My new Kienzle C120 4x5 enlarger.

[lantau]

Three weeks ago I finally picked up my brand new Kienzle C120 4x5 enlarger, made to order. I mentioned in another thread that I had it on order and @ic-racer suggested I should start a new thread about it. Which I'm doing, now.

I started writing this quite soon after my visit to the Kienzle workshop, but it took me a while to finish it as stuff kept me from it. I wrote a bit of a story about the whole experience and how I got there. I hope it isn't silly.

Edit: I also realise, this is the first time I'm posting a new thread.

 

[lantau]

Prologue - how did I get there.

At the end of 2019 I had the crazy idea to finally get a large format camera. I've been lusting for it for quite some time. But I knew it'd be a rabit hole of expenses for a lot of new accessories.

Most of all, my LPL 7700 enlarger is limited to 6x7. The hybrid workflow is very important to me, but I do want to be able to optically print my negatives. Digital is a convenient view anywhere method, but for me wet printing is the best way to make the full quality of a negative visible.

Anyway, the Intrepid camera wetted my appetite. Why not buy this cheap camera just to dip my toes into LF. I already did so with a 4x5 pinhole and it was quite nice, although rarely used. At least I had sheet film already, even a box of Provia 100. Works surprisingly well with pinhole.

As you can imagine I ended up with a Sinar F2, lenses, accessories. Including a full Sinar compendium with aux standard, bellows and the roller shades. And of course a new Berlebach tripod, because the Manfrotto just couldn't handle it...

Much money spend and then came along Covid-19. So I could concentrate to spend more on photography, because nothing else was there to spend on. Okay, there was a short, spontaneous photo trip by train to Florence, Italy, in August.

The enlarger problem was still nagging at me. Here in Germany the market for LF enlargers has been cleaned out. Unlike most I don't believe that used stuff should be expensive just because it cost a lot new. It is old stuff and you just don't know what it is hiding. I wanted to spend below €1000 for a LPL7450 or a Durst 1200. I got close in one auction. Generally, like all film equipment, prices are going up. Some into the thousands.

Eventually it dawned on me that I may have to do the unthinkable and spend serious money on a new one. If only they still made them. I can't remember how, but eventually I found out about Kienzle. Except for their website and a Youtube video about their presence at PhotoKina there wasn't much to be found on the net. Someone posted a pricelist here on Photrio a while ago. That was helpful. And Henning may have mentioned their machines, after I initially became aware of it.

After some back and forth I finally decided to go ahead and made the call on the first December day, last year.

 

[lantau]

Act 1 - Getting an order placed.

I don't like making phone calls. Excecpt to people I know for a chat. It's tech from the previous millenium. I prefer Email. However, I thought it would be best to discuss my needs to see what I should get. When I finally got myself to make the call and probably had Mr. Kienzle on the phone he suggested to send an Email and they'd get back to me. Okay, so much about that.

I mailed them with my requirements and asked from some info and possibly a quote. I'm printing b/w and RA4. That means I want a head which can do both colour and Heiland split grade.

The Heiland module is quite important for me: My dark room is in my brothers basement boiler room. Thats a 20 Minute drive and of course I like to ask ahead about coming over. It is quite a time constraint but my only option. If I had my darkroom in house I could just do a quick print on a workday evening, whenever I felt like it. No problem with my Nova slot processor. It's always ready. But I'm limited to the weekends and holidays. The split grade controller will hopefully save me a lot of valueable time and help me to get more done, and that would make it money well spent.

For film holders I want a universal glass one for occasional printing with film borders, as well as formats other than my usual ones. For the three formats I usually use I requested glassless masks/holders.

My LPL has a universal glass film holder with adjustable mask bands. That is nice but keeping the glass pristine for each print can be tiring. Also it wasn't large enough and slightly cropped the 6x6 square, let alone allow roll film borders.

