may have sold for more. But, as Rick pointed out, it is an orphan and if something breaks you are really out of luck - that lowers its value a lot.

Print dryers for (at a guess) fibre based paper aren't worth much - most people use RC paper that is hung up to dry. Even fiber paper is normally dried by laying it on a screen overnight.

The tank looks like one I have that came free with a package of Xtol developer. The 5 liters worth of Xtol developer powder cost me $7.

25eu for the lot if it comes without lenses (or with crappy lenses)?