how many use Durst 138 enlargers

[lee\c]

how many of you largeformat photographers are using the Durst 138 enlargers now days?

thanks for the help in advance,

leec

[Ole Tjugen]

One here. Condenser head.

[Robert A. Zeichner]

One here as well with an Aristo VCL57.

[Steve Clark]

And another...condenser head.

[Steve Clark]

Hmm...I wasn`t paying attention, How`ve you been Bob? I`ve learned new words that strike fear into the hearts of happily married men, "Early Menopause!" , hopefully she`ll be normal before too long...(sigh).

[lee\c]

dont count on it

leec

[John Berry ( Roadkill )]

I use to have a condencer one and loved it. Steve, if you think she is not acting normal, be sure and NOT tell her so.

[Michael Kadillak]

I have a Durst 138 with a condensor head but it has been rather idle as I have been focusing on contact printing lately.

Nice well made unit.

Cheers!

[Don Wilkes]

I have one with a dichroic head (CLS301, I think). Wonderful machine.

[Dawid]

I recently bought one with the plain condensor head for £140 and used it for the first time last weekend doing 4x5 and it is an absolute pleasure to work with !

[Richard Årlin]

I've got one with a 210 lens and all condensers working with 35mm and 5x7 (0r 13x18) putting a 24x36 Leitz in a closet when I got it since I have a very tiny darkroom. Now with 4x5 and 8x10 for contacts I plan to get rid of it and a free gift of an Omega 4x5... living in Sweden.. anyone, it's really a great and huge enlarger... @ a few hunded €.. 5 maybe including lens, not freight thou.. I guess it's not a treat concidering weight and bulk

[Cliff Baldwin]

I love both 5x7 Durst condensor system,and also my 8x10 Durst condensor system.Ultimate printing machines in my opinin.Durst took it tothe max.

[John Powers]

I have a very clean one formerly used in an ophthalmology research hospital in Detroit. Added to this is a 12x12 Aristo cold light, and 8x10 conversion made by Michael Mutmansky.

John

[Michael Daily]

I have a 138 with an adapted color head, although I only do B/W. The enlarger came that way!
Michael

[Morten]

New in the club! The 138 with the CLS301 head has just been assembled with a quick dry-run.

But there was no fan with and thus the head was very warm after a short while. Should be easy to rig a household ventilation fan to enlarger duty.

regards
Morten :-)

[Greg Nelson]

I bought one on eBay 2 summers ago, condensor head, and love it so far.

[Gord Robinson]

I have used one with the condensor head for a number of years - also have some extras including the condit regisdtration system for it

Regards
Gord

[Philippe Debeerst]

I have one, but a slightly deferent model, the 139S.
All the condensers, AGFA colour head mounted on a LAVACO and a Durst cold light source.
Does someone know where to find (in Europe) the spare bulbs, 200 Watt/220 Volt and 160 mm diameter? I had to take the last one I had today.
I do prefer the traditional B&W way of working...

Thanks,

Philippe

[Rob Hale]

Hi leec,

Hummm well maybe I should retreat into my dark room and go and cuddle my 138s. Sadly down here on our relatively small island these go to the dump ! So I conned my self into two of them. The first has the old CLS 300 colour head on it with twin 1000 watt lamps – “ don’t half warm up the darkroom on a cold & frosty morning “, it came with a set of wall mount clamps as well all the normal railway stand etc. The lab that had complained that it was tooooooo SSHarp, which is odd as they kept on buying more of the best lens.

The second has the 150 watt big pearl lamp in it and an almost full set of condensers and I have an Ilford blue and green head to go on to it, I have not yet printed from it yet.

For those of you who have not taken one these to bits beware of the springs that carry the head, they have got some grunt.

Despite their age and work that they have done they clean up and readjust pretty much perfectly with no slop or play and while the newer AC range are also beautiful machines these are much simpler to manage.

An f stop controller would be a sensible addition and I do propose to cut back the “ sunburn “ and fit a pair of 24 volt 250 watt lamps to the old lady.

If any of are tempted to get one ( it may well be free ) remember they disassemble into quite small components, I moved one in the back of a Honda Civic hatch back. The condensers can be awkward if the original boxes are missing, none the less they are worth the effort.

Best Regards Rob

[Jerzy Pawlowski]

Bought one few months ago - condenser head. I will start using it as soon as my darkroom renovation will be completed.

