Enlarger Wanted

[bwieder]

Hello everyone, short time lurker here. I got into film photography about a year ago and absolutely love it. Makes me wish I would’ve taken that class in high school… I develop my own B&W film. Now I want to try my hand at getting and using an enlarger for prints. I have a dedicated spot in the garage for a darkroom that I will be outfitting soon. I have looked and researched an Omega B22 enlarger. I think this will get me a good enlarger to start with at a reasonable price. What does everyone think about this enlarger? Would it be a good one to learn on? Are there others you would rather use? Do you know of any place to get them besides eBay?

Thanks in advance,

Looking forward to dive into this analog journey more

 

[Sirius Glass]

I found mine on Craig's List.

Welcome to APUG Photrio!!​

 

[Bill Burk]

Beseler 23 CII would also serve well

 

[MattKing]

Welcome to Photrio.
Being large and relatively difficult to ship, used enlargers can be a challenge. A B22 is a rugged and good choice, but it is probably best to look for something close, and then ask about what you find.
I took a quick look at your local Craigslist, but see nothing there.
If you are a Facebook user, Facebook Marketplace can be a good source.
Best choice would be a used camera store, but of course those are few and far between.
In my area, there is a good selection available. In fact, I and a fair few of my friends could probably help you

 

[Rick A]

If you lived closer I could hook you up with a Beseler 23c with extras.

 

[bwieder]

Thank you all for your input,

I am not a Facebook user, but my wife is. I'll have her check it out.
I appreciate all the help I can get! Always willing to learn

Rick, Thanks for the offer!

Hopefully I can find something soon

 

[removedacct1]

Another vote for a Beseler 23C II

 

[bwieder]

Ok, I checked Facebook Marketplace and found a Visitor 66 Enlarger. Does anyone know about this one?

Says to be in excellent condition with manual and original box

 

[GregY]

Ok, I checked Facebook Marketplace and found a Visitor 66 Enlarger. Does anyone know about this one?

Says to be in excellent condition with manual and original box

"Vivitar" ??
It is a workable enlarger, i'd suggest the Beseler 23C or Omega..... more widely available lensboards, negative carriers....parts if it breaks down. I'd call any local camera clubs, camera stores and start asking around if someone has an enlarger to sell. As mentioned shipping is the least preferable method of acquiring an enlarger.

 

[bwieder]

"Vivitar" ??
It is a workable enlarger, i'd suggest the Beseler 23C or Omega..... more widely available lensboards, negative carriers....parts if it breaks down. I'd call any local camera clubs, camera stores and start asking around if someone has an enlarger to sell. As mentioned shipping is the least preferable method of acquiring an enlarger.

Yes I meant Vivitar. My apologies.
I am not seeing one of those for sale in my area. According to my searching. I could be missing something though. There is also a Beseler Printmaker 35 for sale within my budget that is 25 minutes from me. Anyone know about that enlarger? If its not worth it I'll try and stick it out for a better model to show up.

 

[GregY]

Yes I meant Vivitar. My apologies.
I am not seeing one of those for sale in my area. According to my searching. I could be missing something though. There is also a Beseler Printmaker 35 for sale within my budget that is 25 minutes from me. Anyone know about that enlarger? If its not worth it I'll try and stick it out for a better model to show up.

The Besler printmaker is still available.
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/91141-REG/Beseler_6759K_Printmaker_35_Condenser_Enlarger.html
If you print 35mm negatives it will be fine. If you might get a medium format camera some time...or if you intend to make large prints.... you may want a different enlarger. I think you can only print to 11x14 without turning the head and projecting on the floor/or drop bed.

 

[rcphoto]

I had a B22 for a little while in college, did not care for it. It did the job but never really like it. Beseler 23C enlargers seem to be some of the most produced and are excellent. Being so massively produced means parts are still readily available.

 

[Nicholas Lindan]

Another brand to consider is Durst - they made quite a few small enlargers for home use.

Often finding negative carriers and other accessories can be a stumbling point. That's a good feature of the Beseler 23 - negative carriers, lensboards and all that are very easy to find.

 

[Sirius Glass]

I like the Omega enlargers too. Keep in mind that later on you may want to go to a larger format, so do not limit yourself to 35mm or even medium format. I bought a 4"x5" enlarger long before I bought a 4"x5" camera, but it turned out to be useful to use a glass 4"x5" negative holder so that I could see the edges of a smaller format film.

 

[MattKing]

Yes I meant Vivitar. My apologies.
I am not seeing one of those for sale in my area. According to my searching. I could be missing something though. There is also a Beseler Printmaker 35 for sale within my budget that is 25 minutes from me. Anyone know about that enlarger? If its not worth it I'll try and stick it out for a better model to show up.

