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Thread: Beseler 45 MCRX Enlarger Questions

  1. #1

    Beseler 45 MCRX Enlarger Questions

    A friend is letting me test drive his enlarger prior to buying it. I am in the process of moving up from MF (645) to large format. One reason for doing this is to make 16 x 20 prints.

    The enlarger is a Beseler 45 MCRX. It is old, but appears to be in fairly good shape. The motor control has an outlet titled "switch". There is a short length of power cord with a switch plugged into the outlet. What is this for?

    The light source is an Aristo D2 cold light. There is a sticker on the top of the housing with V54 on it. I assumes this means I have the light designed for use with VC papers. Will above the lens VC filters work with this setup? Are there any filter packs that have 1/4 increment filters? I currently use a Beseler 23c III with a B&W VC head. I use 3.25 or 2.75 settings quite often.

    The elarger comes with a 150mm f4.5 Rogonar-S Rodenstock lens. With the head cranked up as high as it can go, it doesn't seem like I can get a 16x20 image on the baseboard - the image measures about 15 x 19. I need some head room for cropping, etc... Am I doing something wrong? Do I need a wall mount kit?

    Is this setup good? My friend tried to sell it to me a few years ago for about $850. Now I think he will go for about $300-400. He is of the persuasion that the world is going digital and only dinosaurs or fools would consider wet processing.

    Switching to all 16 x 20 accessories appears to be very expensive - new easels, print washers, trays etc.. I might just do 11 x 14 prints for a while until I get the hang of 4 x 5.

  2. #2
    Jon Shiu's Avatar
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    Beseler 45 MCRX Enlarger Questions

    Hi, from my experience on similar beseler 45, it should be able to do about a 30" wide print with 150mm lens. I think the plug and outlet is just an auxilary outlet for plugging in a voltage stabilizer or something like that. Aligning the enlarger is not too easy.

    Jon
    my black and white photos of the Mendocino Coast: jonshiu.zenfolio.com

  3. #3

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    Beseler 45 MCRX Enlarger Questions

    Hi Mark,

    I have an old Beseler 57MD (5 x 7) enlarger that has the same cord and switch on the front of the motor switch box. Mine doesn't do anything either except hang there. Based on where the connection is, I can't see why it would have anything to do with the actual exposure operation of the enlarger. Perhaps it is to connect a foot switch to operate the motor - although I don't really see why anyone would need that either. Maybe someone else knows the answer to this one.

    Regarding the diffusion cold light head - mine is an original Beseler I guess because that is the only name on it.

    Regarding the 16 x 20 issue - Sounds like you may need to look into a slightly wider angle lens (135 mm?) that will give you a larger image. I am no expert on enlarger lenses, so you should ask for some advice from the others in this forum. There are many Experts here on lenses that can steer you straight on this one.

    Regarding the price - Older enlargers are fairly inexpensive on E-bay these days. I got mine for only $150 (without lens). However, I would recommend that if you purchase on E-bay, you look until you find one that is close enough to where you live so you can just drive to pick it up. Enlarger lenses are pretty cheap on E-bay as well. However, the cost that your friend may be offering isn't bad considering that you know the condition, and it also has the lens, the cold light head, and no shipping costs.

    Good luck

  4. #4

    Beseler 45 MCRX Enlarger Questions

    $300-400 seems ok, considering it's got the cold light head, but it's not a killer deal. 150mm is really too long for big prints from 4x5, and a Rogonar is their cheaper series- not great. You need a 135mm lens, like a Rodagon, or you need to remove the baseboard section (if it's got that arrangement) and project down lower. People often made special tables for these so they could lower the easel. I think the switch outlet is for a foot switch, but not sure.

  5. #5

    Beseler 45 MCRX Enlarger Questions

    Here is the Aristo page on the V54 tube: http://www.aristogrid.com/Tech01.htm It does seem to be what you want for printing with VC paper. If you decide using seperate filters is too much hassle, you can sell the cold light head and buy a used dichroic head. The Aristo with V54 would be pretty desirable on eBay. As far as your print size problem, do you have the upper bellows collapsed as far as possible? Racking this down lowers the negative relative to the baseboard and works just like having the whole head lower. I've never heard of 1/4 grade filters, but I wonder if there might not be a weak CP or CC filter you can add to your VC filter that will have this effect. Just a theory; maybe someone else knows if this might work. I don't know what sort of timer you are using, but cold lights are known for damaging some electronic timers, unless they are connected through a relay.

  6. #6

    Join Date
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    Beseler 45 MCRX Enlarger Questions

    My Beseler 4x5 has a motor control / fine adjustment box that has a 2-prong power take off and a 2-prong outlet marked switch. The motor has a power lead.

    If the lamp (condenser, or in my case an old 120v cold light) is connected to the power outlet on the motor box, it needs a switch of some sort to control the lamp. I have a footswitch for standalone use. When I am using the Analyser Pro for lamp control, the motor is powered directly, and the lamp power comes from the back of the Analyser. The Analyser has it's own footswitch.

  7. #7

    Beseler 45 MCRX Enlarger Questions

    I have a 45MCRX that I bought new in 1972. The dangling switch turns the lamp on or off. It can be replaced with a foot switch. If you are using a timer, just leave the switch on. The filter drawer immediately above the lens takes filters that are 2 3/8" X 2 3/8". I don't think this size is available anymore so you will have to make your own using something like black mounting board as a frame. Beseler made a table for this enlarger that allowed the easel to be dropped for big enlargements. Also, the lamphouse rotates 90 degrees on this model for horizontal projection, which was the way Ansel Adams used his. I've always thought that an 11x14 print mounted on a 16x20 card is a very nice size.

  8. #8

    Beseler 45 MCRX Enlarger Questions

    Mark,

    I have the 45MCRX with a EL-Nikkor 135mm lens. That setup will do an 18x25 print on the baseboard.

    With a 150mm lens, your measurement of 15x19 on the baseboard sounds about right.

    As stated above, if you want larger prints, you can:

    1) use a 135mm lens
    2) rotate the enlarger head 90 degrees
    3) drop the baseboard (my preferred solution)

    My Beseler has been a solid workhorse, and I've never had a desire to trade it in. I've just started using an Aristo T12 head for printing 8x10 negs (with a custom adaptor for the enlarger head), and have been pleased with the results.

  9. #9

    Beseler 45 MCRX Enlarger Questions

    I have a Beseler 45 Mcrx, too. A freind of mine gave it to me taken apart and in a number of
    boxes and I put it together without instructions. I had two questions:

    1) I didn't know about the concept of enlarger alignment when I put it together. However,
    it is doing a fine job of keeping all 4 corners in focus at the same time. Is there reason to
    do an alignment of the enlarger if I got the whole negative in focus at once (I thought that
    was the purpose of alighment, but maybe I'm wrong). I'm doing 4x5 work.

    2) At the lower end of the enlargement scale, the motor works fine. When I raise it up above
    the half way mark, it starts running into lots of friction interference and the motor gives that
    aweful electrical burn smell. Obviously, I don't want to use it this way for fear of damage.
    It is not a "hard stop" where it runs into a "brick wall." It is just that above half way the friction
    seems to get bad and it really has to push hard. What do I do to fix this? I can't see anything
    "hanging it up." Do I need to align it?

    Thanks.

  10. #10

    Join Date
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    Highland, NY
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    Beseler 45 MCRX Enlarger Questions

    John,
    The problem you are having with the motor running into resistance and smelling like it is burning may be due to incorrect counterspring tension in the lower cross tube. You can download a helpful alignment and adjustment guide at this site.
    http://www.tech-diy.com/45mxt.htm

    Pete

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