I have a nice Laborador SM 183 (think a 138 head on a 184 chassis) complete with a box of various condensers, a spare top glass for the holder, and some bulbs(!) that cost me all of $145. It was heavy but car transportable and, like most equipment that is made to come apart into sections, reassembled easily. It will not be for sale as long as I live, by the way. It is an incredible piece of precision machinery.
Nice - I have the same thing. Don’t hear about those too often. I think I got ripped off though, I paid double what you did!Originally Posted by Chauncey Walden
Maybe you should sue for price gouging
I picked up a Durst 138 for £180 18 months ago. It had been stood in a barn and the owner was unsure if it was working.
Got it home and fired it up - the bulb was still intact and after an oiling it works perfectly. I dearly love it and doubt I will need another enlarger, even for 35mm.
The Nega holders can break pretty easily and some masks may be missing, but it's the sort of machine that will tolerate all sorts of homemade or bodged bits and pieces and still perform beautifully.
Mine came with the condenser head but I also recently picked up on ebay a Durst (Pavelle) 402 colour head that I built a wooden mount for and rewired for LEDS. It works and is nicely made, but really it needs to the two 200w halogens to avoid very long exposures. Anyway - I just note this to show the versatility of the enlarger.
Good for you!
Tin Can
I gotta admit...as much as I love my Zone VI series 2 enlarger (like new for 400.00...came with an unopened, frozen 50 sheet box of 16x20 Forte Polywarmtone!)...that yeah, I'd love to get set up with a 138!
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