Dark room equipment

[Out to Lunch]

A good friend of mine, a retired diplomat living in Switzerland, would like to sell his dark room equipment -all in mint, as new condition.

What do you think this set is worth?

Saunders/LPL 670 MXL Dual Mode Dichroic Color Photo Enlarger

Saunders/LPL 14" x 17" Four Bladed Enlarging Easel

2nd smaller Four Bladed Enlarging Easel

Large extended stainless steel sink for photo work

JBO Digital timer

9 Patterson trays in large and small sizes

JOBO CPE2 COLORPROCESSOR KIT with lift. Including a wide variety and large number of drums and reels for developing film. Includes orginal bottles, breckers, thermometers, and film clips

Large Kostiner archival Print Washer

Thanks for your feedback,

Peter

 

[gns]

No idea about Switzerland, but in California, I could get no interested buyers for my darkroom (4x5 Beseler enlarger, excellent lenses, many SS tanks & reels, washers, etc) and ended up donating it all to a city-run community darkroom. And they were only interested if I could deliver it!

If anyone really believes in a significant film resurgence, they should be stockpiling this stuff at pennies on the dollar.

 

[ellisson]

Agree, these are items that do not sell easily. Donating the set to a school or club would be very diplomatic!

Many people who shoot film and wet print use analog club facilities - a nice opportunity to share results with those having common interests.

 

[Livesteamer]

I live in North Carolina and in the past three years I have collected several darkrooms for free. The first one went to a teacher at the School of the Arts here in Winston Salem and the next one went to a teacher at my daughters school. I collected another darkroom from the estate of an engineer which included an interesting home made enlarger with home made timer set up. I've kept some of the equipment for when I get a darkroom again. The local Craigslist has had a Beseler 4x5 enlarger for sale for quite some time at $650. I got my Beseler 4x5 in exchange for a Pentax k1000. Good Luck selling. I would suggest rather finding someone who will care for it, perhaps use it and pass it on to a future generation. Good Luck, Joe

 

[Ko.Fe.]

Enlarger and part are for free. And it might take time to find the taker.
Jobo processor is very different thing. Those are sellable on ebay.

 

[x-ray]

You almost can't give darkroom equipment away. Not even the once ultra expensive 5x7 and 8x10 enlargers like Durst, Devere and Salzman sell. On the LF forum I've seen people selling them for a few hundred dollars or giving these away if you come pick them up. There was a $30,000+ Durst 8x10 just 3 hours from me for a give away price that didn't sell. There's been a Salzman in NYC that hasn't sold, for peanuts, over many months.

Just take a look at the bargain prices on Focomats on EBay that don't sell. I bought a nice clean one a year ago with Focotar for $125. Most though don't sell but wind up parted out.

I would hate to send a fine piece of equipment to the trash but there's just no demand.

 

[Out to Lunch]

Many thanks for your feedback! I suppose that the film hype does not include wet printing. Are there RFF's from Europe who would like to comment?

 

[Chromacomaphoto]

If anyone really believes in a significant film resurgence, they should be stockpiling this stuff at pennies on the dollar.

I think that there's no doubt about a significant film resurgence but I suspect the lack of people looking to snap up enlargers etc might also be a statement of how many people shooting film nowadays happily use a hybrid process of scanning and inkjet rather than traditional darkroom wet prints maybe?

I have absolutely zero empirical data to back that up of course, just a general hunch.

 

[Out to Lunch]

Chromacomaphoto, I think you are right. I don't know about Thailand but in Vietnam this seems to be the case. Nice Website!

 

[Livesteamer]

To add on to this thread, I currently have a lovely Minolta enlarger with color head, free to a good home if you come pick it up. Available in Winston Salem North Carolina. Not easily shipped. Joe

 

[Chromacomaphoto]

Chromacomaphoto, I think you are right. I don't know about Thailand but in Vietnam this seems to be the case. Nice Website!

Thanks Peter, very kind.

Upon reflection, I recall one or two dealers I know here in Bangkok have been sitting on some very nice enlargers at low prices with no takers so it might apply here too. There are one or two good darkrooms for rent in this city also, people can do that as and when they feel the need.

