polyglot
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People still do DIY builds all the time and I think you'd be totally wrong to assume that that sort of thing is on the decline - see the huge surge of interest in "maker" culture, Arduinos, 3D printing, DIY audio, etc, etc. Hell, I welded up a couple of new garden gates the other week ($200 of steel vs $600+ off the shelf!) and have spent the last couple of nights assembling a 6-channel amplifier for my 4-way active-crossover home theatre.
Sure, enlarger builds are on the wane but that's to be expected when you can pick up an as-new medium format enlarger with lens for $50; it's just not worth the labour and materials to start from zero. I still see lots of DIY LF cameras happening, but largely people will DIY things that they can buy the parts affordably whereas the finished product is otherwise too expensive. The reverse is arguably true for enlargers at this point in time!
Sure, enlarger builds are on the wane but that's to be expected when you can pick up an as-new medium format enlarger with lens for $50; it's just not worth the labour and materials to start from zero. I still see lots of DIY LF cameras happening, but largely people will DIY things that they can buy the parts affordably whereas the finished product is otherwise too expensive. The reverse is arguably true for enlargers at this point in time!