I emailed Intrepid asking if they will make a 5x7 enlarging attachment back, they replied quickly saying they plan to offer an 8x10 enlarging attachment with a 5x7 negative carrier. I'm now curious about how well their 4x5 enlarging attachment works.
A search on YouTube should reveal several videos covering Intrepid's 4x5 enlarging setup.Originally Posted by pjd
Difficulty with using any view camera as an enlarger is alignment. Once this is properly done, there will not be a lot of incentive to move the view camera out of being an enlarger due to the effort to set this up. Compounding this difficulty is the reality of altering enlarger head (view camera in this case) to base board distance to alter magnification ratio which is done plenty lots, then focusing the projected image. In the case of the Intrepid camera with the focusing control at the back of the camera under the GG, focusing the projected image is going to be no fun at all.
Hard learned wisdom being, get a proper high quality enlarger, make absolute sure it is in proper operating condition, set it up GOOD once and consider this as a stable tool to make prints. Print making should be about print making, not tinkering or struggling with an un-cooperative or difficult to deal with enlarging set up which will make the print making process more difficult and demanding than it should be.
There was a time when piles of Foto labs were closing down at an extremely rapid pace. Countless Durst, DeVere and similar best quality enlargers were shoved in to the dumpster fast as they could be hauled away as no one was interested in giving them a home. Today, there are far fewer of these enlargers available. They do appear once in a while. Best to wait until a proper enlarger appears with the plans for proper ownership and supporting dark room space. This LF darkroom stuff is not a small demand on resources and commitment, best know what you're getting into before taking these steps.
Bernice
Sorry to utter heresy, but why not just wet-scan the 5x7 negatives with an Epson V850 and then digitally print them? Saves a lot of spotting as well. I have a working 5x7 cold light head enlarger but find scanning my 5x7 negatives to work very well.
I just don't get excited about scanning, but like darkroom printing when I get time.
About enlarging attachments, I'll have a look on Youtube, thanks for the suggestion Alan. The quality of the light output is what interests me most. I have made a cheap LED head, but it's not great. Powered by the PSU from a discarded desktop computer, running through an electronic timer - but the light output is a bit less than ideal (cheap LED strips). I've looked at a few of the fancier projects on here, the electronics side looks simple enough but Arduino stuff puts me off (programming is something I'm happy to leave in my distant past) so buying a product off the shelf would be good.
Lo and behold! A lightly used 5x7" Intrepid came my way.
I can confirm this is not a finished camera, and tweaking, cutting and painting is necessary, paint both front standard inside and outside, the back also need some antri-reflection work.
When comparing side by side with my 5x7" fitted 4 3/4"x 6 1/2" metal Toyo-View which I am considering replacing it for, I discovered the front standard do not go all the way to the bottom, so some work is anticipated there also.
This is addition to the back not entering without removing wood/ cutting the back standard hole straight.
A tripod can not be fitted as focus threads is to close (bottom is too thin), a 15cm Arca rail is ordered, I do expect to grind two fixings bolt of their length.
Yesterday I filed edges of three lens boards as they had an angle which kept them entering after painting. The 108mm lens boards are a nuisances as they are not more compatible with Linhof Technica than what I got today.
If I bought it new, I would definitely send it back, but at ca half price I hope to reduce the total weight of my backpack and still love the format.
Sent fra min SM-G975F via Tapatalk
How do you feel about it now that you've had a few months to play with it?
My Website: CertainExposures.com
I know you're not asking me, but I have had my 5x7 Intrepid for over two years now, and I use it frequently and its been pretty much flawless, and a joy to work with.
Thanks again, Paul. It's nice that you're still enjoying it.
What 5x7 film holders are you using?
My Website: CertainExposures.com
Whatever I could find on fleabay that was priced reasonably and wasn't obviously junk. IE: an assortment of brands, all good, user condition.
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