Need help finding a 4x5 enlarger

[brian steinberger]

I'm starting a darkroom in my basement and have aquired quite a bit of used stuff, but the most expensive piece of equipment is the enlarger. I plan on doing only black and white 4x5 and some medium format work with it. Where would be a good place to start looking for a used enlarger? shipping costs are outrageous on ebay. And also, do I want a dichro head? Condenser? Cold Head? Any help is greatly appreciated! Thanks!

Brian

[Scott Rosenberg]

brian... if you're worried about shipping costs, we need to know where you're located.

[Calamity Jane]

You could always BUILD one ;-) There were some real bargains on e-bay when I was looking but the shipping costs were close to $400, so I built one. It may not be pretty and/or fancy but it works fine and cost me less than $350, including the colour head and the negative carrier.


http://www.geocities.com/diannebest/Enlarger/Enlarger.html (http://www.geocities.com/diannebest/Enlarger/Enlarger.html)

[MIke Sherck]

With the wholesale shift of commercial photography to digital, finding an enlarger these days is often a case of asking around. Have you contacted local photo studios (especially commercial photographers,) to see if they have anything they'd like to get rid of? It's a buyer's market for darkroom equipment these days -- my beseler 4x5 cost me the princely sum of $4.50 (or was it $7.50? Can't recall.) at auction when the local high school moved their photography program to digital. I also attended the auction of a local commercial photography studio where half a dozen Beseler and Omega large format enlargers went unsold as no one was interested in bidding for them (this was about a year and a half ago.)

Also regarding E-bay, keep watching the sales. Sooner or later one may turn up which is close enough to your location that you can just drive over and pick it up. That'll save the shipping money!

Mike

[Gem Singer]

Hi Brian,

I suggest that you take a look at the selection of previously owned large format enlargers on the Midwest Photo Exchange website (www.mpex.com). There are several nice Omegas and Beselers listed at very reasonable prices. You will also need a lens in the 75-80 focal length for medium format and a lens in the 135-150 focal length for large format, as well as negative carriers, lensboards, etc. You can call, or e-mail Jim (jim@mpex.com). Tell him what you are looking for and how much you are willing to spend. Don't forget to mention that you were refered by this forum. He has the capability for shipping enlargers anywhere in the world.

[brian steinberger]

i'm located in south central PA. If anyone knows anyone that has one close, let me know!

[Dave Moeller]

Brian-

Post your question on www.apug.org...there was a guy who had a whole bunch of Omega D2's in a warehouse...not sure how much he was asking by they were in Philadelphia which probably isn't an unreasonable drive for you.

Good luck.

[Gem Singer]

Brian,

How much closer to Midwest Photo Exchange do you want to be? They are located in Columbus, Ohio. Practically next door to you.

[David Richhart]

If you do decide to try Midwest Photo in Columbus, Ohio, phone them first. They have a fast turnover in equipment and you will want to know that they have what you need in stock.

If you make the trip, you should also go to Columbus Camera. They are located in an old church about 1 mile from Midwest Photo. Columbus Camera usually has some used large format equipment, and they always have a large assortment of used lighting and darkroom equipment in stock... you are more likely to find several 4x5 enlargers here but it is like playing bingo, you either hit or you don't...

It would be well worth your time to get a few friends together and make the journey... It's nice to see all the cameras you read about displayed in one store. Take plenty of money and a large van...

[paulr]

I bought my 4x5 enlarger from midwest photo exchange about 12 years ago. Granted, my feedback is probably past its expiration date, but I couldn't have been happier either with the enlarger or the service. The shipping costs must have been reasonable because i was poor as dirt at the time.

I got besseler 4x5mx enlarger, which is fabulous piece of hardware, with some limitations. It requires some kind of modification (adjustable lensboards) in order to be aligned properly. I also had a machine shop modify the glass carrier to eliminate vinetting and reflections. But the basic structure is excellent. It will last forever and give you very little trouble. I was skeptical of the motorized carriage at first, but now I realize how smart it is--it saves the enlarger from the constant stress of having a handle cranked on all the time.

Light sources are an interesting question. I got a zone vi cold light, which i use with their compensating metronome. i love printing with the metronome, but the cold light is a horrifically uneven light source. I modified mine with a compensating mask made from lith film. Even so, I feel that I do more edge burning than makes sense. A regular cold light is also a terrible choice if you use vc papers or if you ever print 35mm.

This being said, I've found my cold light to be completely reliable and consistent (with the compensating metronome) for 4x5, graded paper use. I'm curious to know what kinds of sources other people use, especially when they need more versatility than i do.

One more note: stay away from Omega enlargers at all cost. They are the worst. There is no way to keep them aligned for more than a minute. Somehow Omega fast talked their way into a lot of institutional darkrooms (like my college darkroom) and pro darkrooms (like the one where i used to work), and have left a trail of furious engineers, darkroom managers, and maintenance people in their wake. I have not heard a single good thing about them, nore have I had a single good experience. On the other hand, Besseler, Saunders, and Durst all seem to make good products.

[d.s.]

