I think I'm ready.

Yes, I can't imagine it being otherwise. I've never used the Beselers but they look fine to me. Just get all the neg carriers and a decent lens and off ye go!
 
Beseler 23C came in different colors though its production run. I believe the oldest ones were grey, then blue, then black. They maintained the same design throughout its production though some parts were changed to plastic in the later models. The later ones also came in an XL size which can accompany a larger print size. The Beseler 23C is my main enlarger, easy to use and easy to get ahold of.

The enlarger head can swing 45 degrees outward to project on a wall for larger size prints. Normally its pointed downward.

If you pick up a Beseler a few things to keep in mind while inspecting;
-look at the bellows, bring a flashlight to make sure there are no holes to leak light.
-check the geared rails which move the enlarger head and the two shafts which guide the focusing bellows. if worn out they can sag slightly during printing causing your image to go slightly out of focus.
-check if the enlarger comes with a lens board, cant attache a lens to an enlarger without the lens board.
-check is it comes with any negative carriers, there are two 35mm sizes, one is full frame and one isn't. the non full frame carrier can be filed down to show full frame in less than an hour.

If I had the funds I would personally pick up a Saunders/Omega LPL 4500 with the Variable Contrast head. I used that enlarger for some classes and absolutely loved it. It had a built in contrast/filter grade dial that kept the same print time as you changed to a different filter. It was also a diffusion head which I personally liked as it helped tame some scratches on negatives.
 
Good advice posted so far; the only thing I would add is to steer clear of 35mm only enlargers. In my view it's always best to have an enlarger good for at least one format up from what you typically print. This gives you flexibility to move up a format if you ever want to, and makes larger prints easier. More coverage is also helpful for contact printing, if nothing else. Good luck!
 
Public Darkroom in Irvine

Public Darkroom in Irvine

I see that you are in Irvine. Before you purchase darkroom equipment here's something to consider:
Many, many years ago I looked into using the City of Irvine's facilities - http://www.ci.irvine.ca.us/cityhall/cs/finearts/adultprograms/photography/photo_lab.asp

I recall them having Beseler 23C's in the lab and lab time was purchased by the hour.
At the time (early 90's) I was also trying to set up a lab in my Bathroom - I lived in Brea then. I eventually set up the darkroom and dismantled it due to the difficulty in keeping the chemicals "fresh"
I have not visited the lab but recall seeing it available still in the late 90's.
 
Hi,
I've been to the Irvine darkroom before. I think it's $12 per use nowadays. It's not heavily used, at least it wasn't when I was there.

Occasionally I'll bump out a roll and I'll just want to print one or two photos only. I don't want to make a whole trip for that. Plus I'm usually busy during the day on weekends as well, so the only time I'm able to print would be later in the evening. The only time I was able to go was when my wife was out of town for a week.

Back in the very early 00s I would use the university darkroom facility, as well as the aforementioned deceased university newspaper darkroom. I'm sure the cost of having your own darkroom was large back then. It seems relatively cheap these days. Even chemicals are pretty cheap.
 
I think that if one is able, having a darkroom at home is a great thing, even if you have to set up and tear down. As been said, I think a VC head is a benefit. Just to not having to worry about the bulb supply running out.
 
No luck yet. However, I did place a craigslist ad stating the equipment I wanted. Two were eager to unload Beseler 67c outfits, and one photographer based in Yorba Linda emailed me saying he has two Beseler enlargers stored away that he would dig out this weekend along with all other necessities. Hopefully that pans out.

I sent the ad with the gray 23c a message a couple of times. No response.

EDIT: Just had an offer for a 23c II w/ an extra lens and the whole set up for $300. But that seems a bit high to me, no?
 
