8x10 Enlarger light source for Beseler

[jeroldharter]

I just picked up my first 8x10 camera (waiting to receive it). Of course I will try some contact prints but it seems a shame not to enlarge them. I have two Beseler enlarger, 45VXL and 45MXT. I don't want to pay $4500 for the Beseler conversion kit and I assume I am not alone. Also, I do not have room for a stand alone 8x10 enlarger.

It seems too daunting to build one. Even with an Aristo cold light I would still need some sort of adapter.

So what does everyone else in my boat do? Any thoughts are appreciated. thanks.

Ny the way, I also picked up a Beseler HD 240mm enlarging lens. Anyone have comments about that lens in this setup?

[Jrewt]

Ebay I think is the obvious source. Conversion kits come up for a crap load less than 4500 pretty regularly.

[Turner Reich]

Welcome to the very dark and distant side of photography. The Beseler conversion head found on the eBay each week is not for the 45MCRX type and the bulbs are fluorescent type found for a buck a piece at Walgreen's. The cost is something like $600 for it to boot.

You don't have the time or the space but some money right? Have someone build a box and buy an Aristo Cold light head source to mount at one end and the lens at the other end. You will need a bellows or a slide in the box for focus and the entire setup can be postioned horizontally.

Or..

You have someone make an adapter to mount the Aristo Cold Light Head on your 8x10 view camera, put the enlarging lens on a board. A negative carrier can be made to go in a slot in front of the light source.

[Turner Reich]

This is an example of a homemade but accurate negative carrier and a horizontal setup

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[John Bowen]

I just picked up my first 8x10 camera (waiting to receive it). Of course I will try some contact prints but it seems a shame not to enlarge them. I have two Beseler enlarger, 45VXL and 45MXT. I don't want to pay $4500 for the Beseler conversion kit and I assume I am not alone. Also, I do not have room for a stand alone 8x10 enlarger.

It seems too daunting to build one. Even with an Aristo cold light I would still need some sort of adapter.

So what does everyone else in my boat do? Any thoughts are appreciated. thanks.

Ny the way, I also picked up a Beseler HD 240mm enlarging lens. Anyone have comments about that lens in this setup?

Take it from someone who has been down that path and hold off a while. I too picked up a Beseler conversion kit complete with adapter, lens, cold light, MC filters, metrolux timer etc. shortly after I purchased my 1st 8x10 camera (almost 4 years ago).

I started making Azo contact prints and never looked back. The conversion kit sits in a box in my office. I have yet to mount it on my enlarger. My personal preference is for the Azo/Amidol contact prints. Yes, I know Azo is hard to find, but Michael Smith has 5 boxes of 20x24 Canadian Grade 2 Azo for sale (see the azo forum) and someone has a box of Grade 3 Azo listed on Ebay right now, so it does turn up every now and then.

Also Michael Smith will be announcing the "large run" of Lodima (a silver chloride paper, similar to Azo) shortly. I plan on making a rather large purchase when this is finally announced because I don't know if it will ever be offered again.

And no, my conversion kit isn't for sale, at least not now. Why? Because someday I may produce that grand landscape negative that just screams for a HUGE print. :D

Of course, I always bring along the 4x5 or a 4x5 back for my 8x10 whenever I'm on a photo trip, so if the Grand Landscape presented itself, I could always shoot a 4x5 negative and enlarge that.....hmmmm maybe my 8x10 conversion kit will be for sale before long.....

Best wishes and enjoy your 8x10!

[Brian Ellis]

I suspect that these days many people interested in enlarging 8x10 scan it. After attending Michael Smith's workshop I started making contact prints from 8x10 on Azo, developed in Amidol, the whole bit. I enjoyed contact printing but it's pretty mechanical and I also occasionally wanted larger prints. I bought an Epson 4990 scanner and have been very happy with the results. Of course I already knew Photoshop and digital printing so it was no big leap for me, it might be a bigger leap for you.

[resummerfield]

Years ago I did something similar to print 7x17 negs on an 8x10 enlarger, but the principle is the same in this case. Build a simple plywood box to raise the negative above the original Beseler negative stage sufficiently to focus the lens; in this case about 100mm or so for the 240mm lens.

My neg carrier was glass, and I fixed the bottom glass in the plywood box, and covered the neg with a free floating piece of AN glass. Or use a glass-less carrier, like Turner Reich illustrates.

My light source was a bank of 24-inch fluorescent tubes, placed in another plywood box. If I were doing this today, I would use LED lights. Using independent banks of blue and green LEDs, you could easily to split-printing without filters.

The lamp box had to be removed to change negs, but how many 8x10 negs do you print in a session?

[Turner Reich]

Let us know how your project is progressing.

[Turner Reich]

What kind of 8x10 camera are you getting, a field or a studio camera?

[Clarence Rhymer]

This is an example of a homemade but accurate negative carrier and a horizontal setup

.

Hello,

What is the door in the centre section for (in the original camera configuration)? I have a Deardorff studio camera with a similar door and have never been able to figure it out.

Thank you.

Cheers,
Clarence

[Turner Reich]

It's not mine.

[CP Goerz]

The 240 HD is a great lens, I have the set up you mention the 45MXT with the 8x10 adaptor so lens board size is limited to what is available for the 4x5. I can't use the bigger lenses made for 8x10 at present but the 240 works well in the meantime.