I did request to have the film holder equipped with pin registration. I'm planning to get the punch and contact frame sold by Heiland. The purchase will have to wait for quite some time, but I thought it would be a good idea to have at least the holder done to save the hassle and possibly extra cost to have it modified later.

I also wanted a neutral density dial. I couldn't make small RA4 prints on my LPL. Times were getting too short. This may not be a problem on the Kienzle because I ordered the smallest 100W model. Higher powered lamps require fan cooling, which I don't like and prices goes up steeply. Which I like even less.

I already have 50 and 80mm lenses. Used 135 and 150mm lenses on the bay didn't look promising. But Kienzle is offering lenses with their enlargers and I requested a 135mm Rodagon. From what I could see online the 150mm lenses don't offer the iluminated aperture scale and the stop down feature. These are essential for me. I'm not sure Kienzle even has the 150mm.

Communication with the office was a bit slow and the process took a while. It seems they are quite busy and I don't know if Covid is slowing them down. In any case I guess they wouldn't have been able to deliver before the end of the year, when the reduced VAT rate expired. But they offered a 3% discount (Skonto, a rebate usually offered in B2B invoices in return for immediate payment) to make up for the increase VAT rate. A very nice move by them!

I placed the order and transfered the money. Again it took a bit longer, and when I eventually asked for an update they were able to give me a date when it would be ready. I couldn't make the day I had originally planned due to work, but they told me the following Saturday would be fine, too. So appointment made.

 

[lantau]

Act 2 - Pick up.

I made the appointment for 10am. My phone tells me it's a three hour drive. The route is prone to delays. The A8 Munich-Stuttgart can be very busy and Stuttgart (Mercedes-Benz) can be an outright nightmare, even when only driving past on the Autobahn. At Stuttgart turn south and after a short while get off the Autobahn and into the hills of the northern Schwarzwald (Black Forrest). It's a beautiful area. Worth bringing a camera. But not today, I want to get that thing home, ASAP.

Unlike on the planned Monday, this Saturday morning had very light traffic and I made it in 2h30m. A bit early, but the lights were on in the workshop and the business hours on the sign listed Saturday mornings.

I rang the bell and met a very friendly Mr. Kienzle, who asked me to wait for a minute in a sitting corner of the office. Issues of Photo Klassik magazine were on the table.

We started a pleasant chat and eventually proceeded into the workshop, where my enlarger was waiting. The column was mounted on a service base, not mine. Mr. Kienzle showed me the mechanical operating elements, the break release for moving the head up and down, focusing, how to mount the lens cones, etc. We took a look into the top of the head with the lamp and filters. He told me a few things to be careful about, regarding operator and device safety. Most of them are covered by notice stickers.

The whole experience was a bit like picking up a new car from the factory: Take a tour of the production line and then get introduced to your car. I haven't done that myself but it is offered by some brands. I saw the tours when was a student and worked over the summer at the Audi plant.

In this case the tour came after the introduction to my new 'car'. We didn't tour the work shop as such but we walked around to look at some of the other products. My enlarger was the smallest I saw that day. Mr. Kienzle pointed at an 8x10 model, saying this is the small one (C-Series, like mine). It was a floor unit on rollers with a height adjustable table. Very smooth moving.

Other enlargers heads were still unpainted, just blank metal. An unusual sight. This is not a factory with an assembly line like a car factory. These devices are pretty much hand assembled from what I could see.

One of their automatic easels was on the table of the above standalone enlarger. Four blades, each fixed on each side. Unlike my Saunders V the blades don't move parallel by themselves, instead they are pretty loose moving and there is a precise mm-Scale on each side and both ends of the blade are placed at the desired distance on the scale and locked in place by tightening the knobs. A simple design, but this cannot go out of adjustment.

The easel is an automatic one because pins will drive up, against which you can place the paper. There are pins for different paper sizes. As you close the easel the pins recess and eventually the blades will hold it in place.

