Elwood 8X10 Long Necks with side Data imprint
Are also rare, 500 Watts
I test with a big coil florescent that is now also r
Very glad I did NOT fight harder for a 35mm Movie Projector with tungsten arc lamping
Elwood 8X10 Long Necks with side Data imprint
Are also rare, 500 Watts
I test with a big coil florescent that is now also r
Very glad I did NOT fight harder for a 35mm Movie Projector with tungsten arc lamping
Tin Can
This thread is in the Darkroom section, so obviously one needs that to perform analog photography. Otherwise keep moving along; nothing to see or do here.
What are you objecting to?
Originally Posted by ic-racer
Tin Can
As long as there is a market, gear will still be produced...
But I have seen where some of the darkroom gear may look identical to the same vintage offerings, it seems there is not the QA and care when the new compared the old... One current production enlarging easel had paper slots that barely allowed paper to fit, slop in the blade adjustments, not perfectly centered etc... This would be discouraging to new or veteran users!!!
At least there are makers like Kenzel that are making good gear now (but at a price), but one should preserve good existing vintage gear well as it would be hard to find new or good used, and don't mess it up...
But there is a lot of gear floating around that has been moderately used, often for an affordable price (even now during this boom), so get what you need and use it...
Steve K
Vaughn - current asking prices for Durst L138's are way up again. Demand is increasing, since they are very easy units to convert to all kinds of light sources. Both of mine have been converted, and the old condenser housing is abandoned up on a storage loft. No need for old opal bulbs. I even sold off all the condensers. If someone has decent shop skills, many of these can be fully upgraded for sake many more decades of reliable use. All kinds of adapters have been made for them. It's easy to fit just about any kind of 4x5 colorhead on them. Same goes for the bigger L184 chassis. Even fairly pedestrian enlargers like Omega are reasonably easy to adapt for sake of replacement light sources.
And it isn't all that difficult to build a serious enlarger from scratch. I've done that too a couple of time; and one of them is especially precise.
But Gosh, my wife visited the local recycling center last week day and brought back some old books for me. One was in lovely condition and all about darkroom printing, seems like early 60's vintage, with everything involving old beehive-head enlargers like my older brother used, but of various brands. Fun to look through. Then yesterday she brought back a lovely condition old Honeywell flash calculation device different than anything I've ever seen before. A cute conversation piece. For herself, she brought back a brand new pressure cooker that was probably someone's wedding gift they never needed.
But if it is a limited market, that gear will be expensive and the choices will be slim to none. And the problem with some used and discontinued gear (less in the darkroom) is parts eventually will no longer be available, even from salvage. Mechanical bits can be made with the proper skills, equipment and budget. Take care of and enjoy what you have and can get now.
And so it goes.
Oh gosh - any serious woodworker could make their own view camera if necessary. Numerous persons have. And there's an abundance of suitable lenses out there, some of which can be economically bought just for sake of cannibalizing their shutters, which are no longer made. All kinds of machining is easier and more affordable than ever, via CNC. It's no substitute for the durability expensive die-casting, but generally good enough. Making something like color film is not realistic DIY; but one could do tricolor shooting with black and white film just like color photography was done in the first place. I'm not worried. I'm becoming an antique faster than my equipment. Things like FB printing paper and museum mounting board are getting expensive - that's more the worry. I've got enough sheet film in the freezer to last quite awhile.
Actually, B&H are selling new packs of 2 for $149 (ie $75 each), but I believe Kumar can supply them cheaper than that from Japan.
Film and large-format gear have been a declining market for over twenty years. And yet most bits of hardware can still be found, if not bought new.
Some 100-year-old cameras and lenses are still perfectly usable. Processing chemicals can easily be made at home.
It's the sensitized materials that will be the problem; *someday* the factories will close. Then we'll be in trouble... but I'll do my small bit by purchasing film and paper as long as I can. Not going to spend very much time worrying about it; "reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated", to quote Mark Twain.
Decent used 4x5 and 8x10 film holders are abundant. It's getting harder to find clean modern 5x7 ones, but they do turn up from time to time.
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