Hi All, Following a tip-off from a friend, I went along to a local charity shop on Saturday to have a look at an Axomat 5 that was for sale. I didn't need an enlarger, but the fact that this one was described as "new" and was priced at £30 made me think that it might be worth a look. I'm normally cynical of things that purport to be "new" and are really only "new-ish", but this was brand spanking new, in its box with all the accessories wrapped in their original tissue and the odd bits and pieces still in sealed plastic bags. It was the B/W version, not the colour head type, but I couldn't resist it. I set it up at home and was pleasantly surprised. Everything fitted together well and the construction approach seems to be along the lines of the proverbial brick-built outdoor convenience. All the moving parts seem to do so very smoothly and certainly in a much better way than my ageing Durst, so I reckon it has to be worth a try. Steve
I have an old opemus 5A (up to 6x6 negs) which I got for about £50 from a dealer. It needed a bit of a clean up to get the years of dust off all the glass and a few screws tightening but it is absoloutely reliable and even I can produce a reasonable print with it- I bought a Nikkor lens but the meopta lenses are reputed to be superb value. A colour head comes up on auction sites from tiime to time, I liberated one from the college where I study when it was being thrown out, but it also works well with filters in the drawer. One nice thing if it has the continental plug on is that it plugs straight into my Baurle timer ! Have fun; Chris
