Enlarger recommendations

[hiroh]

I apologize if this question has been asked before, but I have specific needs and requirements when choosing which enlarger to purchase.

I'm a beginner in the darkroom and I'm still learning in a local community darkroom in Lisbon, Portugal, using an Ahel 12 enlarger. It's a fairly basic enlarger, good for learning, but not very comfortable to use, and not the type of enlarger I see myself using long-term, especially when I set up my own darkroom at home. My requirements are based on my experience with this enlarger, which lacks some features that would make my work more enjoyable and comfortable.

- Minimum print size of 16x20 inches (currently printing up to 11x14, but aiming for larger in the future)
- Ability to handle 35mm and medium format (currently 6x6)
- Glass plates for negative carriers to minimize negative curling
- Filter drawers for standard Ilford split-grade filters
- Option to add a color head (I'm primarily interested in black and white for now, but it would be nice to have the option for future color printing experiments)

I'm open to all opinions, despite the limited purchasing options available in Portugal. If I find something I really like, I'll try to find a way to get it.

Ideally, I'm looking for the best enlarger available in this print size range that will last a lifetime. I'm not looking for a temporary solution, as selling enlarger here won't be easy.

 

[AnselMortensen]

If there's a chance you might decide to shoot 4x5 at some point in the future, I'd suggest a Beseler 45MX or an Omega D5XL.
If not...the newest Beseler 23C-series you can find. The head rotates to allow horizontal printing for large sized prints.

 

[mshchem]

Need an EU person to chime in.

 

[MARTIE]

Kienzle
http://www.kienzle-phototechnik.de/home_english/home_english.html
De Vere

De Vere Enlargers - Odyssey Sales

Durst

 

[xkaes]

http://www.jollinger.com/photo/enlargers/guide-to-enlargers.htm

 

[MattKing]

Kienzle
http://www.kienzle-phototechnik.de/home_english/home_english.html
De Vere

De Vere Enlargers - Odyssey Sales

Durst

These are good European suggestions.
Enlargers are relatively large and expensive to pack and ship. For that reason, you want to look for models and brands that are relatively common where you are.
Do you have any information resources that are in Portugal or are easily accessed from Portugal - e.g. Spain? If so, they would be good to ask.
My current two enlargers - LPL 7700s - would be good choices, if they can be found in your market. I obtained them and my previous, larger Omega D6 through Craigslist, at extremely favourable prices. Do you have any resources like Craigslist where you are?
One of the best things to do might be to find what is available where you are, and then ask about them here.

 

[pbromaghin]

Beseler D23 for anything up to 6x9. Heck, with a little Durst F60 you can turn the head to project 6x6 on the wall for nearly limitless size.

 

[Nicholas Lindan]

Don't overlook Meopta.

Glass carriers will drive you to madness with dust. The increase in film flatness makes little difference with 35mm and 6x6.

6x6 enlargers tend to be much more reasonably sized than 6x9 & 4x5 units and shipping them may not be all that onerous.

You may as well resign yourself that your initial choice will be temporary. If you get a massive DeVere you will soon find yourself pining for a compact Leitz Focomat V35, and vice-versa.

 

[Ian Grant]

Beseler D23 for anything up to 6x9. Heck, with a little Durst F60 you can turn the head to project 6x6 on the wall for nearly limitless size.

Beseler's are rather rare in Europe, and no spare parts.

LPL/JOBO enlargers are quite nice, I have a C 660 which is spare, but no glass in the carriers. Go for a colour head from the start, it's way easier dialling in filtration.

Personally, I'd go for a Durst, better build quality, very easy to find in Europe, M605, M670, etc, Few MF enlargers will allow 20"x16" enlargements these Durst do, Meopta, Jobo, etc, don't have enough column height, but you can reverse the columns to make larger prints.

The Rolls-Royce of MF enlargers is the De Vere 203, but they are rare and very expensive, but can be used up to 6x9.

Ian

 

[rduraoc]

I'm Portuguese and I've had a Meopta Axomat 5a and a Opemus 6a. Meoptas are the most common in Portugal for reasonable prices. Considering your requirements I'd look for a Magnifax 4 such as this one https://www.olx.pt/d/anuncio/laboratrio-de-fotografia-completo-IDIkIOy.html.

