4x5 enlarger recommendation

[Captain_joe6]

Brian,

I'm averse to Beseler and Omega because the designs have generally seemed substandard to me. They might have all the spares in the world, but it wouldn't matter because you'd be repairing a Jeep instead of a BMW. In this case, if buying a Durst or a DeVere (also never seen one in person) means higher prices for better design and longer-lasting construction, then I'm up for that challenge. Durst prices are, in my estimation, fairly appropriate for the machine. My guess would be that DeVere falls into the same boat.

What I'm taking from all these posts, and someone correct me if I'm missing the point, is this: Durst will be easier to find and have parts more available when they're needed, and Devere will be harder to find initially, but will probably never need anything replaced. Interesting situation...

[Captain_joe6]

Scott,

My Beseler came with exactly the same issue, and despite my attempts, it still lit things up like mad. I don't know if the 45VXL fixed any of these issues, but I really should check out a local one that I know of to see for sure.

How about throwing a bit of a wrench into the gears, to entertain Brian's suggestion of, at least, Omegas. I will admit that I really like their negative carriers and the plethora of accessories that exist for them, so with that in mind, here's the big question: does anyone feel that it is possible to make an Omega D2/5/6 (with geared chassis lift, not the earlier spring-only lift) into a solid fixture?

My experience has been that by themselves they wobble horribly, and that locking the lens on the D5/6 changes the lens alignment. The killer has been, for the wobble, that bracing them to the wall has always seemed to irk them past the point of alignability, and the lens locking issue is just a fact of life. However, I'll claim no omnipotence or anything like it in my approach to these things, so there's probably that one trick to solving them that I just missed the memo on.

[Peter J. De Smidt]

Last time I checked, which was a few years ago, Odyssey Sales (De Vere's manufacturer) still sold De Vere parts. You could contact them to see if they still do. Otherwise KHB photographic in Toronto has quite a bit of stuff.

[Mark Sampson]

Patrick, Omega made a triangulating wall mount for the later models. When one of those is installed, and the enlarger has been aligned, you have a very rigid setup. We did that with the many Omegas we had at Kodak, and the rigidity then depended only on the strength of the building. (Which actually vibrated at a very low frequency, never enough to affect anything we did with those enlargers.)

[chassis]

I have been very happy with a Beseler 45V-XL. It is solid, precise to line, raise/lower and focus, has good parts availability, and there are (I think) three light sources available. I use this enlarger for 4x5 and smaller film formats.

[Robbie Bedell]

I agree with Mark Sampson. I have owned both Beseler and Omega 4x5 enlargers. I also used the Beseler at a commercial lab where I printed for a while. I found them fiddly and I never seemed to be able to level the negative stages to my satisfaction. But the Omega D2s are it for me. I have two. I have them spotlessly cleaned and lubricated and leveled. The are a joy to use in all formats. And any part I ever need is readily available for little cost. I have the feeling that, like a monolith at Stonehenge, they will last for the ages... Robbie

http://robbiebedell.photoshelter.com

[rdenney]

I braced my Omega D3 to the wall at the top of the column using two struts at angles to make it a truss, and there was no vibration from the enlarger. With that extra rigidity, it maintained alignment quite well.

But what do I know? I drive a Ford.

Rick "who never had a problem getting sharp prints" Denney

[jardel]

L1200 w color head. I have that and a saunders 4500VC and the L1200 is my favorite by far.

I have an L1200 too and like it a lot.

Jardel.

[Captain_joe6]

I should know quite well by now that asking an opinion question on LF.info or APUG yields about as many responses as there are users. Its been intriguing to see the varying levels of support, and the near-universal (sorry, Chassis) distaste for the Beseler enlargers.

At this point, I'm pretty much at this juncture: Durst L1200 or Omega D2/5/6 (quite obviously, now, with a wall brace). So here we transform the question: I'm very interested in the Durst Varipoint head, of which my only concern is the bulb. I've heard people saying that they're absurdly rare, but at the same time, there seem to be plenty of people out there running them. Likewise with the Omega, I'm very interested in the new LED light sources available for them, and would probably end up going for the condenser-type head. I'm not quite foolish enough to start another diffusion vs. condenser vs. point source battle, but I am willing to pose this question: is there anything about the Omega condenser system that I should be aware of? Was the glass funky in some unknown-to-me way? Would I be better seeking out the ProLab knob-driven variable condenser head, or the drawer-type variable head, or sticking with the old-style bucket condensers?

As far as the Durst Varipoint, I know that it represents its own can of worms, but I'm a bit of a sucker for that sort of challenge, and definitely romanced by the theoretical allure of the point-source system.

Opinions?

[rdenney]

I've made a bazillion prints on Omega 4x5 enlargers that used the D2-style variable condensers, and never seen a hint of uneven illumination. And that's with all formats, including lenses on the short end of the usual range.

I've also used the later dichroic colorheads, and for a while even the Omega cold-light head with the circular fluorescent bulb. Never had a problem.

I never, of course, used the lenses at a wide enough aperture to vignette.

The Omegas were pro-grade workhorses intended for production duty cycles. They were not precious in any way. Once aligned they stayed that way. I used a good Peak grain magnifier for focusing mine, and any misalignment would have shown up clearly as I moved the focuser around the easel.

Rick "who made lens cones out of PVC pipe fittings" Denney