Brian,
Keep watching Ebay, Theres a guy there from the north west that fixes up omega enlargers and resells them. I contacted him after missing an aution and he put together a D-2XL for me that looks and operates as new. With neg holders and shipping to coastal N.C. $400.00 I think I paid. Complete with reassembly and alignment instructions. I disagree with paulr re/ Omega enlargers. My D2 is alignable and has been moved and is still in alighment.

dee

[Gem Singer]

Paulr,

I don't know which engineers, darkroom managers, or maintainance people you have been talking to. Nor do I know what model Omega enlarger you are referring to. However, If you're refering to the Omega D-2, I, personally, know several people who will strongly disagree with your assessment.

I learned to print on an early Omega 4X5 enlarger in school in 1950. After graduation in 1956 , I purchased my own second- hand Omega D-2 enlarger. I have transported it back and forth across the country several times in the trunk of my car, in U-Haul trailers, and in commercial moving vans. My D-2 has been installed in at least ten different darkrooms. After 10-15 minutes checking and adjusting the alignment, the enlarger works like new. The bellows has been replaced. The condenser lamphouse has been replaced with a ZoneVI VC cold light. My enlarger is permanently mounted on a metal stand. I could have replaced it with a Beseler, Saunders, or Durst any time I wanted. But I didn't, and I'm glad I didn't.

[Louie Powell]

Brian -

I am also an Omega fan - in my case, a DII which is damn near older than I am. The only negative thing I would say about Omega is that the they tend to be a bit wobbly. I have solved that problem in my darkroom by permanently mounting the enlarger to the enlarging station counter, and then adding a brace from the top of the column to the wall behind the enlarger.

That said, the major enlarger brands (Omega, Besselar, Saunders, Durst) are all very good - I will admit that Durst is probably the best, but then I don't care to mortgage my home to buy the enlarger.

Considering your location, you might try contacting Andy Schmitt, the Photography Director at Peters Valley Craft Center in North Western New Jersey (in the Delaware Water Gap Recreational Area). Andy has quite a collection of enlargers and is constantly upgrading (he wants to make the Peters Valley darkroom exclusively Omega for the sake of interchangeability of parts) and may be able to work out a deal for you.

[tim o'brien]

"One more note: stay away from Omega enlargers at all cost. They are the worst. There is no way to keep them aligned for more than a minute. Somehow Omega fast talked their way into a lot of institutional darkrooms (like my college darkroom) and pro darkrooms (like the one where i used to work), and have left a trail of furious engineers, darkroom managers, and maintenance people in their wake. I have not heard a single good thing about them, nore have I had a single good experience. "

I hate it when I have to throw away my enlargers, just because I didn't know. And rip up all the inferior prints I have made with my B66 and DII enlargers. I have just noticed that sometimes the forground isn't in focus, and sometimes the background isn't in focus. Sometimes nothing is in focus but just the eyes. It must be the enlarger. What's a fotographer to do?

tim biting his tongue in san jose

[paulr]

My college had about a dozen Omegas (I believe DIIs, but I can check). The biggest problem was that it was impossible to keep them aligned, because alignment was dependent on several small screws holding the film stage in place. Every time you closed the enlarger on the neg holder, the entire weight of the head (in our case, enormous dichroic heads) would drop onto the neg stage, progressively hammering them out of alignment. The other problem included the build quality of sheet metal rack/plastic pinion that raise and lower the head. They're very cheaply made, and require considerable cranking force. Every time you raise the head you basically thrash the enlarger by cranking so hard on the thing.

Our darkroom technician at the school got fed up with trying to maintain the enlargers, and made an appointment with the college machinist to look at them. The machinist howled with laughter when he saw the enlargers and found out what they cost. He went through the entire structure, piece by piece, pointing out how it would be essentially impossible to produce a part for the same function any more cheaply. He just couldn't get over it.

A few years later I worked at a big commercial lab that had a full time maintenance person. The lab had mostly Omega 4x5 enlargers, but also a couple of besselers, and a gorgeous HK 8x10 horizontal enlarger. The maintenance guy had to take care of all of these, and also a room full of Hope and Hostert processors. Next to the horrible quality of the hope processors (which I now understand to be near-legendary) what he bitched about the most was the Omega enlargers. He spent half his time answering complaints from the print makers that the enlargers wouldn't stay aligned.

This guy was an engineer, and had a machine shop on premises, and he tried just about everything to shore up the enlargers. Unfortunately, the major problems are so intrinsic to the design of the things that there wasn't much he could do (yes, they were all bolted to the walls with giant steel trusses). I know it's not just a case of an innept repair guy, because the besseler and hk enlargers and the hostert processors all worked without issues.

Personally, I never thought anything was wrong with Omega (it's what i learned on) until I tried something else. Both of the beseler enlargers i've used since then, and the durst, have made the problems very clear. These others are flat out better designed and better made than omega. I've heard equally good things about saunders, but haven't used one.

[Merg Ross]

paulr

I find your dislike of Omega enlargers rather curious. I have been using a D II for forty five years, much of that time as a professional photographer, and have never had the problems you outline. In fact, I have just today concluded a printing session with prints as sharp as those made many years ago. Keeping the negative stage in alignment has never been a problem. Possibly the problem to which you refer was caused by placing an "enormous dichroic head" on an enlarger not designed for such a head; the D II certainly was not, as it preceeded such heads by many years.