[Noeyedear]

I've got one with a 210 lens and all condensers working with 35mm and 5x7 (0r 13x18) putting a 24x36 Leitz in a closet when I got it since I have a very tiny darkroom. Now with 4x5 and 8x10 for contacts I plan to get rid of it and a free gift of an Omega 4x5... living in Sweden.. anyone, it's really a great and huge enlarger... @ a few hunded €.. 5 maybe including lens, not freight thou.. I guess it's not a treat concidering weight and bulk

I have one I'm thinking of dusting off and printing with again. It has a CLS 1000 colour head, the baseboard needs a couple of spanners to get it to move, the head takes two halogen and the fan system is connected via a flexi tube, it also has voltage stabilisation. I bought it years ago to do colour work, when I did try it for B&W I thought I had turned into Ansel Adams, I could not believe the difference an enlarger made. I only have the 5x7 mixing box, I was printing from 6x7cm negs so illumination was very even. I sold lots of darkroom gear off (I'm now buying it back again) with going digital, the monster enlarger I kept even though I can't move the head because of ceiling height and have to do large prints at a back breaking baseboard height.
I have used a number of pro enlargers in my time, the results I got from this were very special. I think that's why it never went up for sale, I always thought all the other stuff you can buy easily, quality like this is harder to come by.

Kevin.

[Bjorn Nilsson]

I have had a 138S since the -80'ies which have served me well. (Apart from all of the -90'ies, when it was stationed at a photo club.) I have in recent years collected some extra condensers and lenses so that it is "complete" with 105, 150 and 210 lenses all fitting the turret.
Then a couple of years ago, all of a sudden I see an ad in a swedish for-sale site, where a "big enlarger" is for sale. It was a 139 with some pieces from head missing. A pricetag of around $300 and it went into my old Volvo stationwagon.
So now I have exactly the enlarger I want (plus a lot of spares). The stability of the 139 bottom feels really nice. The only "sacrifice" is that I cannot tilt the base-board, which is something that I never use anyhow.
Apart from the 139 I also have a "small" Focomat IIc for the occational small prints. :)
I must admit that I really love the feel of excellent engineering which is built into both of my enlargers.

//Björn

[smilly_mike]

My friend have one but he goes digital soon, to hard for him :p

I have some parts here if someone interested.
http://www.3pgmarketing.com/Photographie/Publique/Durst%201000%20parts/index.html

[Curt]

I bought one a couple of years ago and it's sitting outside of my darkroom unused at the present time. I need a head for it and would like a dichroic head but if I don't get that I'll fit it with a cold light and hope the bulb lasts or make one myself. I have a Rod 240mm lens for it. It's the ultimate in enlarger design, they are a beauty to behold.

[Bazz8]

I have had mine for almost 6-7 years and it is a awsome enlarger 138s 5x7
I have the standard head and am presently using the ilford 500 system on it in its place, I replace the controler with a RHDesign anylser 500 just the ants pants for me.
This one was on the way to the tip as well not a mark or scratch on it,it will do me until i stop printing, I also have a durst 659 d which is a great unit as well for 35-60mm square shifting it will be good fun into the new darkroom in a week or two.:D

[Emil Schildt]

Got 4 now... I love to work with them, but unfortunately I don't have room for them in our darkroom at present (we got a big IFF 13x18, that now occupies the space..)

Here in Denmark, it seems that nobody works on these any more, so they give them to me.. for free, and I can't say no..

[Nana Sousa Dias]

I have the 139G with CLS 301 Dichroic head.

[dsphotog]

I have a version, consisting of a 184 chassis with a 138S condenser head.
I was owned by DuPont, in San Jose. I think it was used to project paterns for vinyl flooring....
Picked it up really cheap!

[Nana Sousa Dias]

I have the 139G with CLS 301 Dichroic head.

I bought today a Durst 138S with the b&w condenser head and the seller gave me for free the CLS 100 head, plus a kind of little cabinet wich appears to be the colour control for the head, the CCD 100 unit, wich he didn't know what was for. I tried to switch it on but it appears to be dead.
Does anyone know what it really is and how it works?

[Philippe Debeerst]

I bought today a Durst 138S with the b&w condenser head and the seller gave me for free the CLS 100 head, plus a kind of little cabinet wich appears to be the colour control for the head, the CCD 100 unit, wich he didn't know what was for. I tried to switch it on but it appears to be dead.
Does anyone know what it really is and how it works?

Dear Nana,
Somewhere, on www.apug.org, there are several threads on using, repairing and how to convert DURST enlargers. It will take some time to find the right posting but, believe me, it’s worth the effort!
Apug, with its 38 447 members, is the one of the largest photo forums, you can always find something useful over there.
I only have the old fashioned LAVOKO with a AGFA mixing head mounted on it, sorry I can’t help you any further.

