diffusion head for D-2 enlarger

[d.s.]

I have the chance to buy a Omega D-2 with variable condenser in very good shape and CHEAP!

Is there a diffusion head thats adaptable to the D-2?

Thanks, dee

[Erik Asgeirsson]

Try posting a WTB add on rec.photo.marketplace.large-format. I've had only good experiences buying and selling there.

[Gem Singer]

Hello Dee,

I suppose you could merely remove the condensers, and use the standard lamphouse along with a circular piece of heat absorbing diffusion glass. It seems to me that the enlarger would then print very slowly.

My trusty D-2 has been in service since 1956. Long ago, I replaced the condensers with an Aristo cold light. Then, when Zone VI (Calumet) introduced their variable contrast lamphouse, with the green and blue tubes, I installed one on my D-2, and have really enjoyed printing VC papers with it.

If you really want to go diffusion, look into the Aristo cold light with the V54 tube. It should work well with VC paper. As far as I know, Omega does not make a diffusion-type head. It would be a major engineering job to adapt a head from a different make enlarger to fit an Omega.

[Bill_1856]

I don't think there's a specific factorty diffusion head, there are the colorhead which is diffusion, and several cold-light heads.

[Peter Galea]

Yes there is a cold light diffusion head for the D-2. For everything you ever wanted to know about Omega enlargers go HERE.

[Gem Singer]

The cold light units (Aristo, Zone VI/Calumet, and Finearts Photo Supply) drop into the condenser housing after removing the circular glass condenser lenses and the standard tungsten-bulb enlarger head. There is no separate diffusion head made for the D-2. Omega makes a dicro head for color printing, but may not fit directly onto the D-2. If it could be made to fit, it would be bulky and expensive.

[Rolfe Tessem]

Is this a trick question? :-).

The current production Super Chromega D Dichroic II head fits the D2 just fine.

[Gem Singer]

I guess a dichroic lamphouse, like the Super Chromega D, could be classified as a diffusion-type head, since it doesn't use condensers. However, unless it is to be used for color printing, it seems like a bulky, expensive addition to an older Omega D-2V enlarger.

[Alec Jones]

I'll try this again since my first response didn't go through.

Eugene, please quit giving incorrect responses to a question you know nothing about. Yes, Omega made a cold-light head specifically for the D2, and Yes, they can still be commonly found on ebay and elsewhere. If you'll go to Harry Taylor's site, like Pete suggested, hopefully you'll learn something new. Dee did NOT limit his question to NEW heads only. We aren't saying the Omega heads were the best, but they WERE made, OK?

[Gem Singer]

Alec Jones,

There is no reason to start a flame war with me. I have been using Omega enlargers from the time I started in photo school in the fall of 1948. When I graduated school and began making a living, in 1956, my first purchase was an Omega D-2 enlarger. It was the first crank-up model the Simmon brothers produced in Long Island City, N.Y. I still have it and use it with the Zone VI VC lamphouse to this day.

I know Harry Taylor. Have delt with him and spoke with him several times by phone. He has been very helpful to me over the years.

I am very familiar with the old Omega circular flourescent cold light head. I used one when it was first introduced. It hasn't been made for many years. It wasn't a very efficient light source for many reasons. The Aristo lamp proved to be a great improvement. The light is more equally distributed over the negative with the Aristo cold light, it can be cycled on and off quicker, and reaches maximum output intensity faster, since it has a built-in heater.

The object of a cold light is to keep the heat down. During long printing sessions, the heat build-up in the Omega condenser-type enlargers caused the negatives to buckle. Cold flourescent light helped to solve the problem of heat build-up. The old Omega circular flourescent lamp needed a long warm-up period to reach maximum output, so we tended to leave them on for long periods of time. Therefore, they gave off a lot of heat. That's why I could not recommend that type of lamphouse to Dee.

Alec, I only make comments where I actually have hands on experience with the process or piece of equipment. Fifty-seven years gathering photo knowledge and experience qualifies me to give my advice. I wish I could express my thoughts more clearly on this keyboard. I'm learning. I ask for your patience and understanding.