Seitz Roundshot enlarger, Cirkut #10 sized

[frobozz]

I believe this is the only one in existence, made by Seitz for a place in Florida (their web page mentions it here: Dead Link Removed )

Brad LaPayne in Champaign, IL bought it from them and used it a bunch. It's now been sold and will be heading to California soon.

It works by having the negative on a linear-motorized flatbed carrier 10" wide by very long, which passes under the giant light source and above the lens. The image shines down onto a slit in the platform below, under which roll paper is transported at the exact right rate to match the negative carrier motion above; I assume there is a computer in the controller box that figures all the math out to get the right ratio between the two motor speeds. There's a shutter on the slit so you can have the lights on the room on and not light-leak the roll of paper in there.

Here are a few quick pictures I took of it:

Duncan

 

[gone]

I always wondered how they would expose extra long panorama negatives to make conventional darkroom prints. Thanks for the over view.

 

[frobozz]

Keep in mind that the really big panoramic prints (Cirkut cameras) were just contacted printed throughout history. With an 8", 10" or 16" tall negative, that's plenty big. Apparently Seitz made a smaller version of this enlarger for their 220-film Roundshot cameras, to allow them to make Cirkut-sized prints from the much smaller film. Then these crazy guys in Florida paid them who knows how much money to scale it all up and allow 10" Cirkut negatives to be enlarged. Crazy!

Duncan

 

[Len Robertson]

Duncan - Thanks for posting this information on the Seitz enlarger. I remember reading about it in the IAPP newsletter back when they first made the thing (maybe the 1990s?). I wonder if it ever came close to paying for the original purchase price? But at that time I don't think anyone anticipated how quickly digital would take over the panoramic photography field.

I've really enjoyed all your recent posts and have wanted to add comments, but a combination of being a slow typist and involvement in other projects has kept me from adding anything. Please keep posting anything on Cirkuts to help keep them alive.

Len

 

[frobozz]

Len - Hey, I'm happy to document stuff because I know all too well how little there is out there on the web right now - anything that helps someone else is great, but pales in comparison to the help I've already gotten and continue to get from you all!

Someday soon I hope to actually *use* my Cirkut rather than just posting things...

Duncan

 

[europanorama]

Multiple labs had that enlarger. 50000 chf if i dont err. there is only one size of this kind of seitz-enlarger. large printsize was 50cm high. i have some. look fabulous 400 asa film used. on highgloss.

seitz made other simpler enlargers where head was moving but print was laying on a curved bed. for smaller than 50cm. enlarging such big prints took time. it was not easy making a lot of money with it. and prints were quite affordable. I have RS 65/70/220(70mm-conversion of Panoscope). I am about to revive it. just bought slitters to cut down 70mm after exposure for the lab.
Hope it will find its way to a commerical lab, longskinnypictures? still existing? I would never send my films.

 

[ic-racer]

That is fantastic, thanks for posting. I'm not sure how it works as an enlarger because it looks like the negative and paper are the same size. 10" right? I must be missing something. Is it for enlarging 35mm negatives up to 10" wide?

 

[europanorama]

120 TO 5 INCH(126MM)

takes 120 until 126mm/127mm maybe 35mm also enlarging to 50cm max. noble/noblex once showed a similar much simpler prototype by using existing parts of a kaiser-enlarger-never produced.

 

[frobozz]

That is fantastic, thanks for posting. I'm not sure how it works as an enlarger because it looks like the negative and paper are the same size. 10" right? I must be missing something. Is it for enlarging 35mm negatives up to 10" wide?

If you're talking about the enlarger I posted pictures of at the start of this thread, the negative stage (the long piece up higher, below the head) can handle any negatives up to 10" wide by maybe 6' long. The entire base is a compartment to hold roll paper, up to some pretty big width. I didn't measure it, but it's probably 48-60 inches wide. And being roll paper, it can handle the magnification of the horizontal direction of any length negative.

This is not like the regular Seitz Roundshot enlargers, that were intended for their 220-based cameras. It is a one-off very scaled-up version that fills a whole room.

Duncan

 

[mhcfires]

If it takes up the whole room, where so you storre it, much less use it?

 

[frobozz]

In a big room! Which has to be able to be made completely dark, for loading and unloading the paper. I think that's why Brad didn't use it much.

Duncan

 

[ic-racer]

The entire base is a compartment to hold roll paper, up to some pretty big width.

Ok, I see now. Thanks for the clarification

 

[europanorama]

ok so we had the official 5 inch one and this 10inch special version. Wow!
the "problem" of the 5" was it could "only copy 50ch highgloss prints. but these were fantastic. have highgloss 360 from fujicolor nh400? 400 asa 220 film.

 

[JanOve]

Roundshot enlarger 508.

I scanned my brochure of the regular Roundshot enlarger. It`s obvious that the custom 10" is a lot bigger.
Must admit though I would be more than happy with a regular one if I should ever come across such a rare thing.

 

[removed account4]

duncan and janove
thank you both for posting these things !
i love reading and seeing how learned how
to enlarge things that weren't ... a single small frame .

 

[AgX]

Think of anything 360°. Seitz made it.

(except for 10" cameras...)


Their stand always was one of the peaks at my Photokina visits.

 

[JanOve]

Imagine if someone who owns one of these would make a youtube video?
That would certainly make my day!

 

[paul_c5x4]

This might be of interest: http://www.google.co.uk/patents/US5023652

And if you want to talk to someone that has had experience in building these devices, have a look at this article: http://people.rit.edu/andpph/text-strip-enlarger.html
The author, Andrew Davidhazy, has quite a few interesting documents... http://people.rit.edu/andpph/articles.html

 

[trythis]

This must be what made my 1990 high school class photo that is between 3 and 4 feet wide. Class of 1500 or so kids with a couple showing up three times!


Sent with typotalk

 

[jamie young]

trythis- most of the school photos like you describe were done with cirkut cameras (usually #10 cirkuts) and contact printed, which was easier to deal with. that business model went on till at least 2000. I'm not sure when kodak stopped selling 10" color cirkut film, but it was after 2005. The B&W was discontinued around 2004

 

[focantee]

Does anyone know if this enlarger is still around? Or any of the round shot enlargers for that matter? Any leads to a potential purchase are greatly appreciated.