Recommendation on first enlarger?

One last thing..the Leitz appears to have something in the lens. If I post a pic, could you tell me what it might be?

Start with RC paper. Fiber is more expensive and a huge pain to get flat. Focus on learning how to print first.

I use both but most of my everyday printing is RC. Ilford Multigrade RC is a great place to start.

If you are new to printing for goodness sake just start with Ilford multigrade RC, no warmtone just good paper. I would buy some 5x7 and 8x10 maybe 50 sheets of 5x7 and 25 sheets of 8x10. Use the rc to proof and learn how you want to print your negatives. And yes when you are ready to frame something print on fiber base. If you don't dry mount the fiber it tends to be a bit wavy.
Mike

adelorenzo said:

Start with RC paper. Fiber is more expensive and a huge pain to get flat. Focus on learning how to print first.

I use both but most of my everyday printing is RC. Ilford Multigrade RC is a great place to start.

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Yes this is excellent advice

Drewdoo said:

Very excited to venture into the world of analog printing, as I have finally begun to develop B&W 35 mm at home. I suspect I will be limited to 35 mm for some time to come and honestly, I prefer working with those cameras. I have no experience, no one to teach me and am slightly overwhelmed at the number of choices. Recommendations for a good enlarger for a beginner? Also, what are the 'best' enlargers for 35 mm? A man can always dream...

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If I were you, I 'd start looking for a small Durst enlarger up to 600 series. If you find a 600-series model,you leave yourself the option of using it for MF in the future

I have to throw in the Beseler 67C - really a solid little enlarger, the size isn't bad considering what it can do - for a temp darkroom it might be easier than a 23c, and does up to 6x7. The column is sturdy, it's fairly alignable - boards and carriers are the same as the "printmaker" series. If you go with big prints, you can brace the top of the column to the wall or ceiling. I used one for several years and it was a solid performer, and they turn up fairly often in the US.

Drewdoo said:

One last thing..the Leitz appears to have something in the lens. If I post a pic, could you tell me what it might be?

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Can I assume that you're referring to a Leitz Focotar lens? (I assume that's what came with your V35.)

I have two Leitz 40mm F/2.8 WA Focotar lenses - one came with a V35, the second I bought from a UK based dealer. Both lenses appear to have dust in them. (My other enlarging lenses, Rodagon, Componon S, Nikkor are all very clean, with no hint of dust.) I'm wondering if Leitz tried too hard to kill reflections in the lens, and that some treatment to the aperture blades has failed after a period of time. Can't think of anything else, but Leitz went to much trouble with baffles etc. above the lens mounting flange in the V35 - only visible with some difficulty.

Sorry Malcolm...my note was a little cryptic, wasn't it? Yes, I WAS referring to the 40 mm wa focotar. I am really worried it's fungus but i suppose I should at least try to figure out if it is really an issue visible in prints.

Get an enlarger larger than you think that you need. You shoot 35mm, but eventually you may go to MF or 4"x5". The costs will be the about same for a 4"x5" enlarger and any lenses you buy for 35mm will work on a larger enlarger.

Enlarger selection also depends on the space you have.

1. If you have to break down the enlarger and store it, that really limits you. Many enlargers do not breakdown and store easily.
   
   1. My Durst M-600 (6x6 format) breaks down and stores in a square box, half the size of the LONG rectangle box of my Omega C-67 (6x7 format). My nephew's Durst F-30 (35mm format) fits into an even smaller box than my M-600.
      
   2. Many used enlargers are without boxes, so you would have to make your own storage box.
   3. Some enlargers are easy to assemble, then break down and store.
      
   4. Whereas others are NOT easy to assemble and breakdown. They are meant to be setup and left up.
2. If you can leave the enlarger on a cart, to wheel out of the way, you just need an enlarger and cart that match up in size.
3. If the enlarger is permanent, then anything goes, as long as it fits.
4. If you are very space constrained, you may be backed into a small enlarger (35mm), like the Durst F-30. But with imagination, you can do a 6x6 enlarger. I use my M-600 in a "small" half bath.

I started with a Durst M-600, a 6x6 enlarger. That worked well for MANY years, as I did not go beyond 6x6. And it is easily storeable, #1.
I recently got a Durst L-1000, a 4x5 enlarger, so that I could print 4x5 negatives (any anything smaller). The L-1000 is NOT storeable, once set up it stays up, so #2 or preferably #3.

Given the low cost of used enlargers today, I would do what SG said. Get an enlarger for a format as big as you can think you may use, then to up again, maybe up to 4x5. The logic is that a 4x5 enlarger takes up only a little more space than a 6x7 enlarger, but you don't have to buy another enlarger later if you go beyond 35mm or 6x6, you already have it.