A lot of this depends on condition and what comes with the enlarger. A Vivitar 66 with negative carriers and good quality lenses for a variety of formats may be better for your needs than a Printmaker 35 - for you.
If you intend to stay with 35mm, the Printmaker 35 is certainly reliable and functional.
I have friends that have way too many enlargers - including one that would have been $38,000.00 when new! But for prints from 35mm, you wouldn't see a lot of difference in the results from a Printmaker 35. In fact, a Printmaker 35 would be more convenient to use (for 35mm).

 

[Paul Howell]

Shopgoodwill.com has a Durst 600 up for auction, most Goodwill stores will not ship, this store appears to be willing to ship, there is a link to estimate shipping. I've had a couple of Durst's really good enlarger.

Vintage Durst M600 Photo Enlarger W/ Stand & Accessories (Working) - shopgoodwill.com

Vintage Durst M600 Photo Enlarger W/ Stand & Accessories (Working) MAKE/MODEL: M600 SERIAL NUMBER: 15469340 HARDWARE SPECIFICATIONS: POWER CORD INCLUDED? Yes. POWER TESTED? Yes. FUNCTION TESTED? Yes. APPROXIMATE DIMENSIONS: LENGTH(in.): 21 WIDTH(in.): 15 HEIGHT(in.): 6 ACTUAL WEIGHT (lbs.): 25...

shopgoodwill.com

Here is another, looks to new old stock.

Lucky Photo Enlarger Model BS-S Fujimoto Ind. LTD Made in Japan - shopgoodwill.com

Lucky Photo Enlarger Model BS-S Fujimoto Ind. LTD Made in Japan *Please note*We accept PayPal and Stripe ( Stripe accepts all major credit cards ) Items generally ship within 5 full business (excluding weekends and holidays) days from the time payment is received.DESCRIPTION: This comes sold as...

shopgoodwill.com

 

[gone]

It's a fine enlarger. Whichever enlarger you buy, try and get a complete one. Otherwise, you will be buying a bulb from one source, a negative carrier from another source, and it can add up to a small fortune in parts and shipping.

The enlarger that Paul has a link to appears to be all there, but I'm not familiar w/ it, so I don't know that for sure. And Goodwill won't know either. A little due diligence could save you a lot of money, time and aggravation.

 

[Paul Howell]

The risk with buying from Shopgood.com is that is a no return policy. Both look to be complete, but might not have sold as it was missing parts.

 

[mshchem]

Yes I meant Vivitar. My apologies.
I am not seeing one of those for sale in my area. According to my searching. I could be missing something though. There is also a Beseler Printmaker 35 for sale within my budget that is 25 minutes from me. Anyone know about that enlarger? If its not worth it I'll try and stick it out for a better model to show up.

I used a Vivitar enlarger when I was getting started. Not much to go wrong, it was a nice enlarger. Mine had a filter drawer above the negative carrier, I printer color with it.
A MUST is that the enlarger comes with a negative carrier and a lens board. These bits are hard to find.

 

[mshchem]

Oh and there was a piece of heat absorbing glass IIRC

 

[Bill Burk]

One thing people who experiment with film photography like to do is go up in film size.

Some of the most beautiful photos on the planet were taken on 8x10 film for instance. But those weren't always enlarged.

4x5 is one of the popular large formats where you might need an enlarger.

6x9 is another fun medium format size, cameras are not very expensive and you get 8 shots a roll of 120.

If you can resist that temptation at least for the near future (you can still make contact prints if you accidentally get one of those cameras). Then the enlargers that do 6x7 are good enough.

35mm enlargers are going to limit you - I would only get them if I was going to stick with 35mm.

 

[mshchem]

Ollinger's Guide to Photographic Enlargers: Vivitar Enlargers

A short guide to and description of Vivitar enlargers.

www.jollinger.com

 

[wiltw]

I found mine on Craig's List.

Welcome to APUG Photrio!!​

Given the difficulty of packaging for shipment, and the great expense of shipment, buying 'local' is the best solution to getting an enlarger! By 'local' I mean 'within an acceptable (to the buyer) radius to go to pick up the enlarger'. And to physically inspect the enlarger you are considering buying is a key consideration!

 

[bwieder]

Thank you all so much for the replies and help.

What exactly is this lens board you are referring to? If it has a lens attached to the unit, do I still need to worry about the lens board? Do all enlargers have these? Or are they for specific units?

 

[rcphoto]

Thank you all so much for the replies and help.

What exactly is this lens board you are referring to? If it has a lens attached to the unit, do I still need to worry about the lens board? Do all enlargers have these? Or are they for specific units?

Then lens board is what your enlarging lens attaches to. All have lens boards, but not all lens boards can be removed. They are specific.