Omega-II or Graphlarger?

[John Kasaian]

I'm still rooting through the storage room trying to figure out what to send off and how else to utilize various parts & gear (two huge aerial cameras went off to new homes this morning!:))
Since I'll keep the GV2 for awhile, I'd like to keep a 4x5 enlarger around for obvious reasons. I do have a retty nice Omega D-II, but I also have a clean Pacemaker Crown with the Grafloc back which would accept a Graphlarger---taking up far less space than the D-II and allowing me to keep a redundant 4x5 camera available as well.
OR I could put a Graphlarger on the GV2 and call it good.
OR I could keep the D-II and send the Crown packing.
To decide which to do I wanted to ask you knowlegable folks
What is it like using a Graphlarger? Especially compared to the D-II?
More limitations? Iffy quality? Why pick one over the other?

[Bob Salomon]

One is an enlarger, the other isn't. An enlarger is much easier to maintain proper alignment with and to work with. Especially when you are inserting and removing film and trying not to upset alignment of the system. Want to do something other then diffusion printing? Maybe some color work?

Also, to use that camera/back system you probably also will need a pretty good sized copy stand. That is going to take up a good deal of space as well.

[jnantz]

hi john

the graflarger is fun, but unless you have a wall mount that projects OUT, or the special tripod mount
that was usually used with it, it can be difficult to enlarge with, not because it isn't an enlarger head ( aristo ! )
but because of the tripod legs when making enlargements. i had an used one for a while, but i made small enlargements.
does yours have the negative carrier ? sometimes they can be hard to find ..

have fun with your clean-out! ( id keep the enlarger and speeder )

john

[John Kasaian]

Thanks Bob and john!That was a big help---I don't really need to be dragging aother piece of equipment (graflager) home at this stage of the game anyway (what was i thinking?!)

[David A. Goldfarb]

I actually have both a Graflarger and a D-II, and I use the D-II, while the Graflarger stays packed away for the most part.

I keep it in case I do something like go abroad for a year and want a way to enlarge. I've got a lensboard with a 39mm hole, so I can mount enlarging lenses on my Technika.

I actually used it for a while on a copy stand, when I didn't have much space for a 4x5" enlarger. It's also workable with a tripod and a horizontal arm, but the tripod needs more space. The main problem with it, aside from having an old-style bulb rather than a V54 (I think there is still a way to upgrade that, even as Arista has been absorbed by another company), is that it doesn't have a heater like more modern cold light head, so the output is uneven, unless you leave the bulb on all the time and control exposure with a shutter or lenscap, black card, etc., or use a compensating timer like a Metrolux. So if I ever do take that year to travel, which is not imposssible in my line of work, I'll probably have to find another probe for my Metrolux, or just bring the 8x10" instead of 4x5" and contact print.

[SpeedGraphicMan]

As an owner of both... Use the D-II for your enlargements.
Store the Graflarger, but keep it around for bragging rights.

In my experience the Graflarger is more of a travelling or emergency enlarger... Not really for serious work.