Hi
I have a really sturdy old floor standing enlarger. It is a Durst 138s Laborator with all the condensers plus a cold cathode system.
The standard light source is dependent upon old fashioned Opal bulbs 200 W, 150W & 100 W.
I want to change that light source and use something a bit more economical to run, less vulnerable to minor supply fluctuations and most importantly somewhat cooler! It is OK in the winter but in the summmer phew!!
The beauty with this beast is that the head can be turned for wall projection, it has a great range of movements and is as steady as a rock with long exposures.
I want to change my 150, 130 and 105mm enlarging lenses and could do with some recommendations for lenses that will not have too serious an impact on my bank balance.
Most of my work is in B&W so this brute has a real value. HOWEVER I do do some color work. Whilst I have a good collection of kodak color printing filters I have been wondering if it might be possible to pillage the guts of my LPL 6700 colour enlarger head and shoe horn the color controls into the laborator head. It would only be worth the effort if the result would handle 4x5. The LPL guts are pretty damn compact and the Laborator head is quite capacious. However I have no idea whether my notion has any practical viability or what the design limits are for the LPL guts. Would it stand up to the requirements for 4x5 or even 5x7? The idea of combining the convenience of modern design with the massive machinery of a past generation has some appeal to this maverick!
Contributions and insults welcome
David
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