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Thread: My Durst 138 Setup

  1. #1

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    My Durst 138 Setup

    Here are a few pictures of my Durst 138. I installed an Ilford 500 head and RH Designs Analyzer 500 timer. The 138 has an adaptor box to raise the head up high enough to cover a 5x7 negative, due to the inverse square law of light falloff. I use the 6x7 mixing chamber.

    Ginette from the forum provided the measurements for the adaptor box, as she had one of the originals from Durst. Jay from NewVision photo on the Bay fabricated the box for me. Jay has been a great help in getting my rig up and running. A big thanks to Ginette and Jay!

    Exposure times are reasonable, actually quite short. I love the probe on the timer as I can sample densities of a negative and get a decent print on the first try, no need for test strips. I use this setup on everything from 35mm to 5x7.

    The timer does split printing for all exposures, handling the times for you.

    Click image for larger version. 

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    Last edited by Larry Kellogg; 4-May-2015 at 08:11.

  2. #2
    Tin Can's Avatar
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    Re: My Durst 138 Setup

    Enlarger Envy!
    Tin Can

  3. #3

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    Re: My Durst 138 Setup

    I like to think of the enlarger as my Italian mistress. :-)

  4. #4
    Tin Can's Avatar
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    Re: My Durst 138 Setup

    They are very nice enlargers. I hope to find one.
    Tin Can

  5. #5
    ic-racer's Avatar
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    Re: My Durst 138 Setup

    That is great. But let me see if I understand. You are using the 4x5" illuminated panel (on the bottom of the 500 head) which is projected by the condensers to the negative, yes? Kind of a hybrid system.
    If that is the case, it reminds me of this little Philips enlarger I just refurbished. The white disk is illuminated by a color module and projected by condensers to the negative. (seen here without the 90 degree mirror). Another similarity is that this Philips is an additive head, just like the Ilford 500.

  6. #6
    Tin Can's Avatar
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    Re: My Durst 138 Setup

    That gives me ideas!

    Bingo!
    Tin Can

  7. #7

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    My Durst 138 Setup

    Randy, I'm curious about your ideas, share when you get something working.

    ic-racer, I use the 6x7 mixing chamber which has a little white diffusion panel at the bottom. You can see it in this picture. Click image for larger version. 

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    Yes, this is a bit of a hybrid system, combining the dichroic head with condensers. The 500 head uses two 300 watt halogen bulbs, so it puts out plenty of light.

  8. #8

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    Re: My Durst 138 Setup

    Larry, is the light quality similar to using the condensers with an Opal bulb, or is it more diffused like a color head. Just curious, can it be used without both condensers? I know when I used the Ariston D57 cold light head, I could put it either into the bottom condenser slot, or the top one and use the 240 condenser underneath it. Also, why use the 6x7 mixing chamber and not the 4x5? Wouldn't that even out the lighting more? How's the Beseler fan working out? Luis

  9. #9

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    Re: My Durst 138 Setup

    Luis,
    Well, I've never owned an Opal bulb so I don't know what that light is like. I suppose the answer is that the light is more diffused like a color head.

    I'm going to try it without condensers to see what it is like. Thanks for the suggestion. I don't know why people said that the 6x7 mixing chamber is the one to use, I'll try to find out.

    I don't need the fan on the 138 when using the 500 head. That head had its own fan and thermostat. It does heat up. I think the early models were prone to meltdown.

    I really like the contrast control in tenths. I've had 35mm negatives that print from 0.0 all the way to 5. It's nice to have the flexibility.

    I have a line on a Varipoint and would like to try that out. A point source will give the sharpest print but will show all flaws in the negative.

  10. #10

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    Re: My Durst 138 Setup

    Never understood why anyone would use a point light source for general photography. It was designed for microscope work.......

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