a free, old 4x5 enlarger - should I take it?

[analoguey]

Varioscop 60s are still being serviced by kienzle. Pretty good deal if only paying for fuel. Check if you get any extra lamps/bulbs with it.
And afaik does only upto 120 format, not 4x5.

[jose angel]

Right, I have already checked on my screen that if the small carrier is 35mm, the larger one is 6x9. Not 4x5" (nor 9x12).

[jasonso]

Thanks for the heads up, I think you may be right. I can't find any info online that it handles 4x5, I just trusted what the owner told me - thats disappointing! may not be worth the trip after all

[Wayne]

I think its a cool looking old enlarger that should be rescued for that reason. You can probably find a true 4x5 enlarger that is almost as free and will work as well or better.

[analoguey]

Thanks for the heads up, I think you may be right. I can't find any info online that it handles 4x5, I just trusted what the owner told me - thats disappointing! may not be worth the trip after all

Well, if you shoot other formats, you might quite enjoy it. Condenser enlarger w parellelogram mechanism - and those apparently are ones which don't need refocusing with Change in enlargement size.

[welly]

I'd pick it up and use it as a light source for 4x5 or 8x10 (or bigger) contact prints.

Which is an excuse, if you need one, to get yourself an 8x10 if you don't already have one.

[Luis-F-S]

Sure, everyone needs a "project". L

[Robert Langham]

Make sure to ask about any OTHER photo/darkroom items that go with it. Thermometers, trays, tongs, timers, tanks, reels, safelights, easels, graduates, little fiddly bits, et. Never know what you will turn up.

[Mick Fagan]

That is a Varioscop 60, a wonderful enlarger and it may just scrub up and work very well. It is, going on the lens you have, which is a Magnolar, the later version than one I used in another life.

The enlarger will take film up to 6x9cm. Generally it came with two lenses that were cammed to operate correctly as an auto focus enlarger, it probably will still do accurate auto focusing once you set it up.

Leica came out with a similar enlarger then later on changed their similar enlarger to a quite interesting beast with the lenses held in a moveable turret, allowing you to quickly change from wide angle, to normal to longer focal length lens to quickly run from passport sized full frame photos to seriously big enlargements without so much as having to check the focus manually.

You should be able to have some cheap fun with that enlarger.

Mick.

[John Kasaian]

Any enlarger can be a good light source for contact printing. Free makes it even better.
Sadly, we may be past the era of fishing Omega D-2s out of dumpsters behind university art departments,
but if you want a good affordable 4x5 enlarger, they are still probably out there, somewhere.