is a beseler 67 dichro any good?

destroya

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staying with a friend who is sick to help her get through a tough time. all my enlargers are back in palo alto so I've been enlarger dry for a few months. anyway...

the local pawn shop has what looks like a brand new beseler dichro 67 for $40 with 2 carriers the power supply, basically everything needed to do what looks like up to 6x7 enlargement. Ive never done color and thought this could be kinda helpful at a cheap cost to see if in fact i can do it. is this even worth the small cost? I like to shoot 6x9 in color, but could shoot 6x7, 6x6 or 645 to try it out. ive done a few searches and it seems to have vignetting issues on 6x7. fine, ill shoot smaller and still be able to see if it works.

the unit looks brand new so, is it even worth trying it out? or should I just keep looking for a dichro head for my 23c or even a 4x5 dichro enlarger. the prices have seem to gone up a lot on Craigslist lately.

thanks

john
 

John Koehrer

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For $40. with carriers, it's worth it just to stay in practice printing.
It's an ok enlarger & you can do split grade printing with it. Be better if it had lenses.
 

MattKing

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I used the condenser head version off and on for decades - bought it new in the late 1970s.
Mine was the 67C version with a single heavy girder.
I added a dichro head to it in the early 2000s and remained happy with it.
In 2009 I got an Omega D6, and my Beseler went into storage, but I'm not getting rid of it - I still hope to have a darkroom with room for two enlargers.
It is still being made - although it has gone through a few different iterations.
Is it the heavy, inclined single girder type, or the two girder type? Either is good.
The Beseler Printmaker 67 isn't as capable - thats the one with a single thin girder.
The dichro heads changed over the years. The most recent version has the power supply built in. There are a couple of different earlier models with separate power supplies where it is important to make sure you have the right supply for the head you have.
In your circumstances, I'd buy it.
 

ac12

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GO FOR IT . . . I would.

You can easily print B&W with that enlarger if you don't want to do color.
Important to get the proper lens (or LONGER) for the film format you want to print.

gud luk and N-Joy the toy.
 

btaylor

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If you're talking color then there are obviously going to be some other costs besides the enlarger and lenses (which seem to be crazy cheap these days). You're going to have to process the prints and decide what route you're going to go there. Open trays, drums or roller transport. I just got back into analog color after a
35 year hiatus and I am having a lot of fun with it (just finished some 16x20 prints this evening). Personally I can't stand the smell of the developer, so open trays are not an option to me besides the obvious temperature control issues.
 

mgb74

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Given that you're not in your "home" darkroom, I'd think the Bes 67 would be a good compromise between portability and sturdiness. The only caveat is that, if you plan to enlarge 35mm only, there might be more compact options that are still sturdy.

BTW, if that pawn shop is asking $40, they'd probably be very happy with $30. Maybe even $20.
 
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M Carter

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I printed several years with the 67c Condenser model, single column. Really a great design as far as compromises between size and quality.

I got excellent 16x20 prints with it; I made a plywood sort of box to mount the top of the column to the ceiling, and made a DIY besalign lens board. I was able to get sharp corner-to-corner prints from 6x7 negs with the Nikkor 80mm. Boards and carriers are plentiful, they're shared with the cheap printmaker 35 enlarger. I even DIY'd a glass carrier and found a way to pin-register it to the neg stage. One of my buddies took it for his 14 yr. old daughter who has caught the bug, I think she scored. It's not wildly alignable, but the besalign does the trick. A really decent design for a small and basic MF enlarger.
 

MattKing

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Here's mine, from a few years ago:
 

voceumana

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I had the Dichro version with the same girder structure as the 23C--I had no problems with it at all and liked it quite a lot. It is limited to 6x7 max,, but should not vignette if you have the right lens. For that price, go for it.
 

Mfuj

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That setup sounds great and I’m thoroughly interested in box design.

So I’m at my wits end. I’ve got a 67dichro s color head, and I can’t figure out how to eliminate the massive vignetting happening when enlarging with a 6x6 neg and the El Nikkor 80mm. Is there some kind of switch or lever inside the head that I need to switch in order to go from 35mm to 6x6? 35mm enlarging is great with the 50mm.

Please advise.

M
 

M Carter

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I've only used it with the condenser head and 6x7 was fine - maybe start a new thread in the enlarging forum, someone will know? The 80mm Nikkor is designed to cover 6x7 so there shouldn't be an issue.
 

MattKing

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Welcome to Photrio.
You probably have the 35mm mixing chamber (part #10-42748) installed. You need to use it with the 6x7 mixing chamber (part #10-42614).
 

MattKing

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Peter Schrager said:
Worst piece of crap I ever owned
Click to expand...
Had years of good service from mine.
But be sure that you don't confuse it with a Beseler Printmaker 67.

Here is mine set up in my bathroom/darkroom - it works well with a rollaway cart:

 

M Carter

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MattKing said:
Had years of good service from mine.
But be sure that you don't confuse it with a Beseler Printmaker 67.
Click to expand...

I can't imagine anyone thinking that even the single-column 67c is a "piece of crap" - it's a sturdy enlarger that's a great first-timer, and it's a good choice for people printing in kitchens or bathrooms and need to break their gear down after printing. I did many 16x20 prints with it, once I got it aligned.

Now, the Printmaker - man, that is crap, but it was my first enlarger years ago and I made plenty of great 8x10's with it. For 5x7 to 8x10, it's serviceable and not a bad "my first enlarger" - never had the 6x7 version, but I can't imagine adding all the weight to that stamped-steel cheapie.
 
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