Darkroom Equipment

kbg32

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Does anyone know a place that purchases darkroom equipment? I have a darkroom in storage that I would love to sell - Omega D2V, Gralab timers, trays,etc..
 
I have had a very hard time giving it away and I am in a fairly large metro area. Had to throw a top of the line professional $15,000 Durst enlarger made in Germany in the trash.
 
Unfortunately, darkroom equipment is pretty much a give away these days.
 
Like others, I had a hard time finding someone willing to take my darkroom equipment for free. I still have 2-3 enlargers stored in the attic that will probably eventually end up on the curb.
 
If anyone comes thru Winston Salem N.C. I have a nice Minolta enlarger with color head that needs a home. I have collected darkroom equipment for a few years now, usually for free and I've given away two darkroom setups to friends desiring a darkroom. I hope demand is growing. I also have a home made enlarger from an elderly engineer who built his own enlarger and complex electronic timer! Joe
 
I am very surprised. Reasonable equipment in the Netherlands has competing bids.
Yea you won't get 1500 for that pro 15000$ enlarger but you won't have to dump t neither.

By the way: if anyone has a 39mm mount 135mm (or above 105mm- needs to be ok for 6x9 enlarging) enlarger lens of decent quality, throw it my way pls🙂
OR a 4x4" lensboard for beseler with a hole large enough for my 135mm rodagon, think it's 50mm mont or so.
 
It's a tough sell these days. I don't think you'll find anyone willing to pay money for darkroom gear, when so many are having a hard time giving it away. There ARE folks looking to find enlargers and darkroom equipment, but they seem to be few and far between, and they seem to have figured out that if they are patient and look hard enough they will find what they need for free. I used to work at B&H selling lighting, large format cameras and lenses, and darkroom stuff. I few weeks ago I was talking to a friend who still works there and I asked him if they still sell many enlargers and darkroom equipment. He laughed and said he thinks I probably sold the last enlarger they sold. (I left there almost 14 years ago.)

That said, I have an Omega D5500 chassis sitting unused I'd love to send to a good home if anyone is interested. Come take it away and use it.
 
There's a recent thread, maybe it was over on photrio, about how the demand for darkroom equipment seems to be rising. I'm not sure if that's true everywhere. I have a working darkroom, and am looking neither to dispose or acquire equipment. But I thought interesting to see the two contrary threads in a relatively short time.

https://www.photrio.com/forum/threads/it-is-my-imagination-that-people-want-enlargers-now.166094/

Here is no contrary, but selective reading 🙂.

Even at this thread on ex-APUG many posted what it is not true.
Burlington Camera has run out of space, enlargers of all kinds, nobody needs them.

I mean, sure, if you are willing to depart from you money, go ahead.
But I know from film photogs in Europe, the darkroom gear is pickable by the curb over where as well.
 
the problem here is the following, i think:
-the "for free" (incl. very cheap) available equipment indeed kills the market for good quality new darkroom stuff and for reselling used but high end and well kept items = sellers complaining
-the ""for free" (incl. very cheap) available equipment is "you get what you pay for" -although very tempting for a starter in darkroom, you sooner or later find out there's always something wrong with the stuff you got for free. It's either missing a part, or is badly misaligned, or needs some exotic bulbor powersupply, or leaks light, or the focusing rail is rusty and slipping, or such. So you end up gathering more and more of these (almost)free enlargers and all the "stuff" that comes with it, in the hope of having a well working setup eventually. = the buyers also disappointed.

For example here above an omega chassis is offered for free. But it's a chassis. Where would i get the rest to make it functional? Ebay is a crapshoot and some NOS parts do go very expensive (compared to a "free" enlarger chassis, not compared to the original new price).
Example:
I picked up locally a Beseler 45 (the manual cranked version) very excited, cost me a bottle of wine, but it only had 35mm "full frame" film holder and a non-adjustable condenser set for 4x5, and a kodak camera lens with a mount smaller than 39mmLTM with a rubber ring to "fix it" in the lensboard. It also had a sideways misaligned head.
Conclusion: Above 35mm i can't use it as there's no film holder.
At 35mm i can't use it as my 50mm el-nikkor needs a different condenser setting and this version has only one bellow (focus bellow). I can use it with longer lens (=what i do now) but then that limits the enlarging capability.
Additionally i bought some more film holders (6x6,6x9) on ebay form the US but i payed quite some money for them.
And i messed around for hours figuring out that it's sideqways misaligned int he default stand and fixing that by mcgyver "solutions".

So,- it works now OK but it wasn't really "for free" anymore.

Other example: I received almost for free in a package two separate FB print drying tools (the heatable one with canvas) incl. the ferrotyping plates which i would not use anyway. From two different owners. BUT both are missing the wire with the special plug 🙂) so i'd need to make a plug for it as i cannot find the wire only anywhere.
 
My darkroom kit was given to me for free. It works.
As long as it is simple setup here is not so many things which could go wrong.
And.
Simple enlarger will provide good print in 99.99%.
 
If anyone in mid michigan wants to dump darkroom gear just holler. When I pickup stuff like that anything I can't use goes to others that can use it.
 
I’m in Mid-Michigan and I’m thinking about letting go of my enlarger and some other stuff!

My last batch was a free Beseler 23c with extras that I cleaned up and fixed a couple minor problems. I checked around and found a young lady that wanted to start a darkroom so I stopped by and gifted it to her. I have 3 more teens that are the children of friends that are interested in film so I'll be giving them tanks and stuff to get them started. They can print in my darkroom once it is back up (I have to gut the storage room to dedicate to a permanent darkroom) and if they decide to build their own darkrooms I'll give them what I can. I already handed out a few cameras to them and some B&W film.
 
Simply shooting my Rolleiflex at a classic car meet last year led to the offer of two darkrooms from older gentlemen, and my neighbour has offered me his enlarger. Given I already have three enlargers but no space for a darkroom until I move, it seems rather a shame.
 
Hi guys,

I have been shooting for more than 10 years with rangefinders but finally I setup a darkroom for myself and made my first prints yesterday. It is hard to find darkroom equipment in Europe. I am missing a timer and easel. If anyone wants to give away 🙂 a friend of mine living in Houston coming to Turkey who could bring things to me...Just saying...
 
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