I actually wish I had a condenser head for 8x10 as the sharpness is so much more attractive than the 'smoother' looking cold light. Big enlargers do show up on ebay from time to time, I think I saw one last week and it was a stand alone.

[Bob Salomon]

The 240 HD is actually a Rodenstock 240mm process lens not an enlarging lens. Beseler chose this lens because a 240mm Rodagon will not fit the Beseler enlarger's lens board and the Apo was much less expensive then a dedicated enlarging lens. As it is a process lens the optimal aperture is f22 rather then f8 to 11 as in the Rodagon enlarging lens.

[Turner Reich]

The Beseler lens board is 4x4 inches, what is the size of the 240mm Rodagon? My 240mm Rodagon is around 2 5/8 inches, just measured roughly, and it would certainly fit on a Beseler 4x4 board, I have the Beseler 45MCRX, but use a different enlarger with it. Maybe Jerold should be looking for an enlarging lens instead of using a process lens.

[Sal Santamaura]

http://www.skgrimes.com/thisweek/9-12-05/index.htm

[jeroldharter]

Thanks for the replies. I have been out of town for awhile.

I bought a used, older model Arca Swiss 8x10.

Of course, I knew it would be bigger than my 4x5 but the sheer size of the equipment is a bit daunting. I have not figured out what to carry it in. I thought about a Pelican case for using out of the car, but the appropriately sized case weighs almost 50 pounds empty.

Have not had time to expose any 8x10 film yet either.

For the enlarger, I am still dithering. I could buy a used Beseler conversion but I suspect it has the older lamp and would need to be upgraded to the V54 lamp for VC printing.

I am not handy enough, nor do I have the tools to build adapter boxes, etc. I am intrigued with LED lights and they seem perfect for an 8x10 light source, but again don't think I am the candidate for a DIY LED light source.

So I probably will start slowly with contact printing and find my way. Still dithering though...

[Turner Reich]

That sounds like an excellent choice, contact printing is a time tested method, you won't be disappointed. I've found that the right equipment surfaces when you give it some time. Impulse purchases can be disappointing. Figure out what works for mobility then get used to the new camera before pressing into an enlarger conversion or setup that complicates the situation. I use a small suitcase for a Calumet C1, it fits perfectly and has wheels plus handles on the top and side, works fine for that camera. My wood 8x10 has a fiber case that fits the camera, extension, and some film holders. There are several choices.

[jeroldharter]

Anybody know how to mount the Beseler 240 mm lens on the lens board?

I have a Beseler lens board with the appropriate sized hole. I thought the retaining ring/jam nut was 50 mm but I ordered one from Adorama and it is too small.

[Turner Reich]

http://www.largeformatphotography.info/forum/showthread.php?t=46249

How is the enlarger/light source project going?

[jeroldharter]

The jam nut for the Beseler HD 240 mm lens is 50 mm after all.

I bought a Beseler 810 conversion kit from someone on the forum and it is on the way. I picked up an 8x10 film washer from Alistair Inglis, a sponsor here. I have just one lens, a Nikkor 300 M for my camera. I have yet to expose a single sheet of film though. I am busy with a big 4x5 project so I am at least a few months out from getting into the 8x10 but look forward to that.

Thanks everyone for the input.

[jeroldharter]

About 9 months later and I am still at it. I received the conversion and that works well. Installing it was something I would like to limit to once in a lifetime. The Beseler HD 240 mm lens that I had turned out to be defective. I received a gem of a Rodagon 240 from someone here and it is a beauty. I had SK Grimes adapt it for the Beseler enlarger and have the whole thing aligned. I am set for a trip soon to generate a lot of negatives. I did the BTZS film testing for 8x10 and I am ready to go. I shipped my gear and film holders ahead to meet me at the first hotel.

I am still not certain which bulb I have on the light source. I could not find any helpful markings on the bulb itself like "v45" for example. I did find "74-52" marked on the lens. Can anyone identify the bulb from that? I checked the Aristo website without luck.

[Eric Woodbury]

V45 is quite green in appearance. Earlier models were blue-white. I have had three different tubes from Aristo and they were all marked. Just a little mark on the tube, but I suppose there is a chance it is on the far side. Look near the ends.

I'm not sure where Aristo stands. They were bought by someone else and I don't think they have closed, but when I wrote to them, it wasn't clear what would happen to cold lights.

[jeroldharter]

V45 is quite green in appearance. Earlier models were blue-white. I have had three different tubes from Aristo and they were all marked. Just a little mark on the tube, but I suppose there is a chance it is on the far side. Look near the ends.

I'm not sure where Aristo stands. They were bought by someone else and I don't think they have closed, but when I wrote to them, it wasn't clear what would happen to cold lights.

Yes, my light is a clean bright white and different from some of the other cold lights I have seen that were a glowing green-cyan shade. I have read that putting a gel filter under the lamp would more or less convert the old bulb to the new bulb that is better for VC papers. I have a 30cc Green Rosco filter if I need it but I have not figured out the best way to install it. There is not much room between the bulb and the top of the glass carrier. I thought I would cut the gel to size and then carefully tape it to the bottom margin of the lamp enclosure.