Perhaps engineers, darkroom managers and maintenance people were left in the wake, but I can assure you that prints by many fine photographers have been made using Omega enlargers. It does, however, take an understanding of the equipment employed.

[tribby]

i currently use a pre-war d2 slider with rather heavy condensors. no problems with mine either. alternately, i was forced to do color enlargements on a mxt with adjus-table, hope tabletop at a thankless job many moons ago. i was spoiled in the previous lab i reckon... d3 auto with kreonite sock monster. i cursed that kreonite/d3 unfairly.

the quaker oats box(diffuser) on the mxt color shifted by the second... not to mention having to navigate that morass of hastily-re-engineered gussets and straps around the backside.

i'll take my omega any day,

me

[Jim Rhoades]

Not to beat up on anyone, but I have to jump on the Omega bandwagon too. Mine is a very old D-II. About the hard cranking I don't understand because with mine you loosen the lock down on the right side and the springs pull it up. In fact there is no crank at all. To lower, loosen the lock knob and gentley pull down. The large knob on the right is to focus. If that is stiff a drop of oil every two years on the brass rods should smooth things out.

I learned on an Omega D-II in the '60's and have used any number of enlargers in gang darkrooms in workshops since. The fact is collage kids are slobs that could not give a rats butt about how they use someone else's equipment. "Considerable cranking force" That says it all.

BTW there is a large number of very well know artists who use Omegas.

[paulr]

"BTW there is a large number of very well know artists who use Omegas."

You can make great prints with any enlarger ... the question is what do you have to go through in order to do it.

I'm encouraged that people here have had good experience with Omegas, actually, because my own experience (and the experience of the labs where I worked) was leading me down the road of some outrageous conspiracy theories.

It is true that these issues will make much less diference for an enlarger used by one person. School darkrooms and pro labs are definitely scenes of heavy abuse. That being said, I watched other brands of enlarger hold up to the abuse much more elegantly than the Omegas did. And I found them more enjoyable to use as well.

[Gem Singer]

Paulr,

My omega D-2 has held up admirably for fifty years. Given the type of tender loving care it has received from me, I can expect it to continue to function for another fifty years. What more could anyone ask from a piece of photographic equipment? By the way, parts are still available from people like Harry Taylor (www.classic-enlargers.com). That's more than I can say for most of the other brands of enlargers.

[Larry Gebhardt]

I have two Omega D5s, one in use, and have no problems keeping it aligned. I check it every few weeks with a laser and it never moves. You do need to tighten the negative stage down tight and I can see where this could cause problems for ham fisted operators, such as students in a public darkroom. I gently lower the head down, as I tend to treat my equipment gently, and don't see how this will cause problems. Also mine cranks up and down without much effort at all. Shipping on the enlarger ran about $100 across the contry. I picked up the second just for the Chromega head, and the shipping was about the same.

[d.s.]

The white plastic gears which when worn may make cranking up and down difficult. I think Harry offers bronze elevation gears to replace these.

My D-2 just about goes up by itself. I mostly use the crank to bring the head down. When not in use I leave the head all the way up.

dee

[Frank Bagbey]

Now there is some real nonsense. My Omega D2V AF is a tank. I have never had a problem with it and before I bought it, it was a high school enlarger. I have never, ever had a problem with it. A test negative reveals it to be perfect whenever I check it about once a year. Besides, whatever does happen to the head is of little consequence. It is only the light source for the negative, which is always in perfect alignment and does not suffer from abuse. For the money Omegas are really great enlargers. Even ones that look like a truck ran over them perform flawlessly. I have never seen one worn out! My B22XL set up for 35 dates back to around 1962 and has seen heavy use. My B22 set up for 120 dates back to around 1965. It also has seen heavy use. And as mentioned, the D2V is also a great oldie in perfect working condition. This, like every opinion here, is my two cents worth. It is based on years of experience, however!

[paulr]

Have any of the sworn Omega users spent significant time using a different brand?
Just curious, because I liked them fine also until I tried a Beseler.

[d.s.]

I also have a Beseler 23C II-XL. I bought it new in 1979. I couldn't afford a D-2v,
which is what I used in the Army and liked very much. When I added 4X5 to my arsenal
I shot with a 6X7, 6X9 roll film holder because the 23C was all I had. When I went looking
for a 4X5 enlarger I was open to all considerations. I almost bid on an 8X10 in NY city that
was CHEAP but you would have to go and get it. I did bid and lost on several zone VI 5X7 rigs.

I bid and lost on a cherry D-2VXL from the west coast. I called the seller afterwards and told him
exactly what I wanted, He quoted me what I felt was a good price including delivery. He knows
how to pack these things and it arrived in perfect condition.
If anyone is considering buying an enlarger, you may want to consider not getting the base
board as it adds a lot to the shipping cost. This is what I did.

I like the Beseler OK and use it for 35mm, I like the Omega better.

dee