5x7 Kodak enlarger info?

[Ari]

Hi all,
I have the possibility of buying a Kodak 5x7 enlarger for next to nothing. The deterrent is distance from my house, weight, and possibility of modifying it. I've been told it works.
Does anyone here know anything about this enlarger? I've attached photos of the one in question; it comes with a lens and 5x7 neg carrier.
I like printing with cold light, so is some configuration possible with this piece of history or will it just be a very large curio in my small apartment?
Thanks for any kind of information.
Ari

[Jim Noel]

Your problem is going to be finding a cold light since Aristo is apparently out of business.

[Robert A. Zeichner]

Your problem is going to be finding a cold light since Aristo is apparently out of business.

Aristo (Voltarc) was absorbed by Light Sources, Inc. (203) 799-7877. They also own LCD Lighting Inc., LightTech Lamp Technology, Kft., and Masonlite, Ltd.

[Renato Tonelli]

If Aristo still has a cold light head big enough to cover the negative carrier, a good machinist could adapt it to the enlarger. However, good machinist may cost more than you might be willing to spend.

[ic-racer]

Based on the pictures, I don't think that has a condenser. I think it is like an ELWOOD, in that it is a diffusion enlarger, so no need to worry about changing out the head.

If it has a lens and carrier you are set.

If it is like an ELWOOD, make sure the diffuser glass is not broken.

[ic-racer]

Here is the ELWOOD 5x7 manual. I suspect the lighting system in that Kodak enlarger is very similar.

http://www.cameraeccentric.com/html/info/elwood_1.html

Also, realize that compared to other 5x7 enlargers the Kodak you show and the Elwood are small! So don't worry about the size. The light already is diffuse and probably better than an Aristo anyway ( see below ). Don't worry about the drive. I was just in Canada recently to get enlarging eqipment (4 hours one-way). Better to pick it up yourself than to risk shipping.

Below are a few quotes about the lighting in the Elwood. And, I do suspect that Kodak would perform in a similar manner.

Although my Elwood still has the original factory glass in tact, I have seen successful home-made efforts using grinding paste on clear glass. The combination of tungsten lamp house and the center filter gives a diffusion that I find every bit as pleasing as any cold light that I have ever used. About 5 years ago, I installed the clunky Elwood as my primary enlarger and have never felt the need to return to cold light. The prints on VC paper respond especially well to the tungsten diffused light source and I don't think I have ever made better prints. 95% of my prints are sold to customers--so much for the latest in high tech gear!!C. W. Dean

http://photo.net/large-format-photography-forum/0037Kq

Anyway, I like the results I've gotten from my "poor man's cold light head" -- identical quality to that I get from my Aristo 5x7 (on a smaller Elwood!) Michael Hendrickson

http://photo.net/large-format-photography-forum/00G3PO

[Ari]

Thanks, all. And thanks for the manual, IC.
"Cleanliness certainly pays in photography."

I will have a closer look at it this week-end, will keep you posted.

[Ginette]

I can confirm that this enlarger look very very heavy compared to an Elwood 5x7.
I didn't try to move as I saw this exact model at a museum (Le Musée Populaire de la Photographie à Drummonville), it is called something like Kodak AutoFocus 5x7 Enlarger Model E (as I remember) and when I saw it, intrigued how this thing can be autofocus!
It is probably a diffusion enlarger like the Elwood (I have one).
If the diffusion glass are broken, I have several original Kodak Opal glass in 8x10 that will be certaintly preferable to Plexiglas as the head can be very hot. Just PM me if you need it Ari. I'm in Montreal too.

[Ari]

Update:
I hauled the beast home, and it's enormous. It stands about 5,5 feet high, and weighs well over 100 pounds. It's made of cast iron I think.
Good news? The neg carrier is almost intact, I'm just missing a piece of glass to cover the carrier, to make a proper flat neg sandwich.
Diffusion glass and heat resistant glass are intact. Light bulb works, and the supplied lens looks nice. It's an Ektanon f4.5/190, clean with a round iris.
Looks like filters are meant only to be used below-the-lens.
Overall it seems to be in excellent, almost-new condition, both physically and functionally.
I'll hopefully try it in a week or two and compare a print made from this and my cold light head.
Does anyone know what bulb the lamphouse would require? The bulb inside is large, white, and has nothing written on it.
Thanks.

[ic-racer]

Good luck with the enlarger. Seems like you got a complete kit. In terms of a bulb, something like this may-or-may-not work. But it is cheap to try.
http://www.replacementlightbulbs.com/lampph213.html