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Thread: Help Selecting An Enlarger

  1. #1

    Help Selecting An Enlarger

    Thanks in part to comments on this board, I recently purchased an Ebony 45S, my first large format camera. Although I have limited experience with other field cameras, I'm very happy with this choice and appreciate the detailed feedback from other Ebony owners which aided me in my purchase. Now I'm struggling to select an enlarger. I primarily shoot B&W landscapes and process my negatives in a Jobo CPP-2 drum and would like to process my own prints. I have a reasonable amount of darkroom experience, but it has all been 35mm and 120 and always with someone else's equipment. I now want to purchase my own enlarger. Like my choice of camera and lenses, I would prefer to make an investment in something that will last and produce optimal results. Can anyone recommend a specific brand or model enlarger? Anything to avoid? Anyone have an opinion on the Omega D5500? Thanks!

  2. #2

    Join Date
    Nov 1998
    Posts
    339

    Help Selecting An Enlarger

    If you can go the price, Durst or DeVere.

  3. #3

    Help Selecting An Enlarger

    I recently got a Saunders LPL 4550 and I really, really like it. Its a great enl arger. Wonderful light quality, the VCCE module works as promised. The whole thi ng works great. My only considerations were the cooling fan noise which I though t would bother me but it really does not and I did put a little tape over some l ight leaks. Before this I had various used and borrowed enlargers. Fooling with old enlargers and old cold light heads gave me a pain. I thought I was saving m oney but I was really wasting time and getting aggravated. The smaller or standa rd version Saunders is quite compact for a 4X5 enlarger and is suitable for smal l darkrooms and the price is very reasonable when compared to other new enlarger s.

  4. #4

    Help Selecting An Enlarger

    I have been using Omega D series enlargers with Ilford Multigrade 500 heads on them for years. The enlarger is okay as long as it is wall mounted or at least braced at the top; the MG500 head is really a timesaver and produces excellent results. At this time they are only available used but is worth considering.

  5. #5

    Help Selecting An Enlarger

    I have been using Omega enlargers with Ilford Multigrade 500 heads on them for years. The enlarger is okay as long as it is wall mounted or at least braced at the top; the MG500 head is really a timesaver and produces excellent results. At this time they are only available used but is worth considering.

  6. #6

    Help Selecting An Enlarger

    I can also recommend a DeVere. There're mechanical marvels. Calling them "solid" is an understatement. I used to use a Beseler 45M and there is no comaprison.

    The down side is that they're expensive, and not especially common. You can't find loads of accessories on eBay like you can for Beseler or Omega.

    If you think you might be at this for a while (like the rest of your life), don't skimp on the enlarger. It's the second most important piece of hardware in your darkroom (after your trashcan).

  7. #7

    Join Date
    Oct 1998
    Posts
    106

    Help Selecting An Enlarger

    I found a Durst 138 (5X7) a few years ago. (graphic arts business going digital.) You will see these described as big, costly and just about ideal. I found mine at a bargain, it comes apart in 5 minutes to fit in a compact car, It includes the floor-to-table which is adjustable to within a foot of the floor, rock solid in alignment, and yes: just about ideal. They can easily be adapted to just about any light source. A 5x7 is nice for 4X5 to get more even lighting out to the corners. ....And gave me the nudge to get a 5X7 camera.

  8. #8

    Join Date
    Feb 2002
    Posts
    17

    Help Selecting An Enlarger

    Scott,

    I'm still using the Omega D2v that I bought used in the 1980's. It is built lik e a tank, and can be found used quite easily. Don't know about the others mentioned here, but I'm sure they mus t be good or they would have been rejected long ago by the pros here in this forum. (Do know that Caponigro uses a Durst 5x7).

    The nice thing about the D2v is that its cost would be significantly less, witho ut scarificing quality.

    Hope this helps.

    Bill

  9. #9

    Help Selecting An Enlarger

    Scott,

    I had been using a Beseler 23CIILX condenser head for 10-12 years. Then went into 4x5 and bought a 45MXT Zone VI w/ cold light. After a short learning curve on the machine my prints (from any format - 35mm thru 4x5) are dramatically improved.

    IMHO - cold light and 4x5 B & W is the way to go. But I've never used other brands of current offerings, so it's just my opinion and my experience. Some of friends are attached to their dicro heads. Some prefer condenser. Go figure.

    Good hunting.

    -S.

  10. #10

    Help Selecting An Enlarger

    Scott

    I had the use of an Omega D2 for a few years, condensor head....I hated it for many reasons. When it came time to build my own darkroom I managed to try out a few different enlargers, Beselers, Dursts, etc and came to the same conclusion as you....I wanted to make an investment in the best I could find....something that would last and produce optimum results.

    I decided for me a De Vere was the solution so I spent a couple of years hunting for one...I was offered other enlargers at good prices but I hung out for the De Vere.

    Well I got one, quite cheaply too from a lab that was going digital. It's a 504 model (4x5), freestanding enlarger with dichroic head. Unless you see one of these in the flesh you wouldn't believe how rock solid they are (the 4x5 and 8x10 use the same chassis), how well built they are, and how easy they are to use. My one has a 30 x 40" table that drops to the floor with a quick release mechanism, the focus and head lift adjustments are at the front of the table for easy access...you don't have to strain your arms trying to focus for big prints.

    You can see a photo of mine here, scroll down the page a bit.

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