I mentioned that digitising film with cameras is becoming very popular. I made some suggestions what I would like to see. And when I mentioned that mechanically driving a film strip through the hold would be nice he led me to the company dark room where there should be and old filmholder with that function. Indeed there was one for 35mm film. Quite a solid piece. But a simpler, cheaper to produce one should be possible. I mentioned that there is a very expensive 3D printed product coming from SF. Perhaps they could make a competetivly priced alternative from metal. Their cost base in the Black Forrest will be a lot lower than in San Fransisco.

Then he had another older film holder in his hands for 4x5 film. It grabs the film on two sides and stretches it flat. Nice. I didn't ask if they made these or if they are third party.

They have a nice looking grain focuser. On first sight it reminded me of a sextant. I have a copied brochure for it, and I only noticed at home that the used loupe/optics looks similar to the 10x Adox loupe, which I have. And I've seen that one elsewhere. I guess it is an OEM offering. But thats a good idea. A precision crafted device with quality optics off the shelf. The mirror is covered by a protective metal flap when not in use. In my price list it is a bit more than €300, I believe. Plus tax.

I also saw their acrylic paper washers with individual chambers. And a small version for 8x10 sheet film using a siphon to periodically fill and drain the washer.

The paper washers use aeration for agitation. The air is provided by a water asperator. I didn't see it running, but I assume it is working in a manner similar to the Jobo cascade. I have the cascade to run aerated water through my film tanks. Both Jobo and Paterson tanks. Very convenient.

 

[lantau]

Act 3 - Setup

Setup was easy. There were three large pieces and various small accessories. The baseboard, the column with lift traveler and the head.

The column is attached to the base board with only one large screw. The screw, using a large washer, goes through the board from the bottom and screws into a threading in the foot of the column. There is no metal counter plate on the bottom of the board, only a metal plate on the top. The column can be placed in any orientation. I guess only straight to the front and, perhaps, straight to the rear (for floor projection) make sense.

The traveler has four small, threaded bolts which go into four small cutouts on the head. Gravity will hold it in place and the assembly is fastened with four nuts. You can switch off gravity, now.

Really simple. Though Mr. Kienzle, as well as a notice sticker, warn that you should have the traveler in the top position when mounting the head. If the autobreak were to release accidently things could go ugly. Mr. Kienzle used a screw clamp as a safety instead of working in the top position.

At my current (adjustable) table height and the concrete ceiling as it is, I cannot extend the enlarger to the top position without smashing a hole into that ceiling.

Al the rest is pretty standard. The film holder has a recess in both parts. These take either the universal glass sheets, or glassless metal masks. I chose the basic model without adjustable masking blades.

The cut out in the filmholder itself is exactly the size of a Fomapan 4x5 sheet, which I used to gauge this. With the glass inserts it should be possible to print the film borders of sheet film.

 

[lantau]

The 135mm and 80mm lenses are screwed into a lens cone for each respective size. The cone is bayonet mounted into the lens board. Very easy, on the fly. The 50mm lens goes into a 'lens board', which is recessed inside a cylindric lens cone. So the lens board is more or less flush with the lens standard of the enlarger. The cylinder around it allows me to grab and bayonet mount the assembly. An actual flat circular board simply couldn't be handled as easily.

On my LPL I had to umount the lensboard by opening the retaining screw, unscrew the lens from the board, flip the board and screw in the other lens. Then mount this assembly. That was easy enough. But now I have all three lenses mounted on their respective cone and simply grab and change with the convenient bayonet mount. The bayonet is similar to incandescent light bulbs with bayonet mount, common in the UK.

I ordered the C120 model with filters for colour printing and also a motorised split grade module, which is controlled by the Heiland splitgrade controller. There are two cables coming from the head. These are neatly zip-tied together for part of the length. One is the power cable for the 12V 100W halogen light. The other comes from the box with the stepper motor and connects to the Heiland controller via Sub-D 15 pin connector. The powersupply (old fashioned transformator) and my safe light plug into the relay switched 230V sockets coming from the controler.

Thats pretty much it.