Price is not the best, but maybe you can haggle a bit.

 

[Keith Tapscott.]

What film formats are you using hiroh?

 

[Ian Grant]

I'm Portuguese and I've had a Meopta Axomat 5a and a Opemus 6a. Meoptas are the most common in Portugal for reasonable prices. Considering your requirements I'd look for a Magnifax 4 such as this one https://www.olx.pt/d/anuncio/laboratrio-de-fotografia-completo-IDIkIOy.html.

Price is not the best, but maybe you can haggle a bit.

That particular Magnifax 4 is not really an improvement on the Ahel 12 enlarger. Ideally you would need the Magnifax 4 oOpemus enlargers with a colour head, but neither have enough column height for 20"x16" prints

Ian

 

[Buzz-01]

My experience: the Opemus 5 will do about 11x14" print area from 35mm with a 50mm lens when the column is at its highest setting.
I have extended the column of my enlarger slightly by putting the baseboard on backwards and then clamping it on top of some wooden blocks on my tabletop. That extra height of about 8 to 10cm gives me just enough height to print 12x16" or 30x40cm borderless from 35mm.

You could also put the baseboard on backwards and clamp it onto the edge of a table, allowing you to print on the floor. This would probably give you more than enough height to print 16x20".

And indeed the Opemus 5 also allows you to tilt the head and project the image sideways onto a wall. Never done that myself but I imagine getting proper alignment might be difficult.

Glass carriers are best to keep the negatives flat but dust can be a real pain. For 6x6 I use glass, but for 35mm I use the glassless insert which keeps the negatives nice and flat and give me much less issues with dust.

 

[prado333]

I live in Spain, the best way to buy an enlarger today is wallapop or online stores second hand.
From time to time , you can see professional grade enlarger for a really cheap price.
Makers like Kienzle , Lpl , Devere or Beseler continuing making new ones.

 

[ic-racer]

Pretty much any 4x5" enlarger in good contidion will be a 'professional' product.

 

[Sirius Glass]

I apologize if this question has been asked before, but I have specific needs and requirements when choosing which enlarger to purchase.

I'm a beginner in the darkroom and I'm still learning in a local community darkroom in Lisbon, Portugal, using an Ahel 12 enlarger. It's a fairly basic enlarger, good for learning, but not very comfortable to use, and not the type of enlarger I see myself using long-term, especially when I set up my own darkroom at home. My requirements are based on my experience with this enlarger, which lacks some features that would make my work more enjoyable and comfortable.

- Minimum print size of 16x20 inches (currently printing up to 11x14, but aiming for larger in the future)
- Ability to handle 35mm and medium format (currently 6x6)
- Glass plates for negative carriers to minimize negative curling
- Filter drawers for standard Ilford split-grade filters
- Option to add a color head (I'm primarily interested in black and white for now, but it would be nice to have the option for future color printing experiments)

I'm open to all opinions, despite the limited purchasing options available in Portugal. If I find something I really like, I'll try to find a way to get it.

Ideally, I'm looking for the best enlarger available in this print size range that will last a lifetime. I'm not looking for a temporary solution, as selling enlarger here won't be easy.

I recommend that since you are already actively using 35mm and medium format [6x6] that you see if you can find an enlarger that can handle 4"x5" or some other small large format film for possible future growth. Back when I was looking for an enlarger and I did just that. I am happy that I did. Unless you find a new enlarger, you are limited to those available used enlargers which you find and good shape and have parts supplies available. Best of luck in your search.

 

[DREW WILEY]

If you get serious at this, you'll definitely want a glass carrier. 4X5 enlargers are not only typically better built, but are much more common than med-format only ones, and therefore maybe even better priced on the used market.

 

[cliveh]

Don't overlook Meopta.

Glass carriers will drive you to madness with dust. The increase in film flatness makes little difference with 35mm and 6x6.

6x6 enlargers tend to be much more reasonably sized than 6x9 & 4x5 units and shipping them may not be all that onerous.

