help needed. meopta opemus iii

hi everyone, new to these forums so not sure posting in correct place, but hoping for some help. we recently moved house and in the spare room we found a meopta, opemus iii. it looks in immaculate condition, still in case and as far as we can tell all parts still in case. the key is unfortunately missing but used a bobby pin (hair grip) to gently open it. was just wondering if anyone knows if these are worth anything or where we can sell it as it is of no use to me or my partner. thanks in advance

jennied88 said:

hi everyone, new to these forums so not sure posting in correct place, but hoping for some help. we recently moved house and in the spare room we found a meopta, opemus iii. it looks in immaculate condition, still in case and as far as we can tell all parts still in case. the key is unfortunately missing but used a bobby pin (hair grip) to gently open it. was just wondering if anyone knows if these are worth anything or where we can sell it as it is of no use to me or my partner. thanks in advance

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Do an Ebay search for completed listings to get a general idea what this is worth.
My guess is not much, if anything at all. It is an older model and at least here in Europe "Ebay" is literally flooded with older Meopta gear that buyers stay away from - and rightfully so. I am not saying these enlargers are bad (I own a Meopta myself), but from a buyer's perspective the Meopta gear (with the exception maybe of the very latest and largest models, Magnifax 4/4a and Opemus 6) is not very attractive, as parts get difficult to source and other, more modern and better supported quality enlargers are abundant and cheap.

tbh i haven't the faintest idea what it may be, i know its an enlarger but pretty clueless to size function quality etc. i have tried ebay search but without the full spec its bringing nothing up whatsoever. just seems a shame to throw it away as its in such good condition. was just hoping to find someone who was interested in them or a place we could even give it too that could get some use maybe from it. do you know how i can find the spec for it so i could widen my search?

jennied88 said:

tbh i haven't the faintest idea what it may be, i know its an enlarger but pretty clueless to size function quality etc. i have tried ebay search but without the full spec its bringing nothing up whatsoever. just seems a shame to throw it away as its in such good condition. was just hoping to find someone who was interested in them or a place we could even give it too that could get some use maybe from it. do you know how i can find the spec for it so i could widen my search?

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You could try a search for Opemus *3* instead, however, a quick search for "Opemus III" shows the model has been discussed here in APUG and on photo.net serveral times. Use google.
There are also some completed and current listings on Ebay US and worlwide.
Basic spec: Condensor enlarger that will handle negatives up to 6x6 cm. Model III/3 is from the late 60s and rather outdated, it doesn't have
a filter drawer, which makes it rather impractical to use with modern photographic papers that require color filters for contrast control.

Some specs and manual (in Czech)
Dead Link Removed (scroll down)

If the set is absolutely complete with no parts missing it could be a nice gift for a beginner with very limited
funds who wants to try out wet printing. If there is anything missing from the set, even a little screw,
I wouldn't even start to bother with it, it's not worth the hassle to start searching for parts.