 

[lantau]

Act 4 - A look at the assembled enlarger

I was quite happy with my LPL, which is a fine enlarger, IMO. But I bought this one new and configured for my needs. So it is really MINE!

I like the finish of this device. The paint is textured. Most components look like they were made from sheet metal bent to various shapes and welded or screwed together. Mostly pretty thick sheet metal, around 3mm I'd guess. The head should weigh around 13kg. Total weight around 35kg. I didn't weigh it myself.

The column is a simple, long box shape. Probably welded from four thick steel sheets. It is relatively slim, this is the compact economy series, after all. But very sturdy. I just don't see how it would flex. Of course the whole enlarger will move when you touch it. I think this the flex of the attachement to the base board. It is quite a bit thicker than my LPL base board, has a smooth white finish and is as wide as my Saunders VT1400 easel.

To move the head up or down you turn the spring loaded autobreak knob a small amount anticlockwise and hold it. Movement is very smooth. Gently release the knob and the break is set. I did not remember the head moving as I set the brake. But I keep forgetting to deliberately check for this when in the dark room. Unlike the screw-in type brake of my LPL. The head would rise a little, and I noticed everytime.

The focus wheels are quite large and, like the autobrake, can be grabbed with my fingertips or my whole hand. Focusing is precise enough for me. I didn't order the fine focus option and happy with that decision. I managed to handle the much smaller knob of the LPL. Sometimes I gave it a slightly powerful but well measured 'nudge' with my fingertips to get the final tiny correction for perfect focus. No such martial arts required here.

The film holder can be inserted from three sides. But when doing so from the side the open back of it will allow light to escape. I taped some black photo cardstock over it and that contained it. A small price to pay for the flexibility.

Another nice feature is the light mixing box. There is a sliding door on the side. It stops in the closed and the open position. No need to lock/unlock. Just slide it open and slide out the mixing box. The film holder has to be removed as well, though, for the box to come out.

 

[lantau]

Speaking of it. The very top of the head is the lamp house. It is wider than the part underneath and protrudes to the left. And then there is the box with the splitgrade stepper motor permanently attached on the left of the lamp house.

The lamp is mounted horizontally on the left. The light path goes through the motor driven wheel, holding the split grade filters (Y/M), and then through the colour filters (Y/M/C) and a metal aperture with IR-filter glass into a styrofoam mixing chamber. From the bottom of that chamber the mixed/diffused light will enter the top of the removable mixing box, which defines the usable negative size. The styrofoam box is not removable, only the the metal mixing box below. I ordered the optional stepless ND dial. I don't know how it works, my best guess is a slider between styrofoam box and the metal box.

The top of the lamp house is a lid that swings open. It can be locked, but I don't. The lid has holes for ventilation. Also the bottom of the protruding part, which is where the lamp is, has these ventilation holes. There is a light trap in place for these. When the lamp is on I can see subdued light inside. But nothing I'm worried about. Maybe I'll do a test when colour printing.

I find it interesting that the option of condensor mixing boxes is available for the most common formats. A condensor fed by the diffuse light of the first stage styrofoam box. I wonder what you think about that! Will it behave the same as any other condensor enlarger?

The lens standard of my model is fixed parallel. No adjustments possible. It is moving along some thick stainless steel rods inside the head assembly. I hope and assume it is quite solid and maintenance free. And you should see from the pictures that it is quite a sturdy design. Mr. Kienzle made sure it was moved safely in the top most position before I grabbed the head and loaded it into the car.

A swing option is available for the lens standard.

I like the holder for the red filter. It has that simple-elegant look and is pushed onto a stainless steel rod that protrudes down from the lens standard. The rod has a few notches into which the holder will click. But only two or so fit my lens/cone combos. But that's no problem. The holder be freely moved and there are no locking screws. Just slide and rotate it to anywhere you like and it will stay there.