You may as well resign yourself that your initial choice will be temporary. If you get a massive DeVere you will soon find yourself pining for a compact Leitz Focomat V35, and vice-versa.

I would agree with this. Don't ever use a glass carrier, as you are introducing 4 surfaces to collect dust. Even with 5" X 4" I would use a carrier without glass.

 

[eli griggs]

In Europa, a Durst M600, a small compact enlarger which can project onto a wall, be used as a copy stand, or overhead projector, which has built in adjustable margins to mask negatives, up to medium format roll films.

These can also be good traveling enlargers, for that long vacation to elsewhere and when you need to upgrade to a larger enlarger, are small enough to keep set up for making contact sheets or small good quality prints.

I believe colour or cold heads are out there for the finding, just don't buy one without it's working power supply.

IMO & Cheers,
Eli

 

[Philippe-Georges]

On eBuy Germany there are a few interesting Fujimoto's on sale, the 90M-D model, these are very sturdily and well built 35mm to 6x9 enlargers.

 

[koraks]

4X5 enlargers are not only typically better built, but are much more common than med-format only ones

This is not the case on the European market. 4x5 never was as popular here as it was in the US and the UK. As a result, medium format enlargers are much more common in Europe. You can get a Durst 601 or 605 any day of the week here, but finding an L1200 etc. will take more effort. In Europe, if all you shoot is 35mm and 6x6m by all means look for a medium format enlarger, as it'll be easier to find and much easier on the budget.

Don't overlook Meopta.

Glass carriers will drive you to madness with dust. The increase in film flatness makes little difference with 35mm and 6x6.

6x6 enlargers tend to be much more reasonably sized than 6x9 & 4x5 units and shipping them may not be all that onerous.

You may as well resign yourself that your initial choice will be temporary. If you get a massive DeVere you will soon find yourself pining for a compact Leitz Focomat V35, and vice-versa.

Along with many other useful responses, this one in particular I'd like to emphasize. Especially the closing remark is worth a thought.

 

[Don_ih]

I suggest you give yourself a couple of months of looking at local ads (Facebook marketplace, etc) or maybe even posting a wanted ad in a newspaper or online, to see what can turn up. You may get lucky if you check every day - rather than impatiently ordering something from Germany and spending more for shipping than you might find locally for a better price.

Also, ask the people at your community darkroom. They may know someone.

 

[Ian Grant]

This is not the case on the European market. 4x5 never was as popular here as it was in the US and the UK. As a result, medium format enlargers are much more common in Europe. You can get a Durst 601 or 605 any day of the week here, but finding an L1200 etc. will take more effort. In Europe, if all you shoot is 35mm and 6x6m by all means look for a medium format enlarger, as it'll be easier to find and much easier on the budget.

Along with many other useful responses, this one in particular I'd like to emphasize. Especially the closing remark is worth a thought.

I have a massive De Vere, a floor standing 5108, in practice aside from the head it's the same size as a 504 or 507, so I'm echoing that last comment. I much prefer using my Durst M605 for ^x6, even though I have a full set of negative carrier inserts for formats down to 35mm for the De Vere.

When I bought my 5108, around 20 years ago, there would be around 50-60+ De Vere enlargers listed at any one time on eBay, and they were relatively cheap, they are now selling for upwards of 5 times 2004 listings.

Ian

 

[ruilourosa]

Vê no wallapop também... Meopta... É assim assim mas o magnifax é dos mais robustos...

Eu tentaria um m805 ou um m800, a Durst é top e até prefiro os modelos mais antigos...

Devere é bom mas se queres uma peça qualquer (platina da objetiva por ex.) é um filme encontrar e da Inglaterra pagas sempre a bela da taxa alfandegária...

Durst é bom

 

[hiroh]

I was excited to see that DeVere is still being sold by the company, rather than some marketplace, but I noticed that few people prefer it over Durst. I reached to Kienzle Phototechnik, and I'll see what they have to offer.

The Durst M601 is the easiest option for me to buy, because there are several ads listed here in Lisbon and a few more in Portugal. No listings for the M605.

I’m not in a rush to purchase, so I may keep looking. I’m not looking for the easiest option, but the best one for the long term.