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

[Wayne]

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.

I have a Beseler 4x5 I'll probably give away because someone is giving me a color Beseler 4x5. I already tried to give it away once but had no luck. I paid $75 for it over 10 years ago. I guess now even free is too expensive for most people.

Then there are some people still think they are worth money. Here is someone selling an old clunker for the same price as someone selling a much later model with the rare Zone IV head (predecessor to the Zone VI, no doubt )

http://fairbanks.craigslist.org/pho/5030289105.html
http://humboldt.ca.craigslist.org/pho/5035912774.html

[Robert Langham]

You need at LEAST two enlargers in every darkroom. Gotta have one set up to contact, another to pre-fog paper and another to enlarge.

[ic-racer]

Enlarger light is probably the worst thing one could use for contact printing. The collimated light from the lens will show the dust on all five surfaces and every imperfection in the glass. The light is unlikely to be even across the field. A light bulb from a distance is far superior. This has not previously been discussed?

[John Kasaian]

I have a Beseler 4x5 I'll probably give away because someone is giving me a color Beseler 4x5. I already tried to give it away once but had no luck. I paid $75 for it over 10 years ago. I guess now even free is too expensive for most people.

That's a heck of a deal, Wayne!

[Alan Gales]

I have a Beseler 4x5 I'll probably give away because someone is giving me a color Beseler 4x5. I already tried to give it away once but had no luck. I paid $75 for it over 10 years ago. I guess now even free is too expensive for most people.

Then there are some people still think they are worth money. Here is someone selling an old clunker for the same price as someone selling a much later model with the rare Zone IV head (predecessor to the Zone VI, no doubt )

http://fairbanks.craigslist.org/pho/5030289105.html
http://humboldt.ca.craigslist.org/pho/5035912774.html

I gave away a 4x5 b&w Omega enlarger on Craigslist. The new owner was thrilled to get it. It made me feel good that it was going to a young person who was shooting film.

[Robert Langham]

I do all my contacting under an enlarger head, but of course it is a diffusion head. Don't seem to have any problems.