Addendum
This is exactly what I bought brand new in box hand delivered from eBay early last decade. $125, really!
Beseler 23CIII-XL Dichroic (Color) Enlarger https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produ..._Enlarger.html
and i just ordered a new set of 6x6 filters for the other enlargers. I have paid $30 for a clean used set.
Tin Can
It's interesting to see the different models and design changes of the Beseler enlarger over the years. I doubt anyone there or here has the decades-long product history/knowledge to know all of the changes and tweaks to the design and when/how they were implemented (I've talked to one of their sales reps before at a trade show).
Browsing eBay listings, I see only early blue model enlargers with the filter drawer for 6x6 filters shown by Doremus.
I also see different models of the MX/MXT with the non-tapered bellows and more robust lens adjustment system that my VXL has. My MX and MXT have tapered bellows and no way to adjust lens-to-negative parallelism, which has always bugged me.
One must be careful it seems to talk about these enlargers generally.
If I won the lottery I would buy a brand-new (or several) enlargers from Beseler or whomever with their LED light source. Alas, for now I will use what I have.
PS: I have really been loving my newly-installed 45V-XL enlarger, other than the lack of a motor to move the head. With a big bolt to the ceiling studs making it sturdy, I might be using it as my primary enlarger now. Perhaps I will start looking for another one or two...
When I was Product Manager for Beseler in 70 all of the models had a filter drawer. But I went to EPOI the next year and really didn’t follow them afterward.
But Lorenzo Gasperini was with them later for a few years. You might try to contact him and see if he could help find your answer.
Worked there September 1987 to July 1991. Almost 30 years ago.
I have no question to ask. It's clear they removed the filter drawer in newer models. Look them up. Not an accessory, already looked. It's a different design of the whole lens stage.
Edit:
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/searc...op+Nav-Search=
See photos for the large changes in the design of the enlarger compared to most available used (tapered bellows, smaller lens stage). Looking at eBay listings and elsewhere, I only see filter drawers on very old blue enlargers, which as you know was only done 50+ years ago.
I have a pair of newer manufactured Beselers M45 series enlargers with the flat black cross supports & each came with (late production as well) condenser heads & Dichroic S heads They have the filter draw & look like this. https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produ...ghtsource.html
BTW I have one of the auto focus Beselers here somewhere & it's a monster of a chaise & the matching silver condenser head also has the 6" filter draw & the filters needed trimmed as well.
I had a Beseler 5X7 Vignetting enlarger like this http://store.khbphotografix.com/Bese...on-Manual.html
It had a heavily and poorly modified stand that was impossible. Hauled it from Detroit, but gave up on it long ago. It's gone. I have the dome. Spun aluminum, not copper like an Elwood.
I also had a Beseler 5X7 cold lamp head on the standard 45 MX chassis. The chassis was very rusted, but the head assembly is still safe and sound. It can mount on any 4X5 MX chassis with 2 bolts.
There are many variations as Bob knows better than I.
Tin Can
FWIW, the above-the-lens filter on the older Beselers may have been convenient, but that is not the optimum placement for a filter. I never use mine. Nor is below the lens for that matter (although if you have good filters, this is likely the easiest solution). The best place is in the light path above the negative. Even with that, with condenser heads, a flaw in the filter placed in the filter drawer below the condensers can show up on the print; you still need pretty good quality filters for that application.
That's why I like color heads so much; nice even diffused light with whatever color you need. The problem with Beseler is that their color heads all ended up being too bulky, too complicated and too unreliable. I was lucky enough to pick up a 5x7 Chromega head and power supply, which I have mounted on my 45MCRX. I had some spare parts running around and cannibalized the upper bellows stage from one to make the adaptation. Lots of coverage makes me happy!
If I wanted to print with condensers, I'd just invest in the Ilford below-the-lens holder and good quality filters. Whenever I need to use different filtration than I can get with the color head (e.g., a #47 blue filter), I just mount a Wratten gel below the lens in a jury-rigged filter holder; works fine.
Best,
Doremus
My only issue with below-the-lens filters, is I can see a very, very slight change in the focus of the image when using different filters. So split-filter printing makes the image slightly soft. I use Ilford's filters and also notice that theirs a slight softening when using any filter to begin with. My preferred way of printing is straight with no filter, as long as I've made a good negative.
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