Please advise 35mm enlarger basic model

[minoltist7]

Durst, Leitz, Beseler, what's else?
I used Leitz Fokomat Ic . Old model, but great optics.
I need only for B/W (probably with multicontrast filters) , no need color heads

 

[kully]

I started enlarging with a Durst M601(?) at college. Very simple with a filter tray for your contrast filters. The head goes high enough for 16x12 too.

 

[Freakscene]

Both the Durst 601 and Beseler 23 (there are several variations on this one) are great enlargers. You can find them cheap these days (under $US100). The Durst M70 is absolutely deluxe, but pricier.

Marty

 

[titrisol]

Durst, Besseler, Omega, Kaiser or Meopta are good enlargers.
What is far more important is that you get a good lens for it
I would recommend a Nikkor-El or a Schneider Componon

I don;t know anything about the russian lenses for enlargers

 

[ZorkiKat]

I don;t know anything about the russian lenses for enlargers

The УПА portables collapse and fit in their suitcases. Some have 'autofocus' (up to 10X diameter) abilities. They were also designed to work with ordinary household opal-finished 60...100W lamps.

The Industar "Y" (U) lenses are also good. The I-22U, I-50U, and I-95U are four element types. I've used the I-95U for colour printing and the quality is very good. The only minuses I could say about these is their "long" necks (necessary for Russian enlargers with short focusing tubes) and lack of click stops. The long barrels limit the printing range mostly to postcard sizes. The I-95 I have though has a removable extension neck so it can be used in most Western enlargers for making bigger enlargerments.

Most Meopta enlargers have a reversible lens board- in recessed position, the Russian lenses can be used properly.

The Vega-11U is a superb lens. Five elements at f/2.8. And has click stops.
It could match equivalent Nikkors and Schneiders- but at a fraction of the cost.
I got mine for just US $11.

Jay

 

[Bryce]

Important considerations in an enlarger? The lens, parts availability, and rigidity, in that order.
I've used an oddball thing sold as "Rollei by Nikor" and it worked OK except that getting neg carriers was next to impossible. I have and use a Beseler 23c, good but not very rigid. I've used Omega enlargers at school, they were rigid and common enough to get the neg carriers needed, but seemed over complicated to me.
So the best one to buy? One either with a name brand lens ( Nikon, Rodenstock, etc.) or just replace the lens. One that you can get lens and negative carriers for easily, so stick with a well known brand; and hopefully one that isn't overly sensitive to vibration.
Hope this helps!

 

[titrisol]

The Rollei by Nikon was a gfreat OMEGA enlarger 6x7!
I had one of those and had to make my own neg carriers with black cardboard

Sine Minoltist is in Ukraine, a Durst or a Dunco or even a Meopta could be good alternatives, as yiu said putting a new lens on!

 

[sepiareverb]

I've used many different brands of enlargers, and I've settled on the LPL, now sold in the US by Omega, formerly by Saunders. This is a marvel of an enlarger, mainly because it is always aligned. Alignment is key for sharp prints, even at 810, and the Beselers are forever slipping out of alignment. I had a 45 Beseler that was impossible to keep in alignment. It would be fine at 1620 and out at 810- the 23C's in our college darkroom are of various ages, and all have troubles with alignment. New Beselers are very uneven in quality control- we got 2 identical VC ones three years ago, one is a dog the other a gem. The LPL's have simple lensboards, so changing lenses puts no stress on the enlarger at all.

LPL.

As for glass, the Nikkor 20/2.8, 63's and 105/5.6 are all excellent, and the Schneider Componon-S are also excellent. I print with Nikkors only these days, and love them.

 

[J J Kapsberger]

...Alignment is key for sharp prints, even at 810...

Alignment as in the plane of focus is exactly parallel to the easel?

 

[sepiareverb]

I was thinking of my spine actually...

The idea is that the negative plane, the plane of focus of the lens and the paper or easel plane are all three in parallel. Not an easy thing to achieve with a 23C, or many enlargers. But the LPL makes it a non-issue for less than a Durst.

 

[crawdiddy]

I have a Beseler Printmaker 35, and I understand what Bryce is saying about rigidity. I don't think I've experienced the alignment problem, but I've noticed, for example, when I crank the lens to the topmost position, the lensboard angle changes. It's not an issue because nothing would focus there. At least not for the sizes of prints I've been making.

I managed to pick up a Schneider Componon 50mm f/2.8 lens for about $50, I think. It seems to be new, although it wasn't sold as such.