 

[lantau]

Act 5 - Operation

Not much to say about the operation. The mechanical aspects will hopefully have been covered above. I've done some b/w printing with the splitgrade controller and that is really nice. As I was hopiong it is saving me time. And it is so much easier to make well dosed changes in exposure and grade to get the final image I want, quickly. It is an expensive option, but one of the very few occasions to actually buy some life time.

The funny thing is that I would have never bought this expensive option for an existing enlarger bought on ebay for little money (well not any longer, really). But once I pushed myself over the pain threshold towards a brand new enlarger, the extra spend suddendly seemed like a good idea for the reason above.

The C-Series is the compact and value line. It is heavier and a bit bulkier than the LPL7700 but it isn't taking up much more space. Probably quite comparable to an LPL 4x5 enlarger, which I only know from pictures. I have printed a few frames of 35mm, 6x6 and 4x5 each by now. It is really a convenient device and it doesn'table feel different than using a medium format enlarger. Except that this is a very nice device, new and has all the features I could want.

Also there is the warm, fuzzy feeling that I can get any support from the factory I can afford to pay for. E.g. when I was looking at 150mm lenses at the auction site I noticed that this has a different threading. Can anyone tell me if a random 4x5 enlarger auctioned there will take it? Can I buy the lens board? Kienzle has the part.

When I will, eventually, buy the punch and contact frame for pin registered mask making I will send the stuff and my film holder to Kienzle and they will adjust the film holder. I actually paid for that option, already. But they suggested to wait until I have the equipment to match.

Also to shock you I'll add in two pictures of my darkroom inside a boiler room. The room stays cool all year, even cooler in winter, but gets a bit warmer over time when I close the door. I do sweat a little in the summer. But the heated Nova allows me to have a constant developer temperature all year. In winter the solutions on the shelf, next to the outside wall, get as cold as 12°C. Great for my papers, too.

I have the shelf at the far end and the table to myself. While operating I can spread out a little, but put it all back when I finish. No running water. I carry water into the room. A bucket with an immersion pump is the reservoir feeding the wash slot of my Nova. It drains into another bucket. The 10L bucket is full after 2-3 RC prints.

When I do FB paper it is rinsed/washed for two minutes in the Nova and then no more than 15 minutes in a Patterson washer in the laundry room. I use replenished, neutral fixer and no wash aid. But we have very hard water. No sink in the laundry room, btw. Only a tap and a floor drain. The house was build in the 60s. That is why the ceiling is a little lower than in more modern buildings. One of the few things that can't be upgraded.

 

[lantau]

Well, thats the full story. Lets hope it will be useful for some. There isn't much out there about the Kienzles.

 

[Pieter12]

Is that a halogen bulb? One would think a modern enlarger would have an LED light source. Especially the EU/Germany. Here in California, you can't even get some tungsten bulbs. I had to have some shipped to someone in another state and then sent to me!

 

[Patrick Robert James]

Congrats on the new enlarger! Looks nice. I especially like the 4x5 holder showing the whole neg. The LPL 4x5 glass carrier crops and it drives me nuts!

 

[ic-racer]

Amazing!

 

[awty]

Very nice. Looks similar to my Durst 1000. The extra height would be handy.
Can you tilt the head?

 

[lantau]

Is that a halogen bulb? One would think a modern enlarger would have an LED light source. Especially the EU/Germany. Here in California, you can't even get some tungsten bulbs. I had to have some shipped to someone in another state and then sent to me!

They also offer the split grade with LED light. It's an expensive option and doesn't support colour, for now. I did mention LED sources to Mr. Kienzle and it seems this is where things are going. I also mentioned discussions on here, when at least one member had the opinion that LED aren't a good match with RA4 paper.

I can't judge that myself, but for a combined colour/split grade head the tungsten source was the way to go. I never knew that these reflectors have a dichroic coating, which will let through IR light. The light beam is considered 'cold' light.

We also have restrictions on tungsten lights in the EU. But these are mostly for lighting purposes, which means long running times.

