Durst Laborator 54???

[Fourtoes]

Hi All,

Just bought a Durst 54 enlarger with 135mm f5.6 Schneider - Kreuznach Componon lens for £10. I know nothing about this enlarger and just assumed it was fine for 5x4 negs.....problem is there no neg holder.

Anyone know anything about these enlargers? Anyone have a neg carrier going spare or where I can get one?

Thanks in advance.

Tony

[Donald Miller]

Do you mean S45? If so you need the same negative carrier that the 138S uses. There are two up on the auction site now. One is $350 and the other is $450.

[Fourtoes]

It says Durst Laborator 54 Repro Universal Camera??

[Sevo]

Well, if it is a repro camera, it is no enlarger and will be lacking more than the negative carrier. Durst repro cameras used the base and column of the corresponding enlarger - but only the smaller more temporary solutions preserved the head, some don't even share the bellows.

[Fourtoes]

Good job I only paid £10 then

[John Powers]

Keep it around. I bought one for $75 from someone who had thought he could make an enlarger out of it and didn't. It makes a great studio stand. I mounted a Sinar P 8x10 studio camera on it and it is rock solid.

I didn't respond earlier because the model identification plate was gone. I knew it had been a repo or copy camera but I never saw the model number. Sorry.

I do use a 138S enlarger which in some markets is also called a 45 or 45S. It is a very good enlarger if you can find one of these at the same source and price (or 100x more).

John

[Ray Civera]

Greetings, I got one last week...free! Does anyone have the manual? Could it be converted in 13x18 enlarger? Thanks

[Fourtoes]

I picked mine up today.
The fella was definately using it as an enlarger. Apparently the Universal term means t has multiple uses.
It came with 2 condensers and 135mm f5.6 Schneider - Kreuznach Componon lens.

Just need a ned carrier now.

Ray, if your not using yours consider sending it my way.....pretty please.

[Ray Civera]

Hello, I am cleaning and repainting the enlarger to use. Sorry I can not give you the negative carrier ... I need it. Anyway, it's easy to make one with mat board or similar material. The top of the enlarger can be adjusted to the thickness of material you use. I leave a link that explains it very well. If needed I can send you pictures and dimensions of my negative carrier. ...some manual of Durst 54?
http://fotogogo.blogspot.com/2009/09...e-carrier.html

[quine]

Hi,

(I also posted a shorter reply to your question on APUG. BTW, to those with more Durst-Fu, please don't hesitate to correct me if I have anything wrong in here...)

I think that you need an OTONEG, OTONEG-2, or maybe a TAUNEG negative carrier. These are also compatible with the Laborator 1000. Like Leitz, Durst uses code names for many of their parts, and from what I understand they go as follows:

OTO => Laborator 54
TAU => Laborator 1000
FEMO => Laborator 1200
LATI => Laborator 138/S-45
LA => Laborator 184

So, an "OTOCON" is a condensor for a Laborator 54, a "TAUNEG" is a negative carrier for an L1000, and a "LATICO" is a condensor for an L-138.

However, the L1000 and L54 share many parts, so the L1000 also uses the OTOCON condensors. I know for a fact that the OTONEG-2 (presumably originally designed for the L54) fits in an L1000. It stands to reason that the TAUNEG would also fit in the L54, but I haven't actually tried this, since I've never seen an L54 in the flesh. Note also that apparently the OTONEG and TAUNEG have slightly different shapes, so I wouldn't pay a lot for a TAUNEG unless you can confirm beforehand that it will fit.

BTW, if you search for "Durst OTONEG", you can see a picture of the OTONEG-2 on some of the European auction sites...

Cheers,

-andrew