newbie - enlarger :)

[floradeborah]

Hello everybody,
I've been lurking for a bit and today I finally signed up here

I've been using the darkroom of my university during this past year, but I'm about to go back home in Italy in a couple of weeks and won't be able to print anymore

So.. I'd like to build a small darkroom in my bathroom there and I would love to have some advice about enlargers!

I've been using a DEVERE 504 in uni, and I've been loving it.
I shoot mainly 6x6 and 35mm and a bit of large format as well, but I'd like to find something cheap that would work for 35 and 6x6.

Any suggestion? I'm looking on ebay and found a Durst M601 that doesn't seems to be too expensive.

thanks!

 

[bdial]

Dursts are excellent, and should be easy to find in England, or Italy.

 

[archphoto]

Durst is a good brand and the less you have to spend for the enlarger the more you can spend on good glass, like the Rodagons.

In general: look for a sturdy enlarger that has been well designed and built.

Peter

 

[Christopher Walrath]

Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry9000/4.6.0.167 Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/102 UP.Link/6.3.0.0.0)

Keep an eye out for a Lucky series enlarger. I got a 60M from a seller on ebay a few years ago and just started printing this year. It works like a beaut. I have 35mm and 645 carriers for it and I have fabricated a glass slide-in carriers for my 67 work. I have the 50mm and 80 mm enlarging lenses to cover the formats.

That was to say that there are deals galore out there. Just keep an eye open for them.

The one thing I would suggest would be to have a way to hold your chem trays vertically (homemade rack, whatever). Saves on room without needing to spread three trays out all over the place.

Have a safe trip and good luck.

 

[Wade D]

The Lucky, Hansa and Bogen enlargers are almost identical. They are well built and will take both 6x6 and 35mm. I have the Hansa version with 50 and 75 lenses and it works very nicely. The compact size is ideal for limited space like a bathroom. I bought mine on ebay about a year ago for $25 so there are good deals to be had.

 

[Soeren]

If your darkroom is not permanent the Meopta Opemus enlargers are simple, light but robust and easy to set up and put away for storage. For B&W Id avoid the colorhead since its heavy and tend to compromise sturdiness. Durst is as mentioned before also a good choice though my AC707 is much bigger and heavier than a Opemus but offcource comparison is not fair since the one Ive got is fitted with a colorhead.
Best regards.

 

[Martin Aislabie]

In the UK there are several good Enlarger options

Durst
Meopta
Kaiser
LPL

Any one of these will be good

Look for one that has been loved - not all of them have

Enlargers are really simple devices, unless they have been dropped or abused, there is not much to go wrong with them so old(ish) should not be a problem.

Buy a decent Enlarging Lens - that’s what ultimately delivers the quality of your prints

After a DeVere all the above will seem a little flimsy and insubstantial - but will still perfectly usable devices

Good luck

Martin

 

[Marcus S]

Hello,

I have used Durst enlargers for many years. From the small F60 (35 & 6x6) to the 5x7 Laborator (from minox to 5x7) The Durst Laborator is a floor model that has a base for 24x32 prints without any problems.
The were made in Italy. If you can find a used one for a good price, you found yourself a peach!

Enjoy the wonderful foods of Italy again!

Marcus

 

[floradeborah]

thank you so much everyone Unluckily the durst enlarger I was looking at on ebay become too expensive (about 100 euro, and still have one day to go..), I'm afraid that you can find less bargain on ebay italy than ebay US or UK. But I will keep on looking and hopefully I will find one of the models you advised me to buy!! I just got a tank to develop my film, and now I'll have to buy some chemicals, I'm excited by the idea of being able to develop at home!

 

[Ian Grant]

I've had two M601's the first with condenser had extremely heavy use for about 20 years, I was rebuilding it n but it sat in a box until I threw it out last year. The other is in storage with a colour head, which I preferred. I've also got an M670 sat in the UK alongside my De Vere 5108.

Dursts are very plentiful, make sure to get a 600 series with a colour head, as they take MF as wella nd are great for variable contrast papers. Just keep looking, but ask around people throw enlargers out without trying to sell them

Ian

 

[floradeborah]

Hello everybody!
just letting you know that I finally found the enlarger it's a M600 Durst, found for 10 pound plus shipping (I wish I didn't had to pay as much for shipping to Italy though) (an italian enlarger shipped from the uk back to italy, how crazy does it sounds? )
Anyway I hope that it will do the job. if you have any experience with it let me know!
cheers