Question D5xl

Hi,

I am new to this forum as well as new to photo enlargers etc.

I have an opportunity to purchase an approx. 20 year old D5xl that seems to be in good condition other than some dirt etc. It comes with several timers which are pretty old and cosmetically whipped as well as an old Thompson safe light. The rig also comes with an 80, 105, nikkor and 135 Rodenstock Omegeron lenses.

For what its worth I shoot med and recently aquired a 4x5. Im desperate to finish the missing link which is an enlarger.

I can get it all for 600.00. ANd its local so no shipping or freight involved. My questions are several.

1. Does this seem like a fair deal based on the glut of enlarging equipment currently on market.

2. IN looking at the lenses they seem pretty dirty. As a matter of fact the 135 has an abberation on the inner lens that looks like a coating issue perhaps and the 80mm lens needs to be partially unscrewed in order to swing the 3 lens turret. Is that common??? Is this still a good deal if I had to replace the lenses ??

ANy suggestions or thoughts are greatly appreciated.

Thank you.

Deal time

I would ask for a better deal. I helped several labs sell Chromegas (Color head) D-5's a year or two ago. They wanted $600-800 per the until without the lens. They didn't go. I told them to start at $300 for the enlarger and add $ per lens (based on condition of lens) and added equipment ie timers, lensboards, neg carriers, and so forth.
These sold much better. See if you can deal.

Thanks very much for the replies.

I didnt say, but this is the normal tungsten condenser head on the unit.

Do you have any thoughts on the 80mm having to be unscrewed to swing the turret.

Its got like this flange on the back side of the lens, that protrudes deeper into the bellows area than the other lenses. The flange catches the edge of the bellows if its fully screwed in and you try to swivel the turret. Is that common?

dmr1 said:

Do you have any thoughts on the 80mm having to be unscrewed to swing the turret.

Its got like this flange on the back side of the lens, that protrudes deeper into the bellows area than the other lenses. The flange catches the edge of the bellows if its fully screwed in and you try to swivel the turret. Is that common?

Click to expand...

IIRC, you should be able to find a lens board that drops the lens down a bit and allows the turret to swing. Sorry, but it's been a long time since I've used a turret, so I can't supply details. You might ask here: http://www.classic-enlargers.com/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.pl
for better and more detailed info. And they might have what you need used.

Lee

There are beveled lens boards. You need to find a manual for the Omega. It will cross reference your lens to the board. You don't want to screw and unscrew during printing.
Contact your local used photo supplier. They may have the correct flange for you. I know mine near me had several that worked and it was cheaper then buying direct from Omega.
Something like $5 verses $25-35.

I bought a heavely used wall mount D5 XL with Super Chromega D head including some lens boards, NO LENSES, glass and glassless neg carriers (4X5) and medium format carriers, transformer and timer, some cones and lens boards, for $300 -- take it away. Included at the last minute were 4 250w bulbs.

I think you should do better than $600. The lenses at best sound suspecious.

It is a fantastic enlarger but I've had to repair the Yellow filter with automotive muffler cement to keep it from falling out.

The enlarger is 300. The lenses worthless. The set up needs something other than a flat plate for the 80.

I sell darkroom equipment at a retail store. The prices have dropped significantly over the last six months even. I also think you can do better. You should offer around 400. The lenses are great, and it’s a nice enlarger. Don't pay anything for the timers. You will probably want a digital timer to print with anyways. I owned a D5 and loved it, but I sold it after finding a zone VI VC enlarger on ebay for 800. There is a lot out there, and most people grossly overprice their own equipment. I am betting that this person is selling the D5 to make money for their new digital set up. They are a little late on that bandwagon (two years late). People need to stop thinking about what they paid for their equipment and realize that darkroom is a buyers market right now. Its great for us! But it also means that we can take our time, there is plenty out there. As a side, I do ebay for the camera store I work at, and am currently selling a Nikon D1. Now this was priced at 5580.00 when it came out a few years ago...now I expect to sell if for 500 tops. If these new digital converts think that their darkroom gear is worthless, lets see them try and sell their "new" SLR's in a couple of years. Good luck and be patient. If you don't get this one you will have an even better change down the road.
Nick

Hey thanks to everyone. Looks like they may be asking a bit much on this one. I didnt say originally but it does have a couple of digital timers a couple of electro mechanical, some filters for below the lens and a few paper safes and a couple of easels. All the side stuff is pretty well worn actually. All in all it may be a bit much. Ill at least sit on it a while and see what the photo Gods come up with in the mean time.

Thank you all again. This is a wonderful forum.

Check out: http://khbphotografix.com/omega/

They have a compatibility chart buried in this section that says what enlarger lenses work with what mount. I've found it very useful.

I paid $350 for a D5 with a 6x6 neg holder, cheap 80mm and 50mm lenses and some trays, etc. $600 seems pretty pricy.

I paid $350 CDN recently for a D5 with a colour head, power supply, voltage stabilizer a 50, 75 and 135 Rodenstock lenses, 2 lens boards, and 7 neg carriers. All the equipment looked virtually new, and all the carriers were still in their original boxes and unused except for the 4x5 carrier that had light use.
$600 seems high for equipment that has been heavily used.