Philippe

[Nana Sousa Dias]

Dear Nana,
Somewhere, on www.apug.org, there are several threads on using, repairing and how to convert DURST enlargers. It will take some time to find the right posting but, believe me, it’s worth the effort!
Apug, with its 38 447 members, is the one of the largest photo forums, you can always find something useful over there.
I only have the old fashioned LAVOKO with a AGFA mixing head mounted on it, sorry I can’t help you any further.

Philippe

Thanks Philippe, I'm a member of Apug myself, but I thought I would find someone here who new about CCD 100. I'm gonna try there.

[stephen a]

Just bought a 138S! And can't wait to get it into action. Came with the condenser head but I'd like to fit it out with the CLS 301 if I can get my hands on one (yes, I'm one of those who simply prefer the effect of a dichroic head). Has anyone made that conversion? I assume it's pretty straight forward but I'd love have the benefit of your collective wisdom. I know I'll need a power supply and a fan. Anything else I should be looking for. I saw the earlier post saying that there was a post on durst conversions on apug but I'm not finding it.

[ic-racer]

Just bought a 138S! And can't wait to get it into action. Came with the condenser head but I'd like to fit it out with the CLS 301 if I can get my hands on one (yes, I'm one of those who simply prefer the effect of a dichroic head). Has anyone made that conversion? I assume it's pretty straight forward but I'd love have the benefit of your collective wisdom. I know I'll need a power supply and a fan. Anything else I should be looking for. I saw the earlier post saying that there was a post on durst conversions on apug but I'm not finding it.

While you are looking for a CLS 301, you might experiment with a diffuser glass on the 5x7 head, as I think this was an option. Also, keep on the look out for the 5x7 CLS1000 head. Just because it is newer than the CLS 301 does not always mean it will cost more (though sometimes you have to buy another enlarger just to get the head :) )
http://www.leboncoin.fr/vi/86613255.htm?ca=21_84_s

[Philippe Debeerst]

While you are looking for a CLS 301, you might experiment with a diffuser glass on the 5x7 head, as I think this was an option. Also, keep on the look out for the 5x7 CLS1000 head. Just because it is newer than the CLS 301 does not always mean it will cost more (though sometimes you have to buy another enlarger just to get the head :) )
http://www.leboncoin.fr/vi/86613255.htm?ca=21_84_s

A diffuser glass, very interesting, but where to put that glass, under the condensers, but how?

Philippe

[ic-racer]

A diffuser glass, very interesting, but where to put that glass, under the condensers, but how?

Philippe

Scroll down on this page:

http://www.durst-pro-usa.com/Light_head_5x7_comparison.htm

[Nana Sousa Dias]

A diffuser glass, very interesting, but where to put that glass, under the condensers, but how?

Philippe

If you have a negative carrier with glasses, like Nega 138, for example, you can fix a diffuser to the top glass.

[Carsten Wolff]

Great, solid, versatile, quite user friendly machine that will outlast me. I have the older version of it (minor differences) called "3S". 210/240mm condensors, gets used for 5x7 and the occasional 6x17 film. Am contemplating getting a cold light head one day....am on my last 300W globe.....or just make a diffused light source and may be even try using a shutter.

[coa_lund]

how many of you largeformat photographers are using the Durst 138 enlargers now days?

thanks for the help in advance,

leec

I have one with condensor head since 2009, and a just picked up another one with a cls 301. I have 3 original Thorn bulbs, a number of 150W large opal lamps which can be used at smalller magnification, and a cold light adapter.
The 138 is a woderful enlarger indeed.
coa_lund

[Don Dudenbostel]

One here with condenser head.

[Jan Pedersen]

One more here. Not used much the last couple of years but a great enlarger to work with. Mine has the condenser head.

[Paul Ewins]

I've got one sitting in the garage that I bought for the Ilford head. I use a 1200.

[Roger Vadim]

Great piece of gear, this is my favorite enlarger so far.
Rugged, extremely well build and very comfortable in adjusting it to your height, you can do dodging from the sides and large prints are super easy. And it just feels right. Bold.
I have a plain olde 138 with a Super Chromega D Head fitted. These where quite common because they don't need ventilation. Only 250 Watt though, so large prints take some time.

One funny aspect is that it seems to shrink. in the beginning it felt huge. now it seems rather tiny, and I am craving for the larger brother, the 184 ....
so beware its a slippery path...

[pcyco]

hallo

i also use one with kond.

now i modyfy it with halogenbulb and a diffusor glass because of the opallamp "problem"

--
thomas

[Philippe Debeerst]

I have read about the conversion to a halogen bulb, but how to deal with the after glow which is more important than with the 'traditional' bulb?

