Durst Laborator 1200

[Michael Wynd]

I am renovating a disused darkroom here in Portland Australia and they have a Durst Laborator 1200 4x5 enlarger. I have just got a very good Rodenstock 150mm lens from ebay, but I cant get the lens to focus to do any print less than 20x24 inches. I have tried everything I can think of including swapping the placement of the condensors (didn't make any difference) and making sure the enlarger is level in both axes(?). Niothing I have done has made any change for the better. Can anyone suggest something that might work that I have overlooked. All I can do is contact prints at the moment.

[MartyNL]

Hi. Please, don't take offence!

First, let's tackle the obvious, do you have and have you read the instructions? Copies are available for free download on the net.


Second, you know there is one twist-lock/release handle on the right hand side in order to adjust the enlarger head height.

And 2 handles on the left;
the dangling one is for fine-focus and moves the chrome bar up/down which controls the lens stage.
And, the short twist handle which adjusts the bellows of the lens stage.

That's all for now.

[ic-racer]

Picture?

[Michael Wynd]

I won't be back in the darkroom til next Thursday so I will take some pics then. Marty, I have the instructions that came with the enlarger and I have tried all of those.

[MartyNL]

OK.
Then presuming you have the Femokit enlarger head (b&w conderser head), there will be box to house the condensers.

BEWARE! This box can be deceptively heavy IF removed. Best to remove the condensers first!

On opening the flip lid, there is usually a pictogram on the inner side revealing the correct femocon condenser combinations and orientation for each film format. Futher, Inside, should be a condenser combination.

For 4x5", these should be the Femocon 152 above and the Femocon 151 below, and in the correct orientation. I believe, the flat sides top and bottom and the curved sides facing each other internally. (My enlarger is still packed after a house move).

Let us know how you get on.

[munz6869]

I have a spare Michael, should you need... I think it's a diffusion head from memory.

Marc!

[Renato Tonelli]

Hi. Please, don't take offence!

First, let's tackle the obvious, do you have and have you read the instructions? Copies are available for free download on the net.


Second, you know there is one twist-lock/release handle on the right hand side in order to adjust the enlarger head height.

And 2 handles on the left;
the dangling one is for fine-focus and moves the chrome bar up/down which controls the lens stage.
And, the short twist handle which adjusts the bellows of the lens stage.

That's all for now.

I am pretty certain that the answer is in this post, as regards the focusing handle and knob.
(It’s the way mine works).

[Michael Wynd]

Marty, I have tried the condensers with the 152 on top and on the bottom and have had no change. The bellows seem to me to not extend far enough. They go to the bottom of the tubes but if the could extend another 2-3 centimetres (1 inch) I think I would be able to get the neg in focus.
Marc, thank you for the offer. If I can't get it to work, I will take you up on that. Let me know how much you would want for it. The Julia Street Creative Space in Portland may come to the party with some cash so I don't have to pay it all myself.

[MartyNL]

By turning both of these 2 handles, you should be getting at least 20cm of draw on the bellows.

[Michael Wynd]

Thanks Marty. The knob on the bellows works fine and moves the lens up and down, and it extends as far as in your pic, but it doesn't extend the bellows far enough to focus for and 8x10 print. The other knob is not moving anything as far as I can see. It turns but has no effect on focus. Does that mean I'd have to disassemble the whole head to see if it is connected?