Need advises! Enlarger what to buy!!!!!???

wudyng · Jan 20, 2016

Hello,
Me and my friend are working on our first darkroom. What enlarger should we buy? What enlarger is the band for the buck?

Negatives: 35mm, 6x6, 6x7
budget: 1500-1800(enlarger and lense)

is this a good enlarger?
Dead Link Removed

Thank you for your help!

MattKing · Jan 20, 2016

Yes, that is a good enlarger.

But depending where you are, there may be excellent quality enlargers available for much less on the used market.

Neal · Jan 21, 2016

Dear wudyng,

Where you are counts. A good number of 4x5 enlargers on ebay are listed as local pickup only. Save a bunch and have money left over for lots of film and paper.

Neal Wydra

Newt_on_Swings · Jan 21, 2016

Buy used, but from a home printer, or from a professional, avoid schools all their stuff is usually well beat up. With that type of budget you can get some really nice stuff. Prices second hand are very low, though I do see an up spike in interest as well as eBay prices going up for certain machines. Buy for the format you want, no reason to get too big if you never intend to use larger negatives. It will just take up space, and things will cost more like lens boards and neg carriers. Also budget for those accessories or think ahead about the availability of them on the used market, some things are very hard to find, and when they do pop up get very expensive to buy. Shoot for around +-15% of the new price for used is a safe bet.

For 6x7 Saunders/LPL made some rock solid machines.

wy2l · Jan 21, 2016

If there's even the slightest possibility that 4x5 (large format) will interest you in the future, consider a 4x5 enlarger.

Ian Grant · Jan 21, 2016

Rather than spend all that on a new enlarger take the advice given above get a good second-hand enlarger and spend more on film and paper

If you were to subscribe to APUG you could place a WTB advert. People here are very helpful and you'd probably get all you need locally.

Ian

mdarnton · Jan 21, 2016

Beseler 23CII or Omega D2V are two standard enlargers that are available cheaply used. Because they were the workhorses of professional and school darkrooms there are a lot of them around, and parts---negative carriers, etc--are very easy to find. There are plenty of good other brands, but finding the carriers or lens boards, or missing parts, or parts you break, will be much more difficult. Don't buy a new enlarger--it will be much more expensive, and there's no advantage.

Rick A · Jan 21, 2016

wudyng said:
Hello,
Me and my friend are working on our first darkroom. What enlarger should we buy? What enlarger is the band for the buck?

Negatives: 35mm, 6x6, 6x7
budget: 1500-1800(enlarger and lense)

is this a good enlarger?
Dead Link Removed

Thank you for your help!

To answer your question, yes that's a good enlarger. However, I feel you would soon outgrow it, and this would be a better choice: Dead Link Removed
That being said, if you watch the local sales ads you could find one fairly cheap. Also, as others have posted, better to find a good used 4x5 enlarger, and be able to print a greater variety of negative sizes.

Sirius Glass · Jan 21, 2016

Neal said:
Dear wudyng,

Where you are counts. A good number of 4x5 enlargers on ebay are listed as local pickup only. Save a bunch and have money left over for lots of film and paper.

Neal Wydra

wy2l said:
If there's even the slightest possibility that 4x5 (large format) will interest you in the future, consider a 4x5 enlarger.

I strongly agree about getting a 4"x5" enlarger. Check local markets such as Craig's List to avoid paying for shipping and also to minimize parts getting out of alignment. Also by buying locally, you can learn a lot from the seller, I certainly did. I learned things that I would have spent a lot of time the hard way. Face to face purchases is the best.

wudyng · Jan 21, 2016

Thank you very much! I am researching for used enlarger now!

wudyng · Jan 21, 2016

Thank you for your advise! I live in Bloominton IN. The only thing I found is a beseler 23c ii.
Is it a good enlarger?

MattKing · Jan 21, 2016

wudyng said:
Thank you for your advise! I live in Bloominton IN. The only thing I found is a beseler 23c ii.
Is it a good enlarger?

Yes, as long as it is in good condition.

