Help with Enlarger!!!!

[dsullivan]

All other things being equal, local is better -- you can see the merchandise and spot glaring problems (parts bent out of alignment, frayed wiring, etc.) that might be hidden on an eBay photo. You'll also pay no shipping on local purchases. Enlargers -- particularly bigger units -- often sell with hefty shipping prices on eBay. (Not always, though; if a seller shops around for shipping options or breaks it up across multiple boxes to avoid oversized-package fees, shipping can be reasonable.)

That said, eBay has its advantages, such as a much wider selection than you're likely to find locally, particularly if you don't live near a big city. The sellers on eBay vary greatly, ranging from resellers who, as you say, know nothing about what they're selling to the original purchasers, who might be able to tell you about every bolt and scratch on the thing. If an auction description seems suspicious or vague, you can always pass on it. Rule #1 for eBay: Something like it will come up again! For all but the very rarest items, even if you don't see another one listed right now, another one will appear in a week or a month or whatever.

I couldn't agree more!

eBay can be useful though even if you do live in/near a big city and are willing to travel, I picked up a LPL (aka Saunders in the US ) C7700MX enlarger and almost complete darkroom kit for only £70 (approx $135) because the item was collect only which also gave me a chance to scrutinise it on collection.
It also came with the bonus of some boxes of still in date VC Ilford Paper. I almost felt guilty taking it off her hands at that price

Keep your eye open for a little bit before buying.

 

[avandesande]

I would look on craigslist for a 23C, or use the location function on ebay to narrow one down to your area. I would be pretty surprised if you couldn't pick one up for less than $100.
Once you have the big part out of the way, you can buy all the goodies for it off of ebay. The 23c will go out to 6x9 with room to the edge of the housing.

It's ugly but it's popular for a reason.

 

[sohara70]

What about this one?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...MEBI:IT&viewitem=&item=250066925377&rd=1&rd=1

I can pick it up and someone mentioned they are good as well. The poster said it does 4x5 but I don't see how - I may be wrong though.

Any thoughts?

 

[percepts]

I think you need to slow down and do more research so that you understand what it is you are going to buy and why.

All condenser enlargers require a different set of condensers for the film format you are printing. Some diffusion enlargers require a different mixing box for each film format you print from. If the last link you gave is for a 4x5 enlarger, I want YOU to tell me which condenser sets it comes with. Nobody on this list can tell you because the ad doesn't say. So it's upto you to find out from the seller and until you are confident enough to ask the seller the questions that you need to ask to be sure you are going to get what you need, then you are not ready to buy.

 

[sohara70]

Makes Sense

You are probably right about slowing down. What is the best place to start learning about enlarger heads condensers etc? From what I had read and understood condenser difusion were simply different types but essentially the same in terms of use. The enlarger seems very easy to use and fairly simply put together.

Is there a good book or article that I could read that would give the ins and outs and some caveats for each type? I bought "Into your darkroom Step by Step" and that seems great but really doesn't go into much detail on types and the nitty gritty of enlargers.

Any help appreciated!

Thanks

 

[percepts]

any good book on beginners darkroom techniques should explain the differences between diffusion and condenser enlargers.

I like Tim Rudmans, "The Photographers Master printing Course" which is well suited to the beginner upto quite advanced. It is NOT a "print by numbers" book which is what I like about it. It explains all about contrast control in the print and an introduction to toning.

There are many other good books which others will recommend.

The design difference between condenser and diffusion is that a condenser uses a lens above the film to collimate the light so that light strinking the neg is in parallel beams. The result of this, due to reflection of light back up from the neg(forgotten the term used for this), is that condenser enlargers print contrastier than diffusion enlargers. As a result, you need to tailor development to suit the type of enlarger. Condensers also produces sharper prints. BUT, condensers also shows up imperfections in the film and dust on the film more than a diffusion enlarger which prints slightly softer. Still sharp, but not as sharp. Diffusion enlargers scatter the light in the mixing box so that it hits the film at many angles and produces a very small umbra around the film grains which is akin to grain masking. Or more directly, condensers show the grain in film more so if you want to minimise grain in your big prints, a diffusion enalrger may be better for you.

For portraits a diffusion is probably better. For Landscape it depends on personal taste. For big prints from small negs where sharpness is important, a condenser is probably better.

