Enlarger Recommendations?

I rekon he's worked out a solution by now since he asked the question in 2006.

As to wakarimasen who has resurrected the thread, well I have no experience of that enlarger but I bought a 4x5 LPL and returned it because it was crap. I went durst and haven't regretted it. M670 is comparable to the LPL but if it comes down to price it depends whats available and where you get it from.

the following pdf is a brochure of the last available dursts before they ceased production and is useful to see what options were available and what to look for in a used version.

http://www.darkroom.ru/info/manuals/durst_catalog_eng.pdf

Also the Kaiser enlargers are worth looking at and are still in production so all parts and accessories are still available.

http://www.kaiser-fototechnik.de/en/produkte/2_1_sortiment.asp?w=1342

and for second hand you can look at SDS which will sell you a complete enlarger with ALL its bits. Not as cheap as ebay but at least you can send it back if you are not happy.

http://www.secondhanddarkroom.co.uk/www.secondhanddarkroom.co.uk/info.php?p=3&cat=14568
 
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Durst also made a small enlarger for film up to and including 120. glass negative carrier is unique because it has blades that allow for more precise framing of the negative, to include outside of the actual image area.
 
ZeissFan said:
Durst also made a small enlarger for film up to and including 120. glass negative carrier is unique because it has blades that allow for more precise framing of the negative, to include outside of the actual image area.
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The Durst M670 seems to fit that bill.

Dave
 
fidget said:
Yup, I noticed that only after posting my lengthy reply. DOH!

Thought no-one would notice if I sneakily deleted it:eek:

Dave.....
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Not quick enough;)

The durst negative holders are absolutely top notch. At least my Modular 70 and L1200 they are. I think the M670 one is the same as my Modular 70 or very similar. The L1200 neg holder even has registration pins built in if you ever want to do some contrast masking or the like.
 
rover said:
Enlargers are selling for practically free on ebay. Look around and you may find folks locally literally just giving them away.

I bought an Omega C-700, a simple basic unit good to 6x7, brand new in the box for $60. Make a list of acceptable units and grab the first one you see for a "steal" price.

I feel terrible saying this, but our treasures are someone elses junk. I think there are a lot of "junk" out there for us to grab when you talk about enlargers.
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I have owned various enlargers large and small. A couple years ago I gave one away on Craigslist.
I now own an Omega C-700. It is indeed a good basic unit and compact enough to store in a closet
between uses. Omega negative carriers and other accessories are cheap and plentiful on eBay.

Chris
 
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For general-purpose my vote is for the Durst and Saunders/LPL units. Then the Omegas and the Beselers. I'm currently using a Leitz V35, purchased in large part because it only does 35mm – an intentional choice, to make it harder to be tempted by medium format or 35mm panoramic gear. (There's a Mamiya 7 and an XPAN in the classifieds RIGHT NOW... twitch, twitch...)
 
The LPL C6700 was fine, but it was so long ago - I ended up giving it away when I moved house.
 
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