HELP: Durst Laborator 1200

[photonsoup]

I know a guy with a Durst Laborator 1200 taking up space in his garage. There are a bunch of big glass lenses in boxes(condensers?). We have no idea how to set it up properly, operate or use this beast. I've not had any luck searching online for any instructions. I thought about getting it, but I think I'll go the cowardly way and buy a scanner and print digitally. Unless someone can help me figure out how to use this. I don't even know if all the parts are there. (My enlarger experience was 35mm in Jr. High ~1972).
Thanks

[ac12]

The problem with the Durst is parts. If all or most of the parts are there, it is OK. BUT, if you are missing parts, the missing parts can be difficult and expensive to find.
I have the L1000 (older brother to the L1200) and a couple missing parts are being a pain to find.

Here is the manual for the L1200
http://www.durst-pro-usa.com/pdf/manual/L1200_manual.pdf

If you were close to me, and the price was right, I would grab that enlarger.

Does it have the condenser head or the color head?
If you get it, read the manual and take it apart to move. Some of the parts do not like to be moved assembled, as things can get damaged. Example, I would remove all the condenser lenses and pack them separate, so they don't get damaged banging into each other. That also makes it a bit lighter to carry. Take the head off the column, separate the column from the baseboard.

[ic-racer]

Post pictures of what you have if you can. It is a pretty common enlarger. If all the pieces are there it should be easy to use. If something crucial is missing it won't work.

[Renato Tonelli]

Follow the advice in Post #2 for moving it. I would add that the column should be blocked with a piece of 2x3 lumber to prevent damage to the gears.
Find out what all the pieces are and some of us here can walk you through its set-up.

[photonsoup]

Thanks to all.
I'll see if I can't get some pictures in the next few days.

If it is all there what would be a fair price (range) to offer him?

[Vick Ko]

Yep, my advice is the same as others. I got my Durst L1200 this summer, with a colour head. But it took me a month to get the power supply; fortunately the seller eventually found it. It is now working, and I love using it.

The price for enlargers are crazy, from him paying you $100 to cart it away, to you having to pay thousands for the enlarger. Figure out what he wants for it. For example, there was a free one here, a few months ago, but you had to pick it up from LA.

If you need to resell it, you could ask from $500 to $1500 and end up with a buyer anywhere in that range, if the enlarger is complete and working properly.

On ebay, there are a bunch of $1000 to $1500 L1200's that aren't selling.

Personally, I'd say $500 is more than generous, especially if you have to figure out if it is complete and working. For instance, if it is missing the negative carrier, well, one sold for $150 on ebay a day ago. And masks could easily be $100. It adds up quickly.

Oh, as for taking the head off the column, I don't think I advise that. It is attached via a very very strong spring. I do suggest to roll the enlarger head right to the top before moving it. Laying on its side, that spring will easily overcome its locks. You can take the baseboard off easily though.

[ac12]

Enlarger price is a difficult question.
I was talking to the owner of a local camera shop.
He told me that he cannot give away some of the enlargers he has. He has a Bessler 4x5 that has been sitting on the floor of the shop for about a year...with no takers.
As sad as it sounds $200 or 300 might be a fair price for that enlarger.

But as I said, if you don't have all the parts you need, the additional cost you will incur to replace the missing parts could add up fast $$$.
Example, a missing condenser might cost $100+ to replace via eBay. More parts missing, more cost to replace them.
I am in that exact situation with my Durst and Omega enlargers. Replacement parts are driving up the cost of the enlargers. I should have offered the guy half of what I paid him.

[photonsoup]

ac12
Thanks for the link to the manual. thats way better than the one I was able to find. That will help tremendously!

[Renato Tonelli]

BTW - I would stress removing the lamp housing before moving it - it seems obvious, usually after the fact.

[Woodturner-fran]

Very good enlarger, but make sure you get every single one of those bits with it. Try and make sure you get all the negative masks, lenses, lensboards, condenser lenses, bulbs, filter drawers etc etc etc.

As others have said, finding them afterwards is very tough, but if you have everything, they are great enlargers. Big and heavy too so be prepared for needing help to move it.

[photonsoup]

After moving some stuff to get to the enlarger, HA, its a L1000! So I need help with that instead. Here are some photos

89516895178951889519

Looks like I need another post for the rest of them.

Anyway, once I sorted through everything, it looks pretty easy to figure out. I don't see anything to actually put the negatives in. Am I correct in assuming the the little sliding brackets with the red handles in the head are just some sort of mask? or do the negative go in that?

