Working career photographer (digital), getting back to my film roots. I've been shooting and processing my own 6x6 and 4x5 film for the past year or so, color and B&W, but finally found a good deal on a 4x5 enlarger in decent (albeit incomplete) shape, and could use a little guidance/advice setting things up for B&W printing.
It's a Omega D-2XL chassis, with Condenser Lamphouse Type D on Variable Condenser. I'm straight on which lenses to use and how to set it up for various negs, with the exception of lens boards/cones. Even with the variable condenser, will I need a cone for the longer-length lenses (135mm, 150mm)? Or just keep all the lenses on flat boards and crank the bellows?
Do the later-model D5 three-lens turrets work on something older like my D2?
I've only ever enlarged 35mm and 6x6 in the darkroom (lots of it), but that was nearly 20 years ago. Should I go for the glass carriers for the 4x5 stuff? If so, any opinions which carriers/glass is best?
Also, any thoughts on which style of contrast filters I should be using? I don't have an accessory mount for round-type, and I've read that some ppl here seem to prefer laying square filters above the condenser lenses.
Finally (I think), Are there better/brighter bulbs I should consider for this head? This one's probably 35 years old and I'm sure the technology has improved since then. I'd also prefer brighter for focusing/making larger prints.
Thank you for reading! I'm stoked to be getting back into this. I shoot every week and have probably shot millions of frames in my life, but B&W film photography is still the only craft that I can remember completely stealing my heart and attention.
Bookmarks