And they are quite durable, so they are often in decent condition.

fotch · Jan 21, 2016

I recommend a used Beseler 45 M.... even if you never plan to use 4x5. Its solid, nice to have motorized adjustment, and a pleasure to use.

Jeff L · Jan 21, 2016

wudyng- IMO the Beseler 23CII is a very good enlarger. I see one on a local kijiji site asking $125 CDN. (Just an indicator of possible pricing)

CropDusterMan · Jan 21, 2016

Buy a Beseler 45 MCRX and a couple lenses and yer good to go.

ChuckP · Jan 22, 2016

Try to find a used one that has some lenses, boards and negative carriers. That will save you some time. And probably some money over buying those items separately. A lot of times people sell off these easy to ship pieces and you are left with a stripped enlarger.

aoresteen · Jan 22, 2016

I am biased. Buy a Beseler 23C. Get the Variable Contrast head. See my page on the 23C at:

http://oresteen.com/bess23c.htm

http://oresteen.com/Bess23C_conv parts.htm

I have two 23C enlargers in my darkroom and a spare one in my storage unit. They are robust, easy to find, have a larger number of negative carriers and are inexpensive.

Buy the BEST enlarging lens that you can find. That means Schneider Componon-S lenses.

I do not agree with the 4x5 enlarger recommendation. I would skip the 4x5 and get a 5x7 enlarger and pair it with a Beseler 23C. A 5x7 will do 4x5 with more even coverage but will also do 6x17. That's why when Zone VI/Fred Picker designed his 4x5 enlarger he made it a 5x7. If you come across a Zone VI 5x7 enlarger buy it. Yes, I have a Beseler 5x7 motorized enlarger in my darkroom. The downside of getting a 5x7 enlarger is that they are rare & hard to find.

When setting up your darkroom, design it for 2 enlargers from the get-go. When the 2nd enlarger comes around it's very easy to set it up without having to move the 1st enlarger.

If you do decide to get a 4x5 get a Beseler. See my page on Beseler 4x5 carriers:

http://oresteen.com/bes 45 carriers.htm

I am biased toward Beseler enlargers as I've used them since 1972.

Newt_on_Swings · Jan 22, 2016

aoresteen said:
Buy the BEST enlarging lens that you can find. That means Schneider Componon-s

Haha I think you just opened up a can of worms. I think it's a safe bet to get any modern enlarging lens by Schneider, rodenstock, Nikon, or Fuji. I think if you want top of the line apo lenses are it, followed closely by wide angle types.

I would love a free standing 5x7 or 8x10 machine, I've seen one or two go by on Craigslist. If only I had more desiccated room and higher ceilings. And a huge truck and team of guys to haul it haha. Those beasts are so rock solid.

John Koehrer · Jan 22, 2016

Personally. I'd go with the 23C. It would really depend on price & what's with it. In The Chicago area, easily less than $200 ready to go including decent lenses, lens boards and 2-3 carriers.

You've got quite a budget available so can afford to go with first class options. In Bloomington(270mi from Chicago) you may want to check Indianapolis CL. If you find anything it's probably worth the drive. Shipping most of the things mentioned has two considerations.
Shipping costs and finding someone willing to pack & ship any enlarger especially if they don't have the original boxes.

Keep in mind that you're going to need a lens for each format you want to print. 35mm=50mm lens,
6x6 & 67=90mm. you can use an 80 for 6X6 but the 90 will cover both sizes.

fotch · Jan 23, 2016

aoresteen;1953839098............... I would skip the 4x5 and get a 5x7 enlarger ........................ The downside of getting a 5x7 enlarger is that they are rare & hard to find.............[/QUOTE said:
And bigger, harder to find accessories, and not a popular format. Then again, hey, 8x10

Need advises! Enlarger what to buy!!!!!???

wudyng

MattKing

Moderator

Neal

Newt_on_Swings

wy2l

Ian Grant

mdarnton

Rick A

Sirius Glass

wudyng

wudyng

MattKing

Moderator

fotch

Jeff L

CropDusterMan

ChuckP

aoresteen

Newt_on_Swings

John Koehrer

fotch

Need advises! Enlarger what to buy!!!!!???

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