[Len Middleton]

I have read about the conversion to a halogen bulb, but how to deal with the after glow which is more important than with the 'traditional' bulb?

Philippe,

Are you confusing a halogen lamp with a flurescent lamp? There is no after glow with halogen, after all it is the same bulb technology used in most colour heads.

Hope that helps to clarify,

Len

[Philippe Debeerst]

Philippe,

Are you confusing a halogen lamp with a flurescent lamp? There is no after glow with halogen, after all it is the same bulb technology used in most colour heads.

Hope that helps to clarify,

Len

Thanx Len,
No I wasn't, but I think that the information was somewhat wrong or confusing.
Anyway, I 'need' to convert my 138, but can't find the right info. All I can find is the way to do for 110 Volt and 60 Hz, the American way thus. Over here it's 240 Volt and 50Hz and the socket of the bulbs are different to...

[mamanton]

24 hours by car... and yesterday I bought Durst 138s with a table and CLS 1000 head with all diffusers! It's great!!!

[ic-racer]

24 hours by car... and yesterday I bought Durst 138s with a table and CLS 1000 head with all diffusers! It's great!!!

Nice!

[Greg Y]

Yes! Thanks to Peter Jeune at The Camera Store in Calgary I have a Durst 138 w a color head to print my 5x7 negs....when I'm not using the lightbulb for contact prints...

[Brian Ellis]

Hmm...I wasn`t paying attention, How`ve you been Bob? I`ve learned new words that strike fear into the hearts of happily married men, "Early Menopause!" , hopefully she`ll be normal before too long...(sigh).

Genie granted man one wish. Man wished for a road to be built connecting California and Hawaii. Genie said that was too hard, make another wish. Man wished to understand women. Genie said "you want that road 2 lane or 4 lane?"

[Drew Wiley]

Going back a month - halogen bulbs do have a brief afterglow, just like ordinary tungsten bulbs. It can be significant with short exposures and color film, because as
the luminance drifts down the color temp does too. Englarger are sometimes used for
fussy film applications and not just prints. That's why the later Durst colorheads with
high wattage halogens bulbs also incorporated an automated shutter between the
light source and the diffusion path. The feedback timing began after a second of so
(when the bulb reached its intended color temperature) and cut off before the shift
into afterglow.

[Renato Tonelli]

A beautiful 138S on a 184 chassis, color head. It's not set up yet. It loooks beautiful (I said that already, I know).

[ic-racer]

Going back a month - halogen bulbs do have a brief afterglow, just like ordinary tungsten bulbs. It can be significant with short exposures and color film, because as
the luminance drifts down the color temp does too. Englarger are sometimes used for
fussy film applications and not just prints. That's why the later Durst colorheads with
high wattage halogens bulbs also incorporated an automated shutter between the
light source and the diffusion path. The feedback timing began after a second of so
(when the bulb reached its intended color temperature) and cut off before the shift
into afterglow.

I think the physical size of the 2000W filament has much to do with it. More mass = longer time to cool and extinguish. I think the 4-bulb heads may have an advantage here.

[Drew Wiley]

The last generations of Durst 2000W head used a much smaller bulb than the older
versions, yet it's the one they installed a shutter in. Maybe they were just trying to
be super careful for nitpicky applications. If one is using a process lens to enlarge with, a leaf shutter could be used in it and linked to a timer. But my own method, even when making very critical color film dupes, is simply to avoid times less than 10 sec, because the aftergow is weak and just a fraction of a second on my current
colorheads. Only my old Omega D colorhead it's a bit more noticeable, but I no longer use that unit for anything except black and white prints.

[ic-racer]

The last generations of Durst 2000W head

?
They upgraded the power supply form EST2000 to EST2000N, but the literature I have indicates the Thorn HX27 (Colamp 2000) Lamp and CLS2000 head remained essentially the same throughout production, 1977 to 1990 (except the addition of the little switch to turn off the "WHITE LIGHT" indicator).

[Drew Wiley]

I guess it's relative. Mid-70's on you're talking about late model colorheads. But there
were several models even of these, including a couple of rare ones, and at least one
model Durst built but never marketed. These all used a relatively tight light source
with stairstep diffusion, at least compared to the old opposite dual-lamp long-filament models prior. I once stripped out one of those old heads and rewired it with high-temp
truck engine wire to run direct 220V. It was an energy hog and required a huge cooling
system, but would punch a huge 30x40 Cibachrome with an added .90 mask in about
ten to fifteen seconds.

[ic-racer]

including a couple of rare ones,

Ok, so like around the time of the CLS301 they had some special limited production 2000W heads?