There are two lenses, a Vivitar 150mm, and a Wollensak 75mm. Is that all I need for up to 16"x20"?

There are several Condensers (?). 2 Octocon 90, 2 Octocon 180-1, 3 Octocon 180-3, and 1 Octocon 130. Is this all I should need? It appears that you put two based on negative and print size in the head beneath the mirror to get the right light. Is this correct?

There is no light bulb, I believe these are difficult to find. Any suggestions?

Thanks to everyone

Bryan

[photonsoup]

Here are some more pictures

895208952189522

More questions. When looking up to the lens mounting area, there is a red knob which swings a small circle over the lens. Is there supposed to be something in or on it?

The mirror is pretty nasty, can it be replaced with regular mirror glass?

[photonsoup]

What else do I need to know?

[ac12]

I have a L1000.
Let me get my notes and I will get back to you.

[ac12]

I have a L1000.
PM me your email and I will send you the manual.

Drat....I lost everything I typed. Trying again.

In order of your questions:

I suggest going back and searching thru the other boxes at the seller house for the missing parts below.
You really do not want to have to buy them, as they will probably be EXPENSIVE.

NEGATIVE:
Yes it appears that you need a negative carrier.
See if the seller has that stuck away in another box.
Along with the negative carrier is the question of glass or glassless.
If glassless, then you need to get the appropriate glassless inserts.
The carrier and inserts will probably be expensive to replace. This why I said missing parts could be a problem.

LENSES:
I do not know the quality of the Vivitar and Wolensak lenses. Use them and see how you like them.
I would plan to replace those lenses with new lenses; EL-Nikkor, Componon-S or Rodagon.

The lenses you have appears to be mounted on home-made lens panels. That is a neat alternative to the factory panels. Durst calls a lens board a lens panel. The lens panels come in various sizes, but primarily the standard 39mm thread which is called LAPLA 39 (metal) or SIRIOPLA 39 (plastic).
TIP. Unless you have access to a machine shop and a lathe, to make custom lens panels like what you have, buy all your lenses with the standard 39mm Leica mounting thread. Then all you need is one size lens panel, the LAPLA 39 or SIRIOPLA 39. The other size panels are HARD to find and expensive. I have been looking for a LAPLA 50, for a while, VERY hard to find.

If you plan to print 35mm, you will need to use a 50mm lens on a recessed lens panel. The manual specifies a lens panel called TAUPLA. I have not been able to find anything about this lens panel. It appears that an alternate lens panel is either the metal SETOPLA or the plastic SIRIOTUB.

CONDENSERS:
I sent you a PM re condensers.

Yes you insert the specified combination of condenser lenses as shown in the table on the flip up panel.
On the right side of the table is an image with a circle and squares in the circle. That image represents the knobs on both sides of the condenser housing. You rotate BOTH knobs so they look like the image for the lens you are using. The procedure that I would use is:
- Remove the condensers
- Turn BOTH knobs (w/o any condenser lenses inside)
- Then insert the required condensers as specified in the table.

And please do NOT stack the condensers like shown in the photo. You do not want to scratch the condenser lenses. These condensers are VERY VERY hard to find. I have been unsuccessfully looking for a 180-1 condenser.

BULB:
Yes the specified Durst bulb is almost impossible to find. Well, unless you are willing to pay over $100 (even up to over $300) for a single bulb. They are out of production, so you will be competing for an ever dwindling supply of bulbs at ever increasing prices.
- If you will print max 6x9, you can use the standard PH-211 (75w) or PH-212 (150w) enlarging bulbs, which are easy to find.
- If you will print 4x5, there is an alternative, and best of all it is CHEAP. Someone else had the same problem with his BIG Durst, and evaluated alternative lenses. Short story, look for a WHITE G30 bulb in 40,60 or 100 watts (whatever wattage(s) you want/need). This is not a photo bulb, but it is the best alternative we have.

For the G30 bulb, try this place (I plan to order from them).
http://www.buylightfixtures.com/g30-globe-light-bulbs.aspx?variation=7073
They have the G30 in all 3 wattages. I plan to order all 3 wattages.

RED KNOB:
I think a below the lens red filter is mounted from that knob. I never used a below the lens red filter, and if you never used one either, you probably will not miss it.

MIRROR:
The mirror on my L1000 appears to be a standard mirror, at least it is not a front silvered mirror. So if you cannot clean it, I see no reason that you can't replace it with a standard mirror.