That durst Mod 70 would have been ideal for your big prints. That doesn't mean a beseler won't produce prints just as good, its just a different enlarger.
Enlargers are pretty basic kit unless they are computer controlled. But if they are not working properly, they are a real pain. Working properly means, light tight, head stays in position once focused, focus is smooth and it is well aligned. Thats about it. Oh, and the "siricon 80 condenser" for the mod 70 is still available new from durst (listed under 607) and consequently B&H ($199). A second hand head with siricon 80 in it would probaly be less but I saw that they sell for good prices secondhand.

 

[srs5694]

IMHO, percepts has a valid point, but I agree only partly. The problem is that every enlarger model is unique. Even though the principles of, say, the use of condensers is the same across all condenser enlargers, the details, such as what condensers you'll use for particular film formats, are different. Thus, in order to "slow down," you must decide what model (or which of a small set of models) you want and thoroughly research options for that/those model(s). This is a perfectly reasonable approach, of course, but the trouble is that, as a beginner, you have little with which to make an informed decision about what specific model to buy. You could read forum posts, manuals, etc., non-stop for a year and it still wouldn't give you the sort of subjective information you'd get from actually using an enlarger for just a few hours, much less over a period of months or more. The fact that you don't yet have the experience to have an opinion on issues such as a preference for condenser vs. diffusion enlargers, you're in something of a chicken-and-egg situation.

You mentioned earlier that you've used a rental darkroom in the past. That at least gives you some hands-on experience. What enlarger(s) did you use in your rental darkroom? What did you like and dislike about it/them? If you can go back to a rental darkroom and try two or three models, you might find that experience useful, particularly if the options you have in the rental darkroom represent substantially different designs, such as condenser vs. diffusion or color vs. B&W heads. You could try printing the same negative on both to see how they differ -- but be aware that you can adjust, to a point, for some differences, such as changing filtration with VC paper to adjust contrast, since diffusion and condenser models tend to produce different contrast levels. If you try such a comparison, it might be helpful to do so with the help of somebody with more experience than you've got, to help match the prints as closely as possible. Also pay attention to usability issues, sturdiness of construction, etc.

 

[sohara70]

Beseler

I used the Beseler 23cIIIXL (fairly sure) and really liked it but I have to think its out of my range since it was motorized. Since, like most men I tend to jump first and ask questions later, I am now the proud owner of an Omega D (bid before the warning post came). So I now have my egg without my chicken!

I posted the link to the auction in an earlier post. It seems to come with a lot of stuff that I will need as well as the enlarger so hopefully I did not get ripped off. I am picking up so I can inspect before I hand over the cash - the obvious I can spot.

Any thoughts on the Omega are appreciated.

 

[srs5694]

I have no experience with the model you got, so I can't comment on it specifically. I can predict that you'll probably be happy with it. Most enlargers do what they were designed to do. Many of the details and features that get discussed in threads like this are used very infrequently. As a beginner, you're not likely to even know what, if any, of these esoteric features will ultimately be important to you until you've owned an enlarger for a while. Chances are you'll either find workarounds for missing features or you'll never run into problems because you won't need features your enlarger lacks.

If you get the Omega and decide that you really need something with a different set of features, you can always sell it and buy something else instead. You can even keep all the trays and safelights and filters and whatnot that come with the enlarger, and just buy and sell "bare" enlargers. If you find this is necessary, the total cost to you is likely to be pretty low.

 

[John Koehrer]

Sohara,
You seem to have gotten a sweet deal on that outfit.
It is a D2v enlarger which means the location of the condenser in the drawer above the main condenser set can be moved to more than one position for different size negatives.
The lenses are all high quality so you don't need to look for better.
You have several neg carriers with it but I didn't spot a 4X5 amongst the llot.
I do hope you're not too surprised by the physical size of the beast because it wiil take 4X5 negs

I would suggest that you remove all of the condensers when transporting it so you you don't risk damaging them.

 

[sohara70]

The Beast

I was indeed surprised to see the size of the beast when I picked it up. I think I got a good deal. Everything seems to be in decent shape and it is a D2 with a hand crank (which seems to make it a more desirable model). It came with 3 boxes of Ilford paper (16x24 and larger) of unknown age. How long will paper last and should I refrigerate it if possible?

Another stroke of luck - two towns away there is someone who specializes in Omega enlargers. He appears to be an expert.

Thanks to all for the help and any thing else regarding this enlarger would be much appreciated.