Durst 138 which color heads can work?

[SilverPr]

I'm from Europe .... so I found the one in Germany. This is Durst: Laborator 138S in good condition.

[Luis-F-S]

That is a great enlarger and one of the later ones with a removable turret. It’s also simple without electronics so not much to break. Many threads on that enlarger in the forum. The original 300 W bulb can be hard to find, look for one with a larger envelope and don’t forget the cooling fan! Durst recommends a fan for bulbs of 200W or larger, but I use it on all wattage bulbs to keep them cool. You can also use a dimmer if too bright and to extend bulb life. If it doesn't have a lens, I'd look for a 180 Rodagon or Componon-S lens for 5x7, and a 135 for 4x5, and 105 for MF, etc. If it's the one in the photo you posted, it looks like it has a single lens mounted, probably on a Unipla. If not, you may want to find a Unipla which replaces the turret and mounts one lens at a time. The lenses typically mount on Lapla 39's boards, which then screw into the Unipla. The Unipla can hold lenses up to 240 mm, though you may need a custom Lapla for that lens. The 180 and smaller fit on a standard Lapla thought you may need a custom hole and threads cut on the board. Do you have the enlarger yet? PM me if you want more information or assistance.

For an 8x10 LED conversion B&W head, see:

https://www.largeformatphotography.i...ighlight=durst

Aristo made a cold light head that inserted into the condenser slots, you can download it at:

https://www.light-sources.com/blog/p...ld-light-head/

An LED light source is described in:

https://www.largeformatphotography.i...ighlight=durst

The Lafan external fan was usually supplied with the color head, you can read about it at:

https://www.largeformatphotography.i...ighlight=durst

There is a discussion on setup at:

https://www.largeformatphotography.i...ighlight=durst

John Schneider had listed some of the parts required for the CLS colorhead, including the Latibox in this link:

https://www.largeformatphotography.i...ighlight=durst

You may want to contact him and see if still available. There are many other threads, just search for Durst on this forum, and look for 138 threads on each page.

[Drew Wiley]

Have a pleasant holiday. I suspect the 138 series just had a generic manual which was updated from time to time. Special options or accessories like colorheads came with their own instructions. Glenn Evans might have copies of some of these; he claims there were five distinct "versions" of the 138 PLUS customized special order models. The manuals I have were downloaded from the DurstPro site. The site is apparently no longer maintained now that the company is defunct. Jens really knew his stuff; too bad he couldn't be trusted. It's likely that Durst itself has quite a old few photos and records still; but I'm just a user, and have no interest in writing a history of enlargers. All of mine have been tweaked or hybridized anyway.

[SilverPr]

Thank you so much to all of you for sharing information. I will try to dive into details... Happy Holidays.

[Bernice Loui]

Most ANY light source can be fitted to a Durst 138 chassis. This is due to essentially a flat plate that sits on top of the film carrier which can be easily made or modified to fit most any light source. It is also one of the reasons why these Durst 138 chassis are so excellent. While the most common application for the Durst 138 is to be used as a vertical or horizontal projection enlarger, it can be used as a copy camera with the needed fittings.

Durst 138 is one of the reasons for 5x7_13x18cm film as this is a very reasonable size enlarger of excellent ability. It does not take up much more darkroom space than a table top enlarger of lesser capability. IMO, too many decide on a table top 4x5 enlarger when a floor standing Durst or Devere would be a superior enlarger in every way.


Bernice

[ic-racer]

If the enlarger you pictured is in good shape, consider getting that and replacing the condenser head when you find the color head you want. I got my L1840 with an Aristo head and I used it that way while searching for the CLS2000 head. It took about a year to find one.

[Luis-F-S]

That's a good plan IC. There is a Durst CLS 301 color head complete on the German Ebay site for roughly EUR1100. I know he's also considering the Kienzler LED head for B&W printing. Newer but more Euros!

[Enrico_DN]

Hello!
at the moment I'm restoring a CLS 301 color head for my DURST L138 and I've recently stumbled up this picture on ebay showing a milky square glass-like (or plastic?) piece which on my color head is missing... I assume it is a diffuser, I've checked on the manual of the CLS301 head but there is only mention to the UV filter (which is located in the filter drawer)...that is missing also in my case.

Do any of you L138 expert users have any suggestions for the replacement of these elements?
I think I can have the UV filters made by some technical glass/filters maker, but with the milky diffusing glass I'm at loss, any help would be greatly apreciated, thanks!

[ic-racer]

Hello!
at the moment I'm restoring a CLS 301 color head for my DURST L138 and I've recently stumbled up this picture on ebay showing a milky square glass-like (or plastic?) piece which on my color head is missing... I assume it is a diffuser, I've checked on the manual of the CLS301 head but there is only mention to the UV filter (which is located in the filter drawer)...that is missing also in my case.

Do any of you L138 expert users have any suggestions for the replacement of these elements?
I think I can have the UV filters made by some technical glass/filters maker, but with the milky diffusing glass I'm at loss, any help would be greatly apreciated, thanks!

I was just reading an email from Serg, a Durst expert in Ukraine, that might be of help to you. He writes:

We are missing acrylics in almost all the Hoboxes and especially have none of the 35 mm types diffusers. I hope I could be able to copy some of 69 diffusers but have non to make copy of 35mm.

.....[later] We have intalled 3 enlargers (184+CL2000) heads these months of COVID.

We ended with just using 2-3 layers of milk acrylic + dif 69 plastic in the 35 Hobox.

[Enrico_DN]

Thank you ic-racer! Serg is referring to the light-diffusing pieces at the bottom of the boxes for the L184 which I assume are similar to that diffusing slab in the CLS301.
I imagine that by saying "acrylic" Serg means Plexiglas/perspex... right? Don't understand what he means by saying 2/3 layers.
Can you please give me Serg contact so I can address my questions directly to him?