[jayabbas]

I have and still use Durst ACS 501 and 512s rollpaper white light subtractive termination analog printers. These printers incorporate bulb prewarm that allows small current to flow all the time to bulb to prevent thermal shock and color shifts with short production exposure times. Also a shutter paddle in the optical path actuates upon pressing expose button and bulb receives full voltage 500 milliseconds after shutter pulse is detected. This allows for accurate color and short exposure times. All this and more from 1979 and 1985 production printers. It sounds like a bit of that technology crept into the enlarger head at some point.

[kapro]

24 hours by car... and yesterday I bought Durst 138s with a table and CLS 1000 head with all diffusers! It's great!!!

51 hours by car, 3500km, Channel tunnel,4 Red Bulls, couple of coffees.... and yesterday I brought Durst138S with a table and condenser head with 4 diffusers to it's new home. Yesterday, while having coffee break on the way home I succeeded to buy another 240 condenser and today I have tried to understand how to use the focusing target??? on top of the Nega 138 negative carrier. Although I haven't found it out yet I at least cleaned the negative carrier and lenses.

[Michael Clark]

I have not figured out that focusing target my self, like to know how to use.
Mike

[kapro]

51 hours by car, 3500km, Channel tunnel,4 Red Bulls, couple of coffees.... and yesterday I brought Durst138S with a table and condenser head with 4 diffusers to it's new home. Yesterday, while having coffee break on the way home I succeeded to buy another 240 condenser and today I have tried to understand how to use the focusing target??? on top of the Nega 138 negative carrier. Although I haven't found it out yet I at least cleaned the negative carrier and lenses.

Of course I meant condensers, no diffusers. ..

I was experimenting with the focusing target but didn't find any solution. Meopta's negative carrier has something similar on their negative carrier but much simpler. I'm confused by adjusting height level of the target fo Nega 138. It has sense to use it for focusing if it's in the same level as the plane of the negative but I've got no idea how to adjust it. I found couple of questions on this particular problem on the net but no answer. Seems to be a taboo..

[quine]

I think that you need a special transparency to use the focusing target on the table. I saw one on eBay once long ago...

To use the focusing target on the Nega 138, first focus a random negative using a grain focuser. Then, slide the negative carrier out until it locks into the second set of stops -- you should see the + target on your easel. Next, locate the knob extending form the the rear right corner of the negative carrier and unscrew the outermost knob one or two turns (this unlocks the adjuster knob). Next, turn the innermost knob until the + target is in sharp focus. Finally, turn the outermost knob clockwise until it stops (this holds the adjustment in place).

Now, in theory, you should be able to pop the negative carrier halfway in and focus on the + target instead of focusing on the negative itself -- hope that this helps.

Congrats on the enlarger...

-andrew


Of course I meant condensers, no diffusers. ..

I was experimenting with the focusing target but didn't find any solution. Meopta's negative carrier has something similar on their negative carrier but much simpler. I'm confused by adjusting height level of the target fo Nega 138. It has sense to use it for focusing if it's in the same level as the plane of the negative but I've got no idea how to adjust it. I found couple of questions on this particular problem on the net but no answer. Seems to be a taboo..

[Drew Wiley]

The film target in the carrier can be fine-tuned, and I sometimes use it
for approximate focus prior to critical focus with a magnifier. But its main
application was related to centering alignment on an imbedded metal target on the baseboard itself. Not all 138 platforms had this particular
detail. These enlargers were made for all kinds of applications including copy work.

[Michael Clark]

Thanks Andrew and Drew, another thing new I'v learned about this enlarger.

Mike

[kapro]

Andrew, Drew, thank you guys. This is how it works on the Meopta's negative carrier without the possibility to adjust the height of the target. I've already bought on Ebay the test negative on Sunday, I'll cut the antinewton glass today, clean the enlarger and looking forward to test it during weekend. I haven't been working with Durst since 1992 (805 and 1200) - I've got two DeVeres 504 with Ilford Multigrade and Varicon condenser heads.

"imbedded metal target on the baseboard itself" - yes, my 138 has this feature

[kapro]

Andrew, Drew, thank you guys. This is how it works on the Meopta's negative carrier without the possibility to adjust the height of the target. I've already bought on Ebay the test negative on Sunday, I'll cut the antinewton glass today, clean the enlarger and looking forward to test it during weekend. I haven't been working with Durst since 1992 (805 and 1200) - I've got two DeVeres 504 with Ilford Multigrade and Varicon condenser heads.

"imbedded metal target on the baseboard itself" - yes, my 138 has this feature