Omega DX5500

[Andrew Moxom]

I think I may have passed up the deal of century for me.... An Omega DX5500 closed loop dichroic head enlarger.... At the local MN camera show for $300 in full working order. My main reason..... I already have a beseler 4x5 computer dichroic enlarger and a separate cold light head. However, the idea of having a key pad to change in filter settings without touching the head would be nice for split grade printing... But I could not force myself to part with the dough to get the Omega. Oh well. SO in hindsight, was this really a mistake?

 

[frotog]

No, on the contrary, it was a blessing. Omega's closed loop head was a disaster - bad circuitry, bad computer chip. You're much better off with a Chromega color head ii. Besides, analogue controls can be tweaked in infinitely small increments, digital only in whole increments. If you're really interested in closed loop hunt down an old zbe cc reader. Just my 2c after some painful experiences with this enlarger.

 

[rmann]

I agree - you were lucky to have left it at the show. My experience with a D5500 left me with the impression it was under engineered and over hyped. Not easy/impossible to align - plastic parts that were hard/impossible to fix, and magnetic negative inserts that were a real pain to use -and that is without using the closed loop feature. It is sleek looking, but I think the older design is a much better unit.