I agree it's important to think about what supplies are needed, and where you'll get them. I paid $75 for a 35mm negative carrier 2 years ago when I first got the enlarger. A couple of months ago, when I acquired a Widelux camera, I went looking for a negative carier for it. It's the same width (vertical measurement, when used in landscape mode) as 35mm of course, but nearly twice the horizontal dimension. I never found a pre-fab carrier for it, but I found another standard 35mm carrier for $8. I'll have to modify it myself.

IMO, there are many bargains in darkroom supplies.

The digital photography "fad" is creating a wonderful buyers market in analog equipment.

 

[40oz]

I have a Beseller 23C. I can't say I find the so-called lack of rigidity an issue with mine. But then, I don't use a grain focuser, and I'm more concerned with how the final print looks than precise metrics like sharpness in the abstract. Hell, I don't even use an easel to hold the paper flat.

If I had been doing this for 30 years and my paycheck depended on it, I'd probably have stronger opinions about brands and different perceptions of quality. There's a reason the Beseller's are ubiquitous, and it's probably not because they are cheaply made. That said, there's always something better for more money.

 

[ZivcoPhoto]

Although I've used various Focomats at places of work, at home I still have my PRIMOS Testreflex "66", P. Kienzle (Stuttgart). It's an antique by now but with an El Nikkor, it works great for the home darkroom.

 

[Michiel Fokkema]

Hi,

I use a Focomat 1c with a Componon-s. It is very sturdy and the autofocus makes it so easy to work with. I removed the red glass and use the remaining holder to put the contrast filters on. Teamed up with an AN glass and a Focometer quartz it is all what I can wish for.

Cheers,

Michiel Fokkema

 

[minoltist7]

The Rollei by Nikon was a gfreat OMEGA enlarger 6x7!
I had one of those and had to make my own neg carriers with black cardboard

Sine Minoltist is in Ukraine, a Durst or a Dunco or even a Meopta could be good alternatives, as yiu said putting a new lens on!

here in Ukraine it is very hard to find a good enlarger.
Soviet ones are crappy and usable only for small prints.
They usually have uneven light distibution (corners are darker then center),
low quality lenses (although some models allow to use thread-mounted camera lens)
lens and lamp(light bulb) need to be replaced immediately with imported (always better) analogs.
I think about to buy an enlarger in Germany

 

[Vics]

I love my Beseler 23CII with the El Nikkor 50mm/2.8. It can make far better prints than I am capable of at this point. There is a set of recommended "fixes" for a lot of the small design flaws somewhere on the web (wait: I'll go look) Ah, yes here it is! http://www2.rpa.net/~choffman/beseler01.htm
Vic

 

[CameraQuest]

excellent enlargers are so so so inexpensive compared to what they used to cost

why go basic?

buy a Leitz Focomat Ic or V and never look back.

Stephen

 

[luketrash]

I'm using a Bogen Super Pro and a Bogen Super 66. They were both really cheap.

Like you, I just wanted something barebones to print b&w with. However, I at least require that the enlarger has a filter tray in the head and is of the condenser style.

But, my cheap bogen 66 works just fine. Perpendicular base? That's a problem. I shimmed my paper easel to level things out.

My Super Pro is more robust and doesn't have these issues, but it's also twice the size.

 

[titrisol]

Since you are planning to go to Geermany for one.
I used Durst enlarger (M66) for a long time, it was very good and made a lot of picutrs with it. Even Ilfochromes/Cibachromes. The sivo-neg system was very good and since the enlarger was permanently bolted to a heavy desk it was no problem with stability/rigidity.
You can probably find these used for not so much $$$$$$$

Years later I found Kaiser enlargers, those were a wonder to me when I used them
http://www.kaiser-fototechnik.de/en/produkte/2_1_sortiment.asp?w=19
I really loved them. Modular construction made them bullet proof! Even if you can not afford a VC/color head now you can add it later.
That with a good Schenider lens is al you'll ever need.
There was a good article in photo techniques in 99 or 2000 about them
(PS I found it! http://www.phototechmag.com/previous-articles/may00-meier/meier.htm)

I would recommend you buy the 6x6 or 6x7 version, even though you'll not use it yet the possibility to expand and use medium format is always a plus... who knows you may want to buy a MF camera in the future 😉

here in Ukraine it is very hard to find a good enlarger.
Soviet ones are crappy and usable only for small prints.
They usually have uneven light distibution (corners are darker then center),
low quality lenses (although some models allow to use thread-mounted camera lens)
lens and lamp(light bulb) need to be replaced immediately with imported (always better) analogs.
I think about to buy an enlarger in Germany

 

[kipkeston]

interesting thread. I've been looking for a new enlarger, a real one with condenser instead of the dicholoric omega I have now. It gives me about 3 minute enlarge times for normal negative.