? value of Beseler 23c, &c

[Denis R]

found one on craigslist

Vintage darkroom equipment for sale. Been gathering dust for years so I'm selling it. This is the kind of quality that low budget professionals or serious amateurs would use for color or B & W. Main piece is a Besler 23C with color head in excellent to mint condition.

Black uprights and top portion. Besler dual dicro II color head

what are they worth, anything to watch out for, and what is the Besler dual dicro II color head?

how well would it work for color separation?

 

[awldune]

Difficult to put a value on enlargers. They sold for quite a lot when they were new, but they are not very portable (not practical to ship) and there isn't a lot of demand. Additionally there is a ton of supply with small camera shops going digital or going out of business. $100-300 is probably a fair price for this one.

The Dicro head is primarily designed for color printing but works fine for B&W. You can use the color filtration with variable-contrast papers instead of traditional contrast filters. It is more complex (less reliable?) than the plain condenser head.

I would be sure it powers up properly and that the bellows are not dried out and "crunchy" sounding. Be sure to grab any accessories such as lenses, lens boards, negative carriers, easels, etc.

 

[2F/2F]

Based on local Craigslist in Los Angeles over the past five years or so, I'd say $0 to $50 for a pretty bare one with no accessories in nice condition, and $100 to $200 for one with a lens or two and negative carriers in nice condition.

Oddly enough, the same prices seem to apply to the Beseler 45 enlargers. Only perhaps $50 more than the 23s on average, and often they are priced exactly the same as the 23s.

The ones that cost more just do not sell.

The used market in Iowa may be quite different.

 

[Chan Tran]

I think about $100. I sold a set like that for $150 a few years back and I think the price was higher then. I even include the negatran for 35mm film.

 

[wildbill]

I got one without color head for free last summer, mint condition. The color head is the way to go in my opinion.