Devices, which rely on the characteristics of the source are not usually restricted. As long as demand is high enough they'll make these. They have a 100h life time.

Congrats on the new enlarger! Looks nice. I especially like the 4x5 holder showing the whole neg. The LPL 4x5 glass carrier crops and it drives me nuts!

Keep in mind that the glass inserts will keep the film a few mm away from the cut out. This may or may not affect the rendering of the rebate. Foma sheets don't have any markings. I haven't used any of my Ilford and Adox, yet. Colour negative sheets will have it, I'm sure.

Very nice. Looks similar to my Durst 1000. The extra height would be handy.
Can you tilt the head?

No, the head doesn't tilt. I like that, it should keep it aligned. But you can buy it with a tilt option for the lens standard.

 

[AgX]

Is that a halogen bulb? One would think a modern enlarger would have an LED light source. Especially the EU/Germany. Here in California, you can't even get some tungsten bulbs. I had to have some shipped to someone in another state and then sent to me!

Classic opalized incandescent lamps for enlargers are due to regulations special-lamps and thus not banned in the EU, still to be obtained from the shelves of a manufacturer.

They also offer the split grade with LED light. It's an expensive option and doesn't support colour, for now.

Not mentioned at their website, only halogen lamps. But we already had a remark in this thread on the lack of information at their site.

 

[Tom Kershaw]

I can't judge that myself, but for a combined colour/split grade head the tungsten source was the way to go.

I'm not sure from looking at the Kienzle website what the available diffusion options are, they mention a 250W(VA) option but not the 100W?

 

[Neal]

Sweet!

 

[Tom Kershaw]

You're better off with incandescent. Enjoy!

Have you tried any of the LED enlarger light sources? I spent a while looking into it but realised I was probably best sticking to my tungsten halogen lamps for the time being.

 

[Lachlan Young]

I'm not sure from looking at the Kienzle website what the available diffusion options are, they mention a 250W(VA) option but not the 100W?

I've attached what should be reasonably up to date prices & baseline specs for the C120. Kienzle seem to have mastered how to fabricate quite modularisable enlargers at reasonable costs without large fixed investments in castings. The fanless 100w head in 4x5 is, I think, one of the strongest selling points on the C120 for those who make moderate size prints. Given the customisable column length, it throws open the idea of being able to make shorter height machine for limited spaces (if you don't print above, say, 16x20).

 

[Tom Kershaw]

I've attached what should be reasonably up to date prices & baseline specs for the C120

Thanks for those links Lachlan. I note Kienzle are using easily available non-exotic lamps for the C120, which is a good idea.

 

[Lachlan Young]

Thanks for those links Lachlan. I note Kienzle are using easily available non-exotic lamps for the C120, which is a good idea.

I agree - I think the bulb system ran 12v/ 100w, 24v/ 250w, 36v/ 340w. Though it looks like most of the 250w+ options are now using multiples of ELC bulbs (which have very long life compared to many other similar halogens) - thus 250/500/750/1000/1500w options.

 

[lantau]

Not mentioned at their website, only halogen lamps. But we already had a remark in this thread on the lack of information at their site.

True, their website doesn't seem to contain that info, yet. But it is in their price list. Also they split information between the enlarger pages and another page about their enlarger heads, which can be fitted to third party enlargers.

I'm not sure from looking at the Kienzle website what the available diffusion options are, they mention a 250W(VA) option but not the 100W?

If you find the dedicated page about their Primos heads you'll see the available wattage depending on the largest usable negative size.

I've attached what should be reasonably up to date prices & baseline specs for the C120. Kienzle seem to have mastered how to fabricate quite modularisable enlargers at reasonable costs without large fixed investments in castings. The fanless 100w head in 4x5 is, I think, one of the strongest selling points on the C120 for those who make moderate size prints. Given the customisable column length, it throws open the idea of being able to make shorter height machine for limited spaces (if you don't print above, say, 16x20).