I think the thing is that having the whole set up at home is maybe only worth it to those who would use it all the time and I suspect (or rather I pretty much know for sure) many newer, younger film shooters here also shoot a lot of digital in conjunction with film and so wouldn't be using it all the time anyway.

Seems a shame in many ways doesn't it?

 

[valdas]

Many thanks for your feedback! I suppose that the film hype does not include wet printing. Are there RFF's from Europe who would like to comment?

I think in Europe the situation is quite similar. There are plenty of hopeful sellers, but no buyers. Just today I saw an add in local photography forum (in Lithuania) about giving away an enlarger with extras. Those who want to try wet printing do not need to buy expensive high end models, they can start with cheap FSU, Polish or Czech enlargers (those were widely available in western Europe as well), so in that sense in Europe is even more difficult to sell than in US/Canada. Of course, it is not impossible. When looking at "sold" items ebay you would still find high end enlargers, but I guess those are rather rare cases.

 

[ReeRay]

If that lot was in Thailand I'll take it all. Impossible to get here and shipping it in would be astronomical.

 

[Michael Markey]

Many thanks for your feedback! I suppose that the film hype does not include wet printing. Are there RFF's from Europe who would like to comment?

Yes all this " I shoot film" often means just that , most don`t develop yet alone do darkroom work so to that extent its not a full commitment to the media.... more of a fashionable statement.
My "local" used camera shop has an extensive amount of dark room equipment in stock but I`m not sure how quickly it sells.

I was told that often parts sell for a good price ....

 

[Dogman]

When I shut down my darkroom, I thought I could readily sell the equipment--LPL enlarger, several easels, timers, Rodenstock and Schneider lenses, trays, tanks, reels and archival washers. I soon realized I couldn't even give away the unused paper and chemicals I still had on hand. It eventually all went in the trash or down the drain. I even had trouble locating someone who wanted the several hundred rolls of film I had in the freezer. It was rather depressing.

After storing the darkroom equipment in a closet for years, I finally found someone who thought they "might" be interested in printing and I gave it all away. But I still have three old enlargers in the attic that will likely end up as landfill very soon.

 

[taemo]

enlarger and various accessories, maybe around 50-100$, but most likely free.

the CPE2 with lift and various drums, around 300-500$ depending on the accessories that it comes with

 

[airfrogusmc]

I had a beautiful old Solar 5X7 enlarger with a zone VI cold light head that wound up as landfill. Lenses, trays (all stainless steel) but I still have the timer, stainless tanks and reels (120, 220 and 135) snd some film and paper 11X14 Ektalure in the freezer. AHH WELL. I am a crazy one because I do miss the darkroom. I still have a couple of bottles of Rodinal in unopened boxes my bedroom closet.

 

[Bill Clark]

My wife insisted that, when we finished a roughed in bathroom downstairs, it would also be designed as an analog darkroom. It was my first very own darkroom!

I use it some. But I think I’m the exception. Everyone is busy doing other things.

I bought my Omega B-22 enlarger back in the 1960s. Color head a few years later. That’s the only head I use now as the color head works with variable contrast paper.

The school where our TCPPA held meetings, first discontinued analog photography, then a few years later dropped the entire program. They had several Omega D-2 enlargers that eventually got given away.

Those big enlargers were the first to find no home as no one was interested in them. I’ll bet the same is true for enlargers like I own, if not now but soon, won’t find a home.

I don’t take time to scan film as it takes too much of my time. All of my color capture is with digital.

I’m traveling soon and will take one of my Canon full frame DSLR cameras. I’m taking a Rolleiflex to exercise and some T-Max 100 film. To give you an idea about how much film I now use, the TMAX film has an expire date of 2003!

 

[aicardi]

Not that long ago I had a beautiful darkroom. I have since sold the house and now live in an apartment in Chicago. Now all my film work is hybrid. I can't give the the equipment away. No one is even the least bit interested. :/

 

[Fred R.]

For a few years I would place Wanted to Buy ads for darkrooms. I thought I'd save them from the land fill and give them to young students. Some were free, some cost a few bucks. There are now 11 enlargers - with accompanying trays, reels, lights and timers - in the attic. I've given away two others, the rest will remain for >me< to throw out. So, from wanting to save the technology to being the one who is responsible for throwing out 11 times more gear than the lone guy saying goodbye at the land fill. Double sigh.