I think I'm ready.

Darkhorse

Darkhorse

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My bathroom is fairly big for a single room apartment. Plenty of floorspace, the light that goes on with the ventilation fan is out, and I have a couple of unused blackout drapes that I meant to install but never got around to it. I just realized today that it would make a perfectly decent bathroom darkroom. The university newspaper darkroom (RIP) that I used was much smaller.

I don't know a whole lot about enlargers though. Here are my choices.

This one touts decent equipment for $250, but it's been online for a while. The seller might be firm on the prices... but is it worth it? Tough to say.
http://orangecounty.craigslist.org/pho/2037402712.html

This looks good, but the enlarger has no power supply apparently. Still worth while?
http://orangecounty.craigslist.org/pho/2057050029.html

I asked the seller what the enlarger is, no response so far.
http://orangecounty.craigslist.org/pho/2037375417.html

Should I pounce on any of these or wait?
 
I'd personally look for a Beseler 23C (I, II, or III). They are REALLY plentiful in the US, so lots of parts and carriers are available. I picked up a never opened 23CII for $100. You should be able to find one for cheaper if you look a little bit.
 
The tricky thing about enlargers these days is replacement parts or missing parts. The nice thing about the Beseler 23C is that it's been in production in some form or another since the dark ages. And it was widely used in the US in school darkrooms (a testament to it's quality build). As a result, you can pick up pretty much any of the negative carriers on ebay for ~$25 each if you are in a rush. If you hunt around a bit more, you can find them even cheaper.

There's no real power supply to speak of on 23C's. As far as I know, all of them just feature a cord that comes out of the lamp housing. You will need some kind of timer to operate it unless you feel like flicking the light switch on and off.

You might want to keep an eye out for a couple weeks. I see some good stuff come and go periodically on craigslist here in Philly. I would imagine you'll see some good deals there too.

If I had the dough, I'd get a Kaiser enlarger new. If I ever get a different job and move to a new place where I can set up a proper darkroom, that's exactly what I'm going to do. I don't print often enough now to justify it.
 
another vote for the 23C, though I've got a 67S with the tall column as well.
The 67S for color and 23C for black and white might not be AS nice as having a 23C set up for each, but the 67S was free - I had to track down a 6x7 carrier to 'match' the set I use for the 23C but that was it.
 
It's hard to go wrong with a 23C if you're going to do more than one format. It is a little bulkier than some others though. Some alternatives would be:Omega C700 or B22.
If you're doing only 35 a Leica Focomat lC or V35 are both more compact and autofocus. Here in Chicagoland I've seen both on CL for $100-$300.
It's still hard to go wrong with the 23C though.
 
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. Also my apartment is on the second floor and I may have to store the thing in my garage when not in use. Either way space will need to be created.
 
Go get 'em, Dark, and don't give up your photo passion a little down the road. It may be 30 years before you get back to it. I know these things (rueful smile) ...
 
If I were constructing a nonpermanent darkroom, the enlarger for me would be Durst, Durst and more Durst. They have a wonderful modular design that makes for easy teardowns. They are also a great enlarger, I have one in my permanent darkroom along with an Omega D2V, and the Durst sees way more use. The Beseler 23C is unquestionably a good enlarger but they are big and heavy.
 
Even tough Durst is "de riguer" in Europe finding spares is a PITA, so when everybody points out the abundance of the latter for the Beseler I would say go for it.

You do 35mm mainly now, I think when you start printing MF will follow soon.

Wim
 
My darkroom is temporary, in the bathroom. My enlarger lives on a microwave cart which I wheel into the bathroom when I print. If you have the space for the cart in and out of the bathroom, it's not a bad way to do things for the temporary darkroom.
 
skibeerr said:
Even tough Durst is "de riguer" in Europe finding spares is a PITA, so when everybody points out the abundance of the latter for the Beseler I would say go for it.

You do 35mm mainly now, I think when you start printing MF will follow soon.

Wim
Click to expand...

I don't live in Europe, but in British Columbia, Canada, Dursts turn up all the time. I've never been worried about spare parts on an enlarger, but you could probably pick up 2 Durst M600's for the price of one Beseler. The M600 will do medium format to boot, and in John Holz's 1980 photographic equipment buyers guide, he praises the Durst lamphouse design. The neg carriers are the glass type so you need to be more carefull cleaning and make sure you have the right type of glass.
Regardless of what enlarger you pick, make sure you have a top quality lense. Thats really the most important thing.
 
The 23C is what I use, too. I've seen them on Craigslist for $50, sometimes even including all the other supplies you need to make a print.

Ellen
 
I use and abuse and modify a Durst (M601). I would disagree with them being good for "portable" use. That's how I use mine but it's a bear because they do not have much in the way of built-in adjustment--you have to just work with the direct attachments between the components to try to square it off, for the most part. The head moves a bit, but not enough in all directions if your column and base are very far off square (which most of them are at this point).

And parts are definitely an issue. If you don't know what it is you're looking at, it's easy to grab one off CL or Ebay and not find out--til you realize that things aren't going right--that you're missing a cover here or there or a filter tray or you only got the lens board for 25mm-mount medium-format lenses. Not at all the experience I would recommend for a first-time foray into enlarging, unless you're interested in futzing around with your hardware.

My Omega is a lot easier to use, that said I still go for the Durst much of the time because my particular Omega is a bottom-of-the-line model that lacks a lot of little niceties like built-in fliters available at the flip of a switch to aid in focusing. But I might just sell them both for scrap and get a Besseler or better Omega.
 
Darkhorse said:
There are a couple of Durst enlargers available in Encino.

http://losangeles.craigslist.org/sfv/pho/2063251472.html
http://losangeles.craigslist.org/sfv/pho/2063215758.html
Click to expand...

In this market, you should be able to get an M601 for $50. But price all depends on how anxious you are to get going. There are a variety of opinions out there on enlarger type, so you might be well advised to go look at a few different models from Criags listings. One thing I will say in support of Beseler or Omega (both great enlargers, don't get me wrong), is that I suspect they will more likely (than the Durst) to come bundled with a high quality lens. Lenses are of course available on ebay but it will keep your overall price down to buy an entire setup. You should actually be able to get everthing you need, timer,easel etc. in one deal.
 
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