When I talked about this not looking like a factory line but hand assembly I guess I ímplied as much. My LPLs outside is made from pretty thin metal sheet. There is maybe a chassis underneath. But these 'panels' have surely been pressed into shape by specific tooling, which gives it ridgidity. Also the LPL column has a more complex profile for ridgidity than the simple rectangular profile of the C120 column.

My enlarger looks like it has been build with more generic techniques. Classic locksmith(?) work. Cut, bend, some edges possibly welded together, and the whole thing made from such pieces. I expect any skilled metal workshop could work on these enlargers in 50 years, even at a remote place. Although I don't see much that could break. Perhaps corrode if you throw it into the harbour. The mechanism for rising the dichroic filters into the light path will be the most delicate part.

My table is set pretty high and the ceiling is quite low. The column still fits. But I can't raise the head all the way. 24cm x 30cm paper is my usual format. I also like 18cm x 24cm. I have an unopened pack of 30cm x 40cm Adox MCP. I consider this my size limit. It is also the limit of my Nova. Honestly, that is already a pretty useless size and it should work with the 100W model. Exposure times, so far, haven't been excessive. Even for 35mm film and this 4x5 box. That being said I was gifted a roll of 65cm * 3500cm Multigrade IV RC paper and a few very large trays. I wonder what I'm going to do with it.

And you are right about the modularity. My CVC (colour variable contrast) head is in the price list, but price only upon request. Perhaps not the most often asked combination but they delivered.

Thanks for those links Lachlan. I note Kienzle are using easily available non-exotic lamps for the C120, which is a good idea.

The 12V 100W lamp is the same my LPL is using. I can keep the spares.

 

[Lachlan Young]

When I talked about this not looking like a factory line but hand assembly I guess I ímplied as much. My LPLs outside is made from pretty thin metal sheet. There is maybe a chassis underneath. But these 'panels' have surely been pressed into shape by specific tooling, which gives it ridgidity. Also the LPL column has a more complex profile for ridgidity than the simple rectangular profile of the C120 column.

Having had an LPL 7700 apart to deal with replacing the lamp socket & getting the front panel lamps back into action (not a quick job - you have to essentially totally disassemble the head), the head interior is a welded sheet metal frame with die castings screwed to it - and an extrusion for the column. Much like most of the 4x5 or smaller Dursts too. I should have been clearer that the comparison was to something like De Vere, who use quite complex castings with multiple machining/ grinding steps to make them ready for assembly - and which cost considerably more.

My enlarger looks like it has been build with more generic techniques. Classic locksmith(?) work. Cut, bend, some edges possibly welded together, and the whole thing made from such pieces. I expect any skilled metal workshop could work on these enlargers in 50 years, even at a remote place. Although I don't see much that could break. Perhaps corrode if you throw it into the harbour. The mechanism for rising the dichroic filters into the light path will be the most delicate part.

It's actually a very good way of making very strong & precise metal constructions in low production quantities - you can essentially replace the need for a tooling/ casting operation with a CNC plasma cutter, a bending brake and spot/ seam welding. Interestingly, many of the later big (13x18cm+ ) Dursts seem to have opted for quite similar use of folded, welded sheet metal. Obviously, above a certain production level, castings make more economic sense - but skilled sheet metal fabrication can be just as good for the needed purposes if done well.

My table is set pretty high and the ceiling is quite low. The column still fits. But I can't raise the head all the way. 24cm x 30cm paper is my usual format. I also like 18cm x 24cm.

In many ways, those are really nice print sizes (and pretty much my preferred choice for printing my own work) - a lot of photographers would probably produce better work if they didn't regard 40x50cm or 50x60cm as a 'small' print size...

And you are right about the modularity. My CVC (colour variable contrast) head is in the price list, but price only upon request. Perhaps not the most often asked combination but they delivered.

The CVC head option does have certain attractions from a higher volume print production standpoint - and it is a very clever bit of engineering.

 

[Danner]

That's a fine looking enlarger set-up. Enjoy...