Rare Meopta Opemus II (?) with filter drawer?

[evarlam]

Hello! I just acquired for very little money (36 euros including shipping) a Meopta enlarger. Initially at first glance it looks like a standard Meopta Opemus II. It has the same column, rack and pinion, belows,negative holder system (although the holder itself sadly is missing), but it has a feature that despite my efforts, I couldn't find any documentation about it: it has a filter drawer slot! Filter drawers were introduced, presumably, with Opemus III enlargers onwards, often as an add-on. Here are some pictures of the dissassembled enlarger head. I wonder if Opemus III filter drawers (I found one for about 10 euros) fit. Forgot to mention that the usual Meopta plate (model, wattage, made in Czechoslovakia etc) is absent (but there's the stamped Meopta logo). Another observation is that this part of the head (with slot) is different colour than the rest (light grey versus green). May this suggests that this part was added by some previous user and the enlarger was initially a standard Opemus II. I found no documentation about Opemus II filter tray addon. Any help would be appreciated!

 

[RalphLambrecht]

Hello! I just acquired for very little money (36 euros including shipping) a Meopta enlarger. Initially at first glance it looks like a standard Meopta Opemus II. It has the same column, rack and pinion, belows,negative holder system (although the holder itself sadly is missing), but it has a feature that despite my efforts, I couldn't find any documentation about it: it has a filter drawer slot! Filter drawers were introduced, presumably, with Opemus III enlargers onwards, often as an add-on. Here are some pictures of the dissassembled enlarger head. I wonder if Opemus III filter drawers (I found one for about 10 euros) fit. Forgot to mention that the usual Meopta plate (model, wattage, made in Czechoslovakia etc) is absent (but there's the stamped Meopta logo). Another observation is that this part of the head (with slot) is different colour than the rest (light grey versus green). May this suggests that this part was added by some previous user and the enlarger was initially a standard Opemus II. I found no documentation about Opemus II filter tray addon. Any help would be appreciated!

Use the under-the-lens filter system by Ilford. It's better than the filter drawer anyway,because it causes less shake to the setup when changing filtration.

 

[evarlam]

Yes, I consider this, but I must cover the slot to avoid light leaking, probably with gaffer tape, or something similar.

 

[revdoc]

This page says the IIa had a filter drawer:

Ollinger's Guide to Photographic Enlargers: Meopta Enlargers

A short guide to and description of Meopta enlargers.

www.jollinger.com

I can't find any information about how the IIa differs from the II.

There is also this add-on. It looks later than your Opemus,
but functionally very similar:

Meopta Meocolor 78510 Opemus Axomat Enlarger Slide Filter Drawer - Vintage Drawer | vintagefilmcamerashop.com

Discover the Meopta Meocolor 78510 Opemus Axomat Enlarger Slide Filter Drawer vintage drawer at vintagefilmcamerashop.com. Explore our curated collection of classic film cameras, lenses, and accessories for photography enthusiasts.

vintagefilmcamerashop.com

 

[evarlam]

Yes, I saw that, but oddly enough, I havent seen a single photo of an Opemus IIa with a filter drawer.

 

[evarlam]

Here's my Opemus II finally restored and operational. The only thing left is to cover the filter tray slot with duct tape, as it seems that this part is totally unobtainium! (I wonder if the filter tray or even the whole middle section of Opemus 3/4 fits....). Notice the slight color difference of the middle part with the rest of the enlarger. It seems it was an after market Meopta part, designed to upgrade the II/IIa (it has Meopta logo stamped on it and this maybe explains why the Meopta metal plate with model name etc is missing)

 

[Paul Howell]

If you were able to figure out the dimensions you might find someone to 3d print one. I think plastic would work as long as you used a 75watt bulb. And a plastic drawer might slide in and out more easily. Mine seems to be to tight and I have set of under the lens filters that work pretty well.

 

[evarlam]

Yes this might be a solution. As for the bulb, I'll use a led 4000K one. There's a thread here about testing led bulbs and the OP of that thread concluded that the best results, in combination with Ilford multigrade filters, were achieved with 4000K bulbs.