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drewbarb said:
Good advice posted so far; the only thing I would add is to steer clear of 35mm only enlargers. In my view it's always best to have an enlarger good for at least one format up from what you typically print. This gives you flexibility to move up a format if you ever want to, and makes larger prints easier. More coverage is also helpful for contact printing, if nothing else. Good luck!
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I disagree. While I do use an omega D2 for medium format and 4x5, My go to enlarger for 35mm is a Leitz Valoy II. As far as I'm concerned, this is one of the best enlargers there is for printing 35mm. The Focomat 1c ain't bad either. No comment on the V-35, since I have no experience with that one. I've used Beselers in the past and have little affection for them, either the 23C or the 4x5 model.
 
Things just sort of happened this evening and I ended up with a Beseler 67DXL with all the bells and whistles, and came with all I need for printing and processing color and black and white. It was very well taken care of. I knew it was going to come with a 75mm Vivitar lens, but the man selling it told me it came with a better one. When I arrived I discovered it was a Schneider Kreuznach Componon-S 2.8/50 which sounded good to me. $150.
 
I don't know the enlarger, but if it came with everything you need I would say you did well. One of my books says a Schneider Componon lense is a six element lense; basically the best.
 
Darkhorse said:
I was thinking of sticking mainly with 35mm. This is mainly to do with how seldom I've used medium format despite it being available to me, as well as my love for the compact and portable and all around superb OM system. ...
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Wise. My advice - don't try printing from good medium-format negatives. If you do it'll ruin you for life - it is so much easier than printing from 35mm negs that you'll want to abandon the small format for all but impossible tasks. :D
 
I use a Durst M605 Color for B&W and it is a very flexible enlarger, up to 6 x 6.
I particularily like the nice head including the 3 basic colors adjustable knobs (no need of aditional filters for using with multicontrast B&W paper).
 
Darkhorse said:
Well I'm screwed. This thing handles 6x7, so now I have to get a Pentax 67.
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My sympathies; ChrisN is right! Que sera, sera! :D
I've had a Beseler 23C since 1966, and a P6x7 since 1976, so I know how nice the results can be. For these negs I use a EL-Nikkor 80mm f/5.6, which has a wide enough field to easily cover 6x7, and the shorter focal length means less rise on the enlarger head to make decent size prints. A 75mm is typically for 6x6, with 90 or 105mm for 6x7.

I surely hope and expect you'll be spending a lot of time in the darkroom having fun and making great prints.
 
Darkhorse said:
Any tips on how to black out my bathroom?
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What ever to do, it has to be easy and repeatable. If its a window you have to worry about you could think about a piece of rigid insulation, cut carefully to fit inside, and something soft and flexible forced in between the window and the rigid. You just want to make sure the light block and enlarger, safelight, timer etc. is easy to set up.

Next you want to budget for a Saunders four bladed enlarging easel.
 
There is a window to contend with. I have a lot of Gaffers and duct tape. Maybe some matte board or even cardboard would be enough?
 
Well i gave things a whirl today. The hardest part was getting the window all sealed up. I got a big piece of cardboard from the photo place where I got the paper developer.

I always forget that developing can be hard work. Especially in a little bathroom. I had to break open the door for a break at one point. I of course plan to print way more than I actually end up printing, and doing test strips can be tedious. But I'm sure things will go smoother as I become more knowledgeable / proficient.

This is from an old roll of Ilford SFX.

dkrm1.jpg


I think I prefer using the more sloppy edges. It's part of the whole analog look I guess.

dkrm2.jpg


This one benefited from the full 8x10 though I think. At least that aspect ratio.

dkrm3.jpg
 
Your first prints look good. With respect to your test strips: I have found that I can cut down on the number of tests simply by trying to gauge the level of brightness on the easel. I try to set the aperture on my lens so that my exposure times are around 30 secs. This is usually F11 for me. I have gotten so I can usually judge this level of brightness. I then do a test. No increment exposure times or anything like they say in some books. That really is tedious!. I develop the test, estimate the change in exposure required based how much darker or lighter I want an area. I may do one more test or go straight to an 8x10 working print. Once I got on to this technique I found it sped up work a lot. Have fun!
 
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