Other items you did not ask:
Multicontrast filters, for Ilford Multi-Contrast paper. Get the the large 6 inch x 6 inch Ilford MC filters, and cut to fit and lay on top of the top condenser.
You could use the 4-1/2 inch Kodak polycontrast filters, but I don't know how they work with Ilford MC paper.
There is an option for a filter drawer on the right side of the head, but w/o a pix of the right side of the head I can't tell if it is installed. But it is an upright drawer (vs. flat like most other enlargers), and I read people having trouble using it because of that.

If you have any more questions, just ask.

[Woodturner-fran]

For a full set of condensers: 180-1, 180-2, 160-1, 130-1 and 90. Then the lenses, plus lens boards, 50mm, 80mm, 150 should be enough. The lens boards are called lapla and can be unmarked sometimes:

89562


Grab a tauneg film holder - its a glass neg holder, will do anything up to 5x4.

89561

There may be separate film holders for various sizes. A 100W ES bulb does the job nicely - if you can get one of those big ball shaped ones, they have very good even illumination. After that, make sure the head can be cranked up and down freely and stay where its put (cranks on rhs of head), plus the neg holder also shoudl move up and down freely for focussing.

The red knobs are masks, but have a soft edge, so you still will need an easel. Its a really good piece of kit and is the exact enlarge I use. If you need any other info, let me know.


Fran

[Woodturner-fran]

Oh yeah, the other thing, I made a little holder for the contrast filter our of wire that sits on the post under the stage near the lens - so the filter sits under the lens. Works perfectly and you can get the cheaper smaller set of filters....

This is the kind of bulb I use (100w) and commonly called a golf ball bulb here:

89563

Looks like that makes 3 of us with an L1000!!!

[ac12]

Hey Woodturner.
If you have a lead on a LAPLA 50, let me know about it.
I need on for my Componon-S 150.

What wattage do you use in your L1000?
I've used 75w in my M600, and sometimes it is still too bright, exposure is too short (less than 5 sec). That is why I was looking at going down to 40w for the L1000.

[photonsoup]

The red knobs are masks, but have a soft edge, so you still will need an easel. Its a really good piece of kit and is the exact enlarge I use. If you need any other info, let me know.


Fran

Is this the easel? This comes with it, and some trays, tongs and other stuff
89581


Spreken zie deutch?
http://www.ebay.de/itm/Zubehor-otocon-otohal-otogra-otoneg-otoglas-uvm-fur-Durst-Vergroserungsgerat-/181082353943?pt=DE_Foto_Camcorder_Vergrößerungsgeräte&hash=item2a29597117#ht_5257wt_1128

[ac12]

Yup, that is an 11x14 2-blade easel.

[Woodturner-fran]

Howdy,

If I see one anywhere I'll let you know, but I haven't seen one anywhere before. I only have 1 that I swap 2 lenses in and out of, and then the 150mm lens has its own board. Could you get something made and just glue the lens in place?

I use one of those 100W golf ball bulbs. Anything >60W is near impossible to get in Europe now, so I bought 4 of these from my local hardware as a job lot. Only a few euro each (although I think they made a mistake!). I usually end up around 4 stops from wide open with that bulb?


Fran

[ac12]

Fran
I found a Lapla 50 :-)

Only 2 things left.
#1 - Finding the Otopfe negative masks for 6x6, 6x9 and 4x5, or make them from Omega D2/D5 negative carriers.

#2 - Order the bulbs. Just wondering if I should get all 3 wattages (40,60,and 100).
I found that 75w was sometime a bit too much in my M600, but I don't know how much more wattage the larger L1000 will soak up compared to the smaller M600. Maybe just the 60 and 100w bulbs.
I have not found a G30 bulb with a 150w rating, so looks like I'm maxed out at 100w.

Gary

[Woodturner-fran]

I would think you should be fine with 60 and 100W bulbs....

Good luck on the hunt for the negative masks - you can also keep an eye out for the tauneg carrier....


Fran

[ac12]

Fran
Luckily I have the TAUNEG 2 negative carrier. But I have to replace the velvet strips on the top, mine is worn out.

I was outbid for a 4x5 mask on eBay in GB.

I did some comparisons and it looks like I could cut down an Omgea D2/D5 negative carrier to replace the negative masks.
The Omega negative carriers are easier to find, just more work to cut them down to size.