Fair price for De vere 504?

Davec101 · May 28, 2006

I am interested in buying a De-Vere 504 Dichromat IV (Bench). Does anyone know what a fair price for one of these enlargers on the second hand market is these days in either £ or $ ???

many thanks

Mark Pope · May 28, 2006

It varies. I bought mine (mine's a mark II I think) off ebay for £250. I then had to get a few odds and ends like negative carriers, which aren't cheap, even used. Then there was the courier costs (£60). Overall, I think I did quite well.
Oddessey do reconditioned deveres - no idea how much they cost - probably well into four figures.
FWIW there's a 504 (looks like same sort of vintage as mine) with varicon head plus three enlarger lenses. The buy it now price is £400.

HTH

Cheers

Peter De Smidt · May 28, 2006

Mark Pope said:
It varies. I bought mine (mine's a mark II I think) off ebay for £250. I then had to get a few odds and ends like negative carriers, which aren't cheap, even used. Then there was the courier costs (£60). Overall, I think I did quite well.
Oddessey do reconditioned deveres - no idea how much they cost - probably well into four figures.
FWIW there's a 504 (looks like same sort of vintage as mine) with varicon head plus three enlarger lenses. The buy it now price is £400.

HTH

Cheers

For a recent De Vere, say from the 1980's or newer, in very good condition and with the appropriate accessories (lens boards, carrier, and masks, both mixing chambers). I would be willing to pay $500 to $1000. Of course less would be better. You will probably have to replace the dichroic filters, especially the magenta one, if you get a color head. Manuals are still available from odessey sales. I have one of these and they are terrific enlargers.

Davec101 · May 28, 2006

Thanks Mark and Paul, Mark it sounds like you got a good deal, the one i had my eye on is around £450 , its local so no carriage costs involved. Does not come with any neg carriers which i know still can be expensive. I saw a similar one at SDS and they wanted near 4 figures and am not prepared to pay that much.

I saw that varicon head one on ebay, am concerned that it might be to big for the area i had an enlarger planned for, any idea how tall those are from bench to the top of the enlarger fully extended? Also is there anything special i should know about it being a Varicon head. Oh i liked the comment at the end of that ebay item. 'If you wish to take it apart to transport it you will have to do it your self ' Charming!! lol

cheers

Mark Pope said:
It varies. I bought mine (mine's a mark II I think) off ebay for £250. I then had to get a few odds and ends like negative carriers, which aren't cheap, even used. Then there was the courier costs (£60). Overall, I think I did quite well.
Oddessey do reconditioned deveres - no idea how much they cost - probably well into four figures.
FWIW there's a 504 (looks like same sort of vintage as mine) with varicon head plus three enlarger lenses. The buy it now price is £400.

HTH

Cheers

Mark Pope · May 28, 2006

Dave,
the maximum height of a DVB with Dichromat head fitted is 1524mm (60in).
The Varicon is 1727mm (68in).

If/when you buy one, make sure you lock the lens and negative stages before dismantling it. You will find there are two large knobs that you need to screw down to lock the stages. If you don't do this, the negative stage can fly up at an alarming rate and could cause a nasty injury. At the very least you would need to remove the light source, baseboard and handwheels for the lens and negative stages before you move one. It will still take two people to move it!

One other thing - all of the screws for assembling/disassembling the devere are imperial not metric! You'll need 1/16, 3/32, 3/16 and 7/32 AF allen keys.

I agree with Peter's sentiments they are very good peices of kit. I'm very pleased with mine now I'm getting used to it. It's certainly very different to using a Meopta Opemus 6!

Ian Grant · May 28, 2006

£450's to much for an enlarger which needs neg carriers etc.

There's normally far more available on Ebay (.co.uk), so wait until there's more and you should get yourself a bargain, with all the bits you need inc lenses, neg carriers and usually a De Vere timer as well.

Good luck

Ian

wiseowl · May 28, 2006

Dave,

I recently paid £200 (including shippping) off e-bay for a 504 with a dichromat 4 head, it came with a glass carrier and an 80mm lens. I've had to spend a few extra pounds sorting out lenses, boards and a timer.

I think the fan could probably do with being renewed also, but from the right source that's not too expensive.

Martin

Peter De Smidt · May 28, 2006

I do have a ton of extra De Vere stuff, including a pin registered negative carrier, punch, lens boards, negative masks, timers... I have both 4x5 and 8x10 enlargers, which I bought as seperate packages, and there was a lot of duplicate stuff. If you need something De Vere, PM me and I'll see if I have a spare.

antielectrons · May 29, 2006

I saw 3 or 4 go on eBay recently for £60 - £80 each!

chiller · May 29, 2006

I recently bought one for A$500 complete with timer 4 modern Rodenstock Rodagon lenses 50,80,105 and 150. All matching neg carriers.

It is sensational